October 2019
Time to overcome the expendable rocket mindset
... Bristol Spaceplanes Ascender, which is like a second-generation NF-104 but designed from scratch to reach space height. Ironically, it could have been built in the 1960s. The Lockheed NF-104 could reach a height of 120,800 ft (36.8 km), having...
April 2020
Is space poised to take another giant leap?
.... Apollo’s rock samples proved the Moon could contain everything that would be needed for such an endeavour: iron, titanium and aluminium. Could such exploration, and ultimately the exploitation of such mineral wealth be the step...
April 2020
Evolutionary lessons for an interplanetary future
... descendants on other worlds will differ from us. Will settling space save our species from extinction, or will it—in an ironic twist—lead to new human species? Scientists at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah, preparing for a hypothetical...
September 2020
Space technology transfer - today and tomorrow
...of the space industry this is the process of transferring space know-how and technology into terrestrial business Ironically, despite 82 percent of respondents not formally participating in technology transfer, the appetite for it was high. Companies...
April 2021
Satellite servicing comes of age
... for SpaceLogistics, the subsidiary of Northrop Grumman that built MEV-1, I spent most of my early career at Intelsat, where, ironically, one of the satellites I helped to procure, launch and operate was Intelsat 901. I hadn’t the faintest notion...
May 2021
Taking quantum into space
... students to get hands-on experience with satellites will now be our personal R2-D2s which go out into space to iron out the kinks before we take a leap into science fiction. Cartoon drawn by Dr Sonali Mohapatra showing QKD...
