Non-Rocket Spacelaunch – Launch Loop
A launch loop (also known as a Lofstrom loop) is a proposed design for a very efficient non-rocket spacelaunch method. It is a much simpler concept than the space elevator, but still more complex than tether propulsion systems such as the rotovator.
Astronomy Picture of the Week – Polarized Star Light
This picture taken by the Hubble Space Telescope shows the polarized light of the massive star VY Canis Majoris. Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and R. Humphreys (University of Minnesota)
Future car technologies – Advanced control
This is the final part of the Future Car Technologies series of articles. In order to make highways safer, it has been proposed that future cars should be grouped into platoons of eight to twenty-five cars and drive as one following each other at a distance of about a meter. They would all be controlled by an artificial intelligence or a lead driver (which ideally would be the most experienced of the whole group). Such a grouping would greatly increasing the capacity of roads. Brief assessment of the technology Such a technology might require buying new cars, or it may be something that can be retrofitted. Drivers would probably need…
Astronomy Picture of the Week – Interacting Spiral Galaxies NGC 2207 and IC 2163
This near-collision has been caught in a photo by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Two spiral galaxies pass by each other like majestic ships in the night. They are located in the direction of the constellation Canis Major.
Non-Rocket Spacelaunch – Tether propulsion in fiction
This is the fourth and final part of the tether propulsion article of the non-rocket spacelaunch methods article series. This post will focus on references to the tether propulsion concept in fiction. The most prominent science fiction novels on the subject include the following.
Non-Rocket Spacelaunch – Tether propulsion safety issues
The use of tethers in space poses many challenges and safety issues. This third part to the tether propulsion article will focus on those issues. A lot of the challenges and safety issues of a space tether system are similar to those of a space elevator described in a previous article, but some are unique to the space tether concept.
Astronomy Picture of the Week – The Colorful Demise of a Sun-Like Star
This image, taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, shows the colorful demise of a Sun-like star. The star is ending its life by casting off its outer layers of gas, which formed a cocoon around the star’s remaining core. Ultraviolet light from the dying star makes the material glow. The burned-out star, called a white dwarf, is the white dot in the center. It is one of the hottest known white dwarfs, with a surface temperature of nearly 200,000 degrees Celsius. The nebula is called NGC 2440 and lies about 4,000 light-years from Earth in the direction of the constellation Puppis. Image credit: NASA, ESA, and K. Noll (STScI)
Non-Rocket Spacelaunch – Tether satellite missions
This is the second part to the article about tether propulsion. It will focus on space missions that tested tethers in space. The first such mission took place in 1966. Gemini 11 deployed a 30m tether connecting it to the Agena target vehicle. It created a small amount of artificial gravity (0.00015 g) by spinning the two spacecraft.
Future Car Technologies – Alternative Fuel Vehicles
An alternative fuel vehicle is a vehicle that runs on an energy source other than conventional petroleum fuels (petrol or diesel). Due to a combination of factors, such as environmental concerns, high oil prices and the potential for peak oil, the development of alternative energy sources for vehicles will increase in the future. This article will list all the major currently existing alternative energy vehicle technologies.
Astronomy Picture of the Week – NGC 1999 Nebula
This photo of nebula NGC 1999 was taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in December 1999. It is a good example of a reflection nebula. Just like fog around a street lamp, a reflection nebula shines only because a light source illuminates its dust and the nebula does not emit any visible light of its own. The main light source of this nebula is a recently formed star, visible in this photo near the center. This young star is cataloged as V380 Orionis, and its white color is due to its high surface temperature of about 10,000 degrees Celsius (nearly twice that of our own Sun). Its mass is estimated…
Non-Rocket Spacelaunch – Tether propulsion
Tether propulsion consists in using long, very strong cables (known as tethers) to change the velocity of spacecraft and payloads. The tethers may be used to initiate launch, complete launch, or alter the orbit of a spacecraft. This form of propulsion would be significantly less expensive than spaceflight using modern rocket engines.
Future Car Technologies
New cars are being developed in order to make them more sustainable, safer, more energy efficient, and less polluting. These won't exactly be the cars we've seen in science-fiction movies, but they should be a big improvement over what we have today.