March 2015
Supplanting the state: rewards and risks
..., the companies mitigate the risk (and cost) of any singular satellite failure. Small sats still need launchers Serial entrepreneur Richard Branson’s venture Virgin Galactic is another example of a commercial foray into what was previously...
March 2015
Small is the new big: why micro-satellites require new laws
... by making them build a PocketQube satellite over a weekend. The commoditisation of space technology is also happening in the launchers market. Who hasn’t heard the recent attempt from SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corporation), a commercial...
June 2015
Ultimate sunbather: NASA and ESA collaborate on Solar Orbiter
.... Design challenges As befits such an ambitious mission, there are a number of design challenges. Due to the constraints of the launcher fairing envelope, the spacecraft has to pack an a wful lot of equipment and instruments into a very tight space...
February 2016
Shifting Space Perspectives: Artistic Research as Connective Research Area
... petals. It is transportable by land, sea and air, and two SHEE units can be fitted into a heavy lift launcher in stowed configuration. Since the habitat is deployable, the interior needs to be transformable and reconfigurable so that the minimal...
February 2016
The Benefits of a British Spaceport
... rockets such as Black Arrow, Black Knight and Blue Streak, was eventually switched to Australia - until the launcher project was axed in 1972. The problem of oil rigs is not so acute for the modern spaceplane - which...
March 2016
Space industrialisation needs balanced legal and policy approach
..., including asking appropriate government officials to coordinate with insurance companies about the required funds launchers will be required to obtain. It also added significant protections from liability to ‘spaceflight participants’ [5] during...
