Nuclear Thermal rocket propulsion has been mooted since the 1960s. The idea is to use nuclear power to heat rocket propellants so that the Specific Impulse – the efficiency measure of how much “push” you get per kilo of propellants – is more than doubled compared with...
On 20 January 2023 JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata and NASA astronaut Nicole Mann opened the Quest airlock hatch at 1312 GMT. The astronauts switched their spacesuits to internal battery power to begin their spacewalk at 1314 GMT. Their objective was to install another...
Much changed on Earth and in space during 2022. In July the James Webb Telescope, the largest optical telescope in space, delighted the world with stunning infrared images, revealing the most detailed view ever of the Universe. After a series of stalled attempts,...
NASA has returned to Space X to launch the second Sentinel-6 satellite. In a contract announced on 20 December SpaceX will launch Sentinel-6B/Jason-CS B satellite in November 2025 using a Falcon 9 rocket. This contract is valued at US$94 million. The mission will...
The Soyuz MS-22 sprung a coolant leak while still attached to the International Space Station (ISS) on 14 December. Soyuz MS-22, which brought a crew of three to the ISS in September, is also the crew’s means of returning home. The leak, which spewed droplets of fluid...
After a 25½ day journey to the Moon and back, NASA’s Artemis I mission Orion spacecraft successfully splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, west of Baja California, at 1740 GMT on 11 December. In doing so, it tested out the guidance and thermal protection systems...
