The latest episode of NASA’s Space to Ground report on activities related to the International Space Station:
** Sunset to sunrise as seen from the ISS:
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Chasing New Horizons: Inside the Epic First Mission to Pluto
Carnival of Space #580 – NextBigFuture.com
Videos: 100th launch of an Ariane V rocket sends two satellites to GEO
Yesterday an Ariane V rocket lifted off on the 100th mission of the program, sending two communications satellites towards their slots in geostationary orbit. 100th Ariane 5 launch a success, orbiting two satellites for Intelsat, SKY Perfect JSAT and Azercosmos – Arianespace
The first Ariane V launch took place on June 4, 1996. Unfortunately, the rocket exploded soon after liftoff due to a software problem.
There was another total loss on the 14th launch and three partial failures (two in the 1990s and one last year) occurred when the satellites were put into the wrong orbits and had to use their own fuel to reach the target orbits. In general, though, the Ariane V became a very reliable launcher. Failures early in launch vehicle’s launch history are the norm as seen, for example, with the two SpaceX Falcon 9 explosions (one in flight and one during a pad test).
Scott Manley gives some background on the Ariane V:
Speaking of launches, here is an essay on the fun and excitement of watching a launch: The day I caught rocket fever | The Planetary Society.
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Videos: Leading edge space technologies presented at the 2018 NIAC Symposium
Check out the latest leading edge technology ideas presented this week by winners of NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Program grants at the 2018 NIAC Symposium underway in Boston till Thursday. The agenda (pdf) lists the talks and you can watch the presentations at the NIAC 2018 Livestream.
Below are videos of three of the sessions on Tuesday. The presenters included, for example, Ryan Weed of Positron Dynamics on antimatter catalyzed fusion propulsion, Stephanie Thomas of Princeton Satellite Systems on a plasma magnetic fusion propulsion design, and James Woodward of the Space Studies Institute on a Mach Effect drive.
This video from Princeton Satellite Systems describes their fusion propulsion design:
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Video: TMRO Orbit 11.37 – ” Why send artists to the moon on BFR? #dearMoon”
The latest episode of TMRO.tv looked at the SpaceX announcement of a private passenger flight around the Moon: Why send artists to the moon on BFR? #dearMoon – TMRO.tv
This week we have an epic panel to talk about the recent #dearMoon announcement including Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Emory “VaxHeadroom” Stagmer, Dr. Niamh Shaw and Astronaut Nicole Stott. We focus on the impact of the recent announcement by using a trip around the moon and art to inspire humanity in a totally new way.
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