Commercial spaceflight companies are preparing to enter a new market: suborbital flights from one place to another on Earth. Aiming for fast transportation for passengers and cargo, these systems are being developed by a combination of established companies, such as SpaceX and Virgin Galactic, and new ones like Astra.
Technical and business challenges lie ahead for this new frontier, and an important piece is the coming wave of supersonic aircraft which could offer safer but slower alternatives to spaceflight. These two different approaches could face off in the 2020s to be the future of transportation on Earth.
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Researchers use origami to solve space travel challenge | EurekAlert! Science News
IMAGE: The researchers have developed an origami-inspired, folded plastic fuel bladder that doesn't crack at super cold temperatures and could someday be used to store and pump fuel. view more
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PULLMAN, Wash. -- WSU researchers have used the ancient Japanese art of paper folding to possibly solve a key challenge for outer space travel - how to store and move fuel to rocket engines.
The researchers have developed an origami-inspired, folded plastic fuel bladder that doesn't crack at super cold temperatures and could someday be used to store and pump fuel. Led by graduate student Kjell Westra and Jake Leachman, associate professor in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, the researchers have published their work in the journal, Cryogenics .
Neutrino Energy Will Unlock the True Potential of Space Travel
At present, photovoltaic cells (solar panels) are primarily used to provide electrical power to spacecraft while they are in orbit or traveling between celestial bodies. Even though objects in space aren't pulled along by the Earth's diurnal cycle, however, they can't always be positioned in direct sunlight.
Additionally, solar panels take up considerable surface area, and they're constructed using inflexible materials. As a result, impacts from space junk, meteoroids, and other types of moving objects in space commonly impact the operation of solar panels.
6 space missions to look forward to in 2021 - TechRepublic
From Martian rover landings to the launch of Hubble's "successor," here are some of the most exciting space missions pegged for next year.
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Space agencies around the globe have a number of pioneering missions planned for 2021. Interestingly, next year is set to feature not one but two highly anticipated Martian rover landings including NASA's Perseverance mission. On the heels of China's recent successful Chang'e-5 lunar mission, the nation will also attempt to land a rover on Mars in the months ahead. Below, we've curated a roundup of some of the standout missions pegged for 2021.
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Long before Armstrong and Aldrin, artists were stoking dreams of space travel
If the 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing was an opportunity to celebrate a remarkable technological achievement, it's also a good time to reflect on the creative vision that made it possible.
Long before Neil Armstrong set foot on the Moon, artists and writers were crafting visions of extraterrestrial exploration that would make space flight possible.
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Verne's tale provides an uncannily prescient account of the development of space travel: Three astronauts blast off from Florida in a small aluminum capsule, fired from the end of an enormous cast iron gun. After orbiting the Moon and making observations with a pair of opera glasses, the three men return to Earth, splashing into the ocean as heroes.
2020 Saw Many Successes in Space Exploration
Three countries sent spacecraft toward Mars in 2020. Astronauts launched into orbit from the United States for the first time in nearly 10 years. And robotic explorers collected rocks from the Moon and from an asteroid.
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Expectations are high for 2021 also. Next February, landings are expected on Mars and the planned launch of the James Webb Space Telescope is to take place in the autumn. The huge telescope is taking the place of the famous Hubble Space Telescope.
Lockheed to boost space expansion with $4.4 billion Aerojet deal
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Star Trek actor James Doohan has his ashes at the ISS
The ISS (International Space Station) is home to many wonderful astronauts, but now it’s also home to James Doohan of Star Trek fame.
The Times of London ( via the Verge) reported this nugget and revealed that while most are just finding out about Doohan’s post-mortem trip, even though it happened 12 years ago. How did it happen though? Well, Richard Garriott was a private citizen who traveled to space and wanted to bring the ashes of Doohan with him but was denied.
Happening on Twitter
On this day in 1968, Apollo 8 returned to Earth splashing down in the Pacific Ocean after it orbited the Moon 10 ti… https://t.co/3BanCag2mv Dr_ThomasZ (from Washington, DC) Sun Dec 27 16:51:02 +0000 2020
As part of a campaign to understand if life ever existed on Mars, @NASA has approved the Mars Sample Return (MSR) m… https://t.co/QkP6hy05gO KathyLueders Sun Dec 20 22:00:00 +0000 2020
NASA has approved a multi-mission effort to advance to Phase A, preparing to bring the first pristine samples from… https://t.co/PgKUPuwKd1 NASA_SLS (from Huntsville, AL) Tue Dec 22 21:00:01 +0000 2020
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