January 2019
Preparing for a robotic revolution in Earth orbit
...-like expansion on orbit. For example, large communication antennas could provide higher throughput, more precise beam steering, and other advantages to communications satellites. These could be robotically assembled in a tile-like fashion. Even...
February 2019
The Space Elevator – an alternative path to space?
... contributor on the optical design and the control system for the Kansas City team in NASA’s Power Beaming challenge. He is a founding member and director of ISEC, an organisation furthering Space Elevator related research, including collaboration...
April 2019
The changing economics of space
... optical links to gather low-orbiting satellites’ information at far higher data rates than traditional radio frequency beams. Safety in numbers The advent of larger and larger LEO constellations using smaller spacecraft has ushered in a new...
May 2019
Unlocking the full potential of Earth observation
... Earth’s surface, is the case more often than not). Radix then uses a combination of RF and laser communication to beam that data to the ground. Lasers carry significantly more data than RF, comparable to the difference between fibre...
August 2019
Architectural challenges of a Moon village
... nearest crater’s slope. When the cave is big enough, they will move a Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) inside t in order to protect it for the long term. People will start to live inside the lunar cave...
September 2019
A new era in planetary defence missions
... propulsion technology, powered by electromagnetically accelerating xenon ions, which form the characteristic blue glow of the ion beam that propels the spacecraft. The NEXT-C engine will be about three times as powerful as the similar ion...
