April 2020
Reviving Russia’s space programme
... their Antares and Atlas V rockets, the latest batch arriving at the end of 2019. The retirement of the Space Shuttle in 2011, and American slowness in making replacement Starliner and Dragon spacecraft flightworthy, meant a ten-year stream...
July 2020
Key technologies for space exploration
... hundreds of atmospheres) characteristic of high-energy fuels and oxidisers such as hydrogen and oxygen (as used in the Space Shuttle main engine, for example). Another problem is that rocket engines, especially large ones, can be prone to unstable...
February 2021
Space archaeology - preserving our orbital heritage
... 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 provide a measure of protection from debris...
July 2021
Collaboration and competition in lunar exploration
... Services (CRS) programme, was designed to fill the gap in orbital transportation following the retirement of the Space Shuttle. Under this programme, NASA provided funding and technical support, resulting in the development of private cargo supply...
08 August 2018
The most reusable and reliable rocket ever?
.... How will the Block 5 fair after its latest trip to space? Well, after the first flight back in May, contrary to the...its Mars colonising BFR system; a sort of huge interplanetary space shuttle used to ferry people to Mars that Musk unveiled plans for...
02 September 2016
Falcon 9 rocket and Amos-6 satellite explode during testing
... was planning a Dragon cargo mission to the ISS in November of this year. Senator Bill Nelson, whose single space shuttle flight ended 10 days before the Challenger disaster in 1986, issued a statement in which he said that the Falcon...
