ROOM: The Space Journal is one of the prominent magazines on space exploration, technology and industry. At ROOM, we share a common goal – promotion of peaceful space exploration for the benefit of humankind, all while bringing you throughly researched articles on a variety of popular topics. Our authors include experts and industry leaders from all over the world, which lets us bring you the newest and comprehensive information about space shuttle 500 days.
April 2020
Space Florida - gateway to an interstellar future
...and investing in commercialising aged or under-utilised assets. Facilities that once launched NASA’s Apollo and Space Shuttle missions are now launching commercial rockets. The state’s spaceport system is a living example of ...Processing Facilities (OPF) of NASA that were used to turnaround and process the Space Shuttle after landing for subsequent re-flight to space. Space Florida secured a long-term property agreement for the first of these, OPF ...
February 2019
The Space Elevator – an alternative path to space?
...spectacular launch failures. The rocket equation for chemical rockets results in only a small payload fraction. The space shuttle carried only one train-wagon-equivalent payload to LEO, around 27.5 metric tons (mt), or 1.4 percent ... at relatively high speed, ideally at the normal climber speed of 200-300 km/h, for five to seven days travel from surface to GEO. Slower housekeeping, e.g., due to slower climbers or other processes, equals reduced ...
February 2019
Building a space museum from scratch
... pieces of heatshield, materials from a Mercury spacecraft, and several types of thermal protection tiles used in the Space Shuttle programme. For a space-nut like me, it was heaven. The big crate had my heart pounding. It stood nearly as tall as me ... the value it has in not only creating new knowledge, but new technologies that benefit all of us every day. The empty shell I inherited now has over 70,000 visitors a year coming out to see it and ...
February 2021
Space archaeology - preserving our orbital heritage
...destructive ability of even a small paint flake travelling in excess of 17,500 miles per hour is significant, as shown by craters observed in Space Shuttle windows. Whilst larger assets such as the ISS have Whipple shielding to...orbit is a significant element of, and provides a substantial contribution to, our shared space heritage. From the very earliest of days of orbital launch capability, humans have continued to place items into orbit and ...
June 2022
Military space – how worried should we be?
...Warner Brothers, 1983) unmistakeably reflected the US government and media portrayal of early space as ‘peaceful purposes’. The Space Shuttle had its own dedicated west coast military base, Vandenberg Air Force Base. Full...by the American shuttle-launched Prowler, since imitated by the Russian Luch Olymp (2014). In conclusion, it is not clear if the actual nature of military space has changed much since the opening days of the space era. There were...
May 2020
Space for Art – The magnificent beauty of spaceflight
... so, and I am so thankful to all of the photographers who are chronicling the magnificent beauty of spaceflight. To me, this picture of the Space Shuttle Discovery’s roll to the launch pad for her final flight is the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. With... to and from the ISS together for the past 20 years – over half that time in parallel with Space Shuttle flights, and now our sole means of transport since the...
July 2020
Lego’s replica space programme
...perspective, but what relevance does this rose-tinted view of a children’s toy have for the modern-day space professional? The answer, of course, depends on one’s personal perspective, but these creations are arguably... commercial, lack-of-saleability reasons). It could, however, be time to consider that icon of human space travel, the Space Shuttle, as it drifts further into the mists of history and rose-tinted recollection. About the author Mark...
August 2021
Born to juggle in space
...near the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio and in Florida, within view of Space Shuttles leaving the planet, I developed an early appreciation for space exploration. In addition to my love of the cosmos, and perhaps related to my obsession...the ground and they would move in straight lines, just like they would in space! I tried it, and it was awesome. On that first day, I dedicated myself to practicing this every week for six months. It was ...
September 2016
Transforming US space policy
... between the United States and the Soviet Union, the Apollo programme, Space Shuttle launches, the International Space Station; all high profile human exploration programmes carried out by world governments. Many do not realise... that our very way of life depends on space. Space has transformed how we communicate, navigate, produce food and energy, and conduct banking, growing our economy...
