October 2020
Superconductors - key to unlocking high power space missions
.... These are based on a combination of solar sail technology utilising space-proven polyimides and directly coated thin-film photovoltaic arrays integrated with the surface of a solar sail. The use of a flexible sail rather than rigid...
August 2021
Born to juggle in space
... time. At the least, I hope it will stimulate curiosity about the possibilities of movement on Earth and in space. I considered filming on a parabolic flight, but parabolic flights aren’t perfect and often have drift. The truth is that the...
August 2021
Robotic systems for psychological support
...flights was based on compensating for the astronaut’s sensory deprivation and monotony, mainly using visual stimuli (films, books, news video programmes, photos, paintings, etc.). However, the experience of psychological support for long spaceflights...
May 2022
Essential guide to the James Webb Space Telescope
... of JWST is passively cooled using a massive five-layer tennis-court-sized sunshield made of modified Kapton, the film that gave the lunar module its iconic golden colour. Added to the Kapton is highly reflective aluminium...
30 June 2015
Debating Asteroid Day: NEOs, Dr. Brian May, the Catalina Sky Survey and more
... come to mind, all courtesy of Michael Bay’s “Armageddon” (check out this great Honest Trailer for the film while you’re at it). The general perception was that the asteroid threat was an appropriate topic for summer...
30 July 2015
SpaceShipTwo crash: dramatic testimony by Peter Siebold could offer new clues for space tourism safety
... about his dramatic plummet to Earth reads like something straight out of a more-horrifying-than-usual action film. The fact that Siebold made it was deemed to be nothing short of a miracle. Indeed, crashes are often full...
