April 2024
Terraformal dreaming
..., so the Red Planet is constantly bombarded by carcinogenic solar and galactic radiation. The second test flight of SpaceX’s Starship took place on 18 October 2023. The system’s software was triggered to terminate the flight, exploding the spacecraft...
October 2024
Lunar construction with regolith and robots
...’s launch vehicles have strict payload limits. For example, the Space Launch System (SLS) and SpaceX Starship, two of the largest proposed heavy-lift rockets, can carry payloads up to hundreds of tons to the Moon. The...
April 2025
Catapult to orbit - will David finally defeat Goliath?
... figure ever further. However, SpaceX is heading towards a figure of $2,500 per payload and, if the Super Heavy Starship project lives up to expectations, launch costs could fall further. A prototype catapult has already been built in the...
May 2025
A time zone for the Moon
... spacecraft and stations of any size without limiting their mass. This opens up the possibility of building huge starship cities. By extension, in space, it will also always be more convenient to have the same ‘linear’ lunar time on all...
May 2026
Mars exploration – the nuclear option
... well be the key to unlocking the next chapter in human spaceflight. SpaceX plans to send the first unmanned Starship rocket to Mars in 2026. About the author Sweta Parmar is Founder & CEO, Agnia Aerospace Ltd, aerospace engineer...
28 September 2016
Musk unveils ambitious plans for Mars
... Mars flight could take place in 2022 in a spacecraft he would like to name ‘The Heart of Gold’, after the starship in Douglas Adams' book, ‘The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy’. A prototype spaceship is planned to make test flights in four...
