May 2024
Spaceflight revolution on a shoestring
...airline flights per fatal accident. By contrast, the Space Shuttle had two fatal accidents in just 135 flights over ...use components. Launch safety has improved considerably since the Space Shuttle but still falls far short of aviation standards. Since...
August 2016
Are the days of innovation in global space over - or just beginning?
...-going activities we can discuss power in several ways. According to NASA, the main engines propelling the Space Shuttle to Earth orbit generate a total of 37 million horse-power. Alternatively, we can define power in terms of work/time, as an astro...
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...
