January 2017
Elon Musk and Mars - looking for a snowball effect
... stars.” Grateful to NASA But entering the space arena was not easy going, and after his Falcon 1 rocket had repeatedly failed it was a contract from NASA which saved his company: “I just want to say...
April 2017
Sky-fi dawn of the space internet era
... internet but unfortunately, AMOS-6 was destroyed on the launch pad when its launch vehicle, the SpaceX Falcon 9, exploded on 1 September 2016. Orbiting Earth Several companies have begun to experiment with their own ideas on how...
April 2017
Urgent action needed to keep satellites safe in orbit
..., lodging and per diem costs), which is much less expensive than the US$50 million projected price for a Falcon 9 launch (excluding the cost of the payload) [21]. Trapped objects will remain in GEO, and constitute a continuing threat...
June 2017
Space economics - industry trends and space investing
... twice and cut once’ mentality to insure they are seen as a safe pair of hands. Changing times - SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and Dragon lift off from Launch Pad 39A on 19 February 2017, the first launch from this...
September 2018
Bridging the ‘digital divide’ with nanosatellites
.... Perhaps the most ambitious is SpaceX, which aims to build a huge 4,400-satellite constellation using its own Falcon 9 rockets for launch. It plans to offer global internet coverage and to have the network operating by 2024. OneWeb...
October 2018
Sustainable ways of living on the Moon and Mars
...) via the Atlas V booster costs US$20,000/kg while SpaceX promises a reduction to US$1,700/kg with its partly reusable Falcon Heavy rocket. Of course, the costs of onward flight across interplanetary space will be much higher. Artist’s concept...
