Collaborate Disseminate
Recently, a prototype inflatable space station module built by Sierra Space exploded violently on a test stand at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama. Under normal circumstances, this would …read more Continue reading The Past, Present, and Future of Inflatable Space Habitats
When the Space Race kicked off in earnest in the 1950s, in some ways it was hard to pin down where sci-fi began and reality ended. As the first artificial …read more Continue reading The Soviet Space Station Program: From Military Satellites to the ISS
With only two space stations in orbit around Earth today in the form of the International Space Station and the Chinese Tiangong (‘Sky Palace’) station, it’s easy to forget how …read more Continue reading The Forgotten Rescue of the Salyut 7 Space Station
On April 28th, China successfully put the core module of their Tianhe space station into orbit with the latest version of the Long March 5B heavy-lift booster. This rocket, designed …read more Continue reading Look Out Below! China’s Heavy-Lift Rocket Due for Uncontrolled Reentry Within Days
There is a long history of spacecraft carrying ham radio gear, as the Space Shuttle, Mir, and the ISS have all had hams aboard with gear capable of talking to the Earth. However, this month, the ISS started operating an FM repeater that isn’t too dissimilar from a terrestrial repeater. …read more
Complexity is a funny thing. In prehistoric times, a caveman might float across a lake on a log. That’s simple. But as you add a rudder, a sail, or even a motor, it gets more and more complex. But if you add enough complexity — a GPS and an autopilot, …read more
Continue reading Docking with ISS isn’t as Easy as You Might Think
Under the current Administration, NASA has been tasked with returning American astronauts to the Moon as quickly as possible. The Artemis program would launch a crewed mission to our nearest celestial neighbor as soon as 2024, and establish a system for sustainable exploration and habitation by 2028. It’s an extremely …read more
Aboard the International Space Station (ISS), humanity has managed to maintain an uninterrupted foothold in low Earth orbit for just shy of 20 years. There are people reading these words who have had the ISS orbiting overhead for their entire lives, the first generation born into a truly spacefaring civilization. …read more
Continue reading Expanding, and Eventually Replacing, the International Space Station
It is easy to find out when the space station is passing overhead, and you may have run outside to see the blip of light moving at five miles per second. It turns out that some people make a hobby out of taking its picture, and if you have a …read more
Continue reading Taking Pictures of the Space Station with a Handheld Camera
Over the years, we’ve seen a number of projects that can blink an LED or otherwise notify you when the International Space Station is overhead. It’s a neat trick that brings space a little closer to home, but not exactly a groundbreaking achievement in 2020. That said, we think this …read more
Continue reading Mini Space Station Keeps Tabs on the Real One