July 2020
Trailblazing STEM education
..., engineers and mathematicians. Our 110,000 square foot facility is home to the Apollo 12 Command Module, the Orion test capsule, a collection of more than 30 aircraft spanning 100 years of flights and interactive exhibits that explore...
August 2020
Interstellar aspirations
... to make interstellar missions plausible. The first engineering attempt to build a fusion-propelled rocket, based on Freeman Dyson’s Orion concept, began in the late 1950s. Dr Dyson’s idea was to use a series of fusion explosions – effectively ‘bombs...
October 2020
Superconductors - key to unlocking high power space missions
... and converters have also been demonstrated in several projects around the world. Artist’s impression of the Orion spacecraft re-entering Earth’s atmosphere. Radiation shielding The most promising option for transporting large spacecraft efficiently...
February 2021
Space archaeology - preserving our orbital heritage
...’ missions have been suggested and may offer a future solution: they include using a crewed DreamChaser or possibly an Orion or Dragon capsule to re-boost the telescope’s orbit and extend its lifespan. These rendezvous options were certainly...
July 2021
A shared vision for space exploration
... and Russia, are also planning lunar exploration programmes. A view of the full Gateway configuration with an approaching Orion spacecraft. Artemis activities will be just as different. Instead of the ‘flags and footprints’ of Apollo, the Artemis...
October 2021
Russia and China – a new space axis
... and operation. Other countries could offer components, which might or might not be accepted (Europe builds the Orion service module, for example), but it would be NASA-supervised and directed throughout. Having been a co-equal on the...
