Readers of ROOM will be well versed in the phenomenon known as NewSpace, the ‘new way of doing space’ typified by commercial companies such as SpaceX and Blue Origin, and many will be convinced that this will one day become the norm. But is NewSpace...
At the dawn of the Space Age, Walter Pons published a short book entitled Steht uns der Himmel offen? (Is the sky open to us?) The German philosopher was concerned about the psychological, spiritual and philosophical consequences for human beings of...
Technological challenges faced by the first people living permanently on the Moon, Mars and perhaps other bodies in the solar system are immense and low gravity will present significant problems, particularly when it comes to human health, gestation...
The US has formally announced the creation of a Space Force as a new branch of the armed forces, including troops to fight in Earth orbit and beyond. The purpose of this new military branch includes developing both defensive capabilities to protect ...
In this open ‘letter’ to space entrepreneurs Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, as well as to all those who intend to proceed with large-scale space commercialisation using carrier rockets, engineer Anatoli Yunitski calls for a complete reappraisal of our ...
The recent anti-satellite weapon test by India - in which that nation destroyed one of its own satellites and created additional orbital debris - is another unfortunate example of aggressive behaviour in outer space. Here, the author calls for ...