Observations by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have come up with a new class of planet, a waterworld enshrouded by a thick, steamy atmosphere. It’s smaller than Uranus but larger than Earth. Continue reading
Unlike conventional rockets, launch loops can have many launches per hour, independent of weather, and are not inherently polluting. Rockets create pollution such as nitrates in their exhausts due to high exhaust temperature, and can also create greenhouse gases depending on propellant choices. Continue reading
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. Continue reading
Having finished writing about the space elevator, I am moving on to another spacelaunch method in this new article in the non-rocket spacelaunch series. Tether propulsion consists in using long, very strong cables (known as tethers) to change the velocity … Continue reading
This is the fourth and final part of the space elevator article of the non-rocket spacelaunch methods article series. This post will focus on references to the space elevator concept in fiction. The first mention of anything remotely similar to … Continue reading
Earth is not the only planet that could have a space elevator. Variants of the basic space elevator design could also be built on other celestial bodies in the solar system. Most of those variants could fit into three categories… Continue reading
The space elevator is a gigantic concept and as such it has many safety issues that would have to be resolved before construction begins. A space elevator would present a navigational hazard, both to aircraft and spacecraft. Continue reading
Today I’m starting a new series of articles about non-rocket spacelaunch methods. Non-rocket spacelaunch is the idea of reaching outer space without the use of conventional chemical rockets, which is currently the only method in use. Continue reading