Part 1 of 2 Parts
It seems that the ancient Japanese paper folding art of origami is finding uses in the space industry. I recently posted an article about using origami techniques to make foldable fuel tanks. Now engineers are using it to make foldable antennas.
I have posted about a number of different propulsion systems for spacecraft. Currently it can take years to carry out missions to the outer solar system. Now there is a new concept being explored that would use the mechanism behind solar flares to speed up the exploration of space.
The European Space Agency (ESA) has partnered with Kayser Italia to offer the Kubik facility on the International Space Station (ISS) to commercial customers. Kayser Italia is a Small Medium Enterprise (SME) private independent aerospace system engineering company.
Sumitomo Forestry is part of the Sumitomo Group of Japan which was founded over four hundred years ago. They have joined with Kyoto University to work on developing wooden materials that are highly resistance to damage from temperatures changes and sunlight found in space. They intend to be the first to build satellites out of wood with a target date of 2023.
Washington State researchers are taking inspiration from the ancient art of origami to create a foldable bladder that can be used to contain rocket fuel at cryogenic temperatures. Graduate student Kjell Westra, engineering professor Jake Leachman and their colleagues at WSU’s Hydrogen Properties for Energy Research Laboratory, or HYPER Lab, describe their research in the journal Cryogenics.
Part 2 of 2 Parts (Please read Part 1 first)
There has been a lot of coverage in the global media about the return of the Japanese Hayabusa-2 asteroid mission with samples from the surface of an asteroid. SpaceX has also gotten a lot of press as has the China Chang’e 5 Moon landing. Behind all this publicity however, there are major changes coming to the global space industry.
Part 3 of 3 Parts (Please read Part 1 and 2 first)
“The Micro-Ecological Life Support System Alternative (MELiSSA) is a European Space Agency initiative (ESA) with the aim to develop the technology for a future regenerative life support system for long term human space missions. Initiated in 1989, the design is inspired by a terrestrial ecosystem.” Wikipedia
Part 2 of 3 Parts (Please read Part 1 first)
“The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) is an experimental expandable space station module developed by Bigelow Aerospace, under contract to NASA, for testing as a temporary module on the International Space Station (ISS) from 2016 to at least 2020.” Wikipedia
Part 1 of 3 Parts
Decades after the end of space missions to land men on the moon, major spacefaring nations are now drafting plans for the return of manned lunar missions. One of the new goals is the creation of a permanent manned settlement on the Moon.
