Space Exploration
Uncover the wonders of space exploration. Study distant worlds and push the boundaries of human knowledge in the vast expanse of the universe.
How Does Space Fever Affect an Astronaut’s Health?
We’ve been sending men and women into space since the late 1960s, and we’ve spent the better part of the last 60 years studying the effect that space travel has on the human body. Recently, we’ve discovered a new and potentially dangerous side effect of living and working in microgravity environments: space fever. What is space fever, and how can it affect the health of the astronauts who live and work on the International Space Station? What Is Space Fever? When you’re on Earth, as long as you are not ill, your normal body temperature is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit or 37 degrees Celsius. When you become sick and your body…
Does Space Tourism Have Health Risks?
Space tourism poses health risks, but short trips are manageable for people in average health. Psychological impacts, like space anxiety, are crucial.
NASA Will Soon Decide If Changing Juno’s Course is Best
Jupiter is named after the king of the Roman gods, and with its massive size, it definitely holds the title of king of the Solar System. NASA's Juno spacecraft entered orbit around the gas giant in July of 2016. Due to a problem with the craft's propulsion system, NASA is currently debating whether changing Juno's course is the best option. What is Juno looking for out there among the stars?
Inside the Monster Rocket to Mars: How Did NASA Build and Fund the SLS?
Explore NASA's monumental Space Launch System, paving the way for Mars missions. Budget challenges, ambitious goals, and adaptability await!
NASA Called College Students to Develop an Inflatable Heat Shield
Who is NASA going to hire to create a vital component for an upcoming Mars mission? None other than the bright minds of our future – college and university students. That's right! NASA's Game Changing Development Program gave college students the chance to come up with unique ideas to generate lift. Sure, that's a fairly simple request, but your ideas will be used on cutting-edge, amazing spacecraft.
Go Away, Gravity! – The Ventures of Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic
Elon Musk has a net worth of $11.9 billion while Richard Branson has a net worth of $4.8 billion. If they stacked their respective fortunes in $1 bills atop each other, the tower would reach six million miles, almost 25 times the distance between the earth and the moon. And that is, in a metaphorical way, exactly what the two plan to do.
Could Space Junk Be a Threat to Our Hi-Tech Way of Life?
Space waste, space junk, orbital debris…whatever you call this orbiting mass of objects, they are a big issue. Space waste doesn't just make earth's orbital corridors look untidy, it poses a very real threat to the future of space exploration and our way of life. Read on to find out more…
Non-Rocket Spacelaunch – Advantages and Difficulties of a Launch Loop
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. Launch loops require power in the form of electricity and as such it can be clean.
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.
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.
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.
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.
