European Space Agency Looking For Life In Jupiter’s Moons
Tomorrow ESA will launch the JUpiter ICy Moons Explorer or JUICE – a flagship space mission to explore the moons of Jupiter – primarily Europa, Ganymede and Callisto with the spacecraft ultimately in orbit around Ganymede making it the first spacecraft to orbit the moon of another planet https://sci.esa.int/documents/33960/35865/1567260128466-JUICE_Red_Book_i1.0.pdf Follow me on Twitter for more […]
This Rocket Explosion Is Art – Atlas-Centaur AC-1
In 1962 NASA made the first launch of their Atlas-Centaur rocket, using a new hydrogen upper stage which would enable rockets to throw spacecraft at higher speeds, to targets like the moon and other planets. Unfortunately it was not successful, with the upper stage suffering a structural failure just under a minute into the flight. […]
First 3D Printed Rocket Reaches Space But Engine Fails Before Orbit
Relativity Space have been getting a lot of attention for 3D printing their rockets, some of the largest 3D printed structures ever seen are coming from their custom 3D printing systems. Last night was their Debut launch after 2 previous scrubs, and while the initial launch and ascent worked well the 2nd stage engine failed […]
My Close Encounter with a ‘Ghost’ Plane – Why You Can’t Rely On Flight Tracking.
It’s been a while since I posted an update on my flying, and a lot has happened but also, a lot hasn’t happened due to awful weather in California. I wanted to tell a little story about a surprise encounter with another aircraft which appeared to come out of nowhere and then disappear seconds after […]
Virgin De-Orbits, Relativity Scrubs, Axiom’s Space Suit Debuts – Deep Space Updates March 19th
Another round up of space news from the last 2 weeks. Launches from SpaceX, Rocket Lab, China and Russia Effects of the Silicon Valley Bank collaps NASA’s New Budget Axiom’s Space Suit Virgin Orbit suspending operations. Follow me on Twitter for more updates: Tweets by DJSnM I have a discord server where I regularly turn […]
Active Volcanoes On Venus Found in 30 Year Old Images!
Old scientific data sometimes contains important information, in the case of Magellan scientists looking at the data found some really solid evidence that Venusian volcanoes are active, answering a long standing question about the planet. Surface changes observed on a Venusian volcano during the Magellan mission. Robert R. Herrick AND Scott Hensley https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abm7735 The CGI […]
Why Are There Two Different Types Of Electric Space Engines, And How Do They Work?
Electric Propulsion is now a dominant force in space propulsion (pun intended) – in the last few decades more and more spacecraft have adopted Ion thrusters for orbit maintenance or deep space maneuvering, enabling performance that was previously beyond the capabilities of chemical thrusters. There are Two main systems in common use, Gridded Ion thrusters […]
Shiny New Rockets, Old Failed Rockets – Deep Space Updates March 7th
In the last couple of weeks we had 2 big launch failure investigations zero in on the causes. Japan debuted their New HIII rocket. SpaceX starts launching New generation Starlink. Crew 6 Heads to the ISS and a rescue ship finally arrives at the space station. Follow me on Twitter for more updates: Tweets by […]
What Did I Do After The Launch of Kerbal Space Program 2
Sure I’ve been streaming it here and there, messing around with it and breaking things. While also throwing many bug reports to the developers. Follow me on Twitter for more updates: Tweets by DJSnM I have a discord server where I regularly turn up: https://discord.gg/zStmKbM If you really like what I do you can support […]
Could You See The Horsehead Nebula With Your Naked Eye? Deep Space Questions 22
It’s been a few months, but Deep Space Questions returns and there’s a lot of interesting ones here, from simple historical queries about space suit designs, to hypotheticals about firehoses in space. The questions of course come from my supporters over at Patreon, the fine people who donate a small amount to reward me for […]