The U.S. Space Force’s X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) was manufactured by Boeing. The robot spacecraft is sent into space by a launch vehicle and then lands as an aircraft upon re-entering the atmosphere.
Engineers from Aerojet Rocketdyne and NASA have started the multiyear qualification testing of the most powerful solar electronic propulsion (SEP) thrusters. These engines are expected to radically change propulsion in space, according to a press release from NASA.
Currently there are tens of thousands of chucks of space debris floating around in low Earth orbit. All of these pieces of space junk are bigger than a softball. The orbital junk yard is becoming a problem for the global economy and military forces because they are increasingly depending on satellites.
U.K. clean space propulsion systems and services company Pulsar Fusion has formed a partnership with U.S.-based Princeton Satellite Systems to use artificial intelligence (AI) to design a hyper-fast space rocket that will be capable of reaching Mars in only 30 days.
When considering colonizing another astronomical body such as the Moon or Mars, the requirements for the survival of the colonists depend on developing native sources for critical gases such as hydrogen and oxygen.
Part 2 of 2 Parts (Please read Part 1 first)
The lunar regolith is composed of about forty five percent oxygen. However, that oxygen is tightly bound into the minerals mentioned above. In order to break those bonds, a great deal of energy must be applied.
Part 1 of 2 Parts
Vast Space is a space startup based in Long Beach, California. They just signed a contract with SpaceX to launch the first commercial space station as soon as 2025. They intend to crew it immediately after it attains a stable Earth orbit. Joseph McCaleb is the founder of Vast. He said, “It’s a super aggressive schedule. But we have a clear path for how we’re going to get there.”
MIT engineers have designed a levitating space rover. This new vehicle could enable the exploration of parts of the Moon that are too treacherous for today’s rolling rovers. Rovers are hugely important for space exploration. They give us a way to study the surface of the Moon, Mars and asteroids up close without sending astronauts.
NASA has sent a series of exploratory vehicles to other celestial bodies. With a few exceptions, these were wheeled robot vehicles. Soon, there will be another robot explorer launched but it will not be a wheeled vehicle. It is built to look a lot like a snake. It is called the Exobiology Extant Life Surveyor (EELS) and it will impress the world with some fascinating science.
