The next generation of spacecraft propulsion systems could be dead in the water before they are even launched. A physicist is claiming that solar sailing- the idea of using sunlight to blow spacecraft across the solar system- is at odds with the laws of thermal physics.
July 1st, 2003
Boeing To Build Space-borne Power Generator Boeing
Boeing has been named by the Department of Energy (DOE) to lead in the creation of a next-generation power system for future Mars surface missions and the exploration of deep space. Boeing Rocketdyne Propulsion and Power in Canoga Park, Calif., is teamed with Teledyne Energy Systems, Inc. to develop, qualify, and deliver electrical power generation systems for interplanetary missions and probes. The new compact power system, a multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator (MMRTG), will provide unique in-space and planetary surface power capability.
June 18th, 2003
Tether Technology: A New Spin on Space Propulsion
In the near future, revolutionary space hardware could put an exciting spin on spaceflight. NASA is putting money into Momentum-eXchange/Electrodynamic Reboost tether technology — MXER for short — an innovative concept that if implemented would station miles and miles of cart-wheeling cable in orbit around the Earth. Then, rotating like a giant sling, the cable would swoop down and pick up spacecraft in low orbits, then hurl them to higher orbits or even lob them onward to other planets.
June 12th, 2003
Ball To Develop Aerocapture Under NASA Propulsion Study
NASA recently selected Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. to pursue advances in ballute aerocapture, an in-space propulsion innovation. Ball Aerospace was one of 15 organizations chosen to pursue 22 propulsion technology research proposals totaling $20 million that NASA says could revolutionize exploration and scientific study of the solar system.
June 4th, 2003
Advice to NASA supports nuclear-fueled spaceflight Orlando Sentinel
NASA needs to harness the promise of nuclear technology if it hopes to do meaningful work in the solar system, the agency’s top space-science official said Tuesday. Edward Weiler, NASA’s associate administrator for space science, told lawmakers that the space program’s ambitious plan — called Project Prometheus — will enable the agency to do more than has ever been possible. “If we’re going to have a future in the outer solar system, nuclear power is a must,” Weiler told a subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee.
June 4th, 2003
Super-Hero Tech
Real-life crimefighters could soon be getting high-tech, military-style outfits that would rival anything the caped crusader had in his fabled Bat suit and utility belt. The new gear, dubbed LECTUS for Law Enforcement/Corrections Tactical Uniform System, comes courtesy of researchers at the U.S. Army’s National Protection Center at the Soldier Systems Center in Natick, Mass., where they have been working for years to modify some of the latest military innovations for use by police on the home front.
May 27th, 2003
Dupont Joins Effort To Use Nanotech To Enhance Safety Of Soldiers
DuPont will be serving as a founding partner of the new Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies, which today officially opened its 28,000-square foot research and development facility at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The U.S. Army Research Office and MIT recently initiated the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies (ISN) — a $50 million and 150-person initiative that will serve as the Army’s center of expertise in the application of nanotechnology.
May 27th, 2003
A Rover Built for the Red Planet Wired News
A concept vehicle designed to move across the surface of Mars just crossed a hazardous section of frozen Arctic sea on its way to a scientific base station dubbed “Mars on Earth.” The MARS-1 Humvee Rover — an early prototype of a vehicle that could be used if, and when, manned missions make it to the Red Planet — successfully trundled across 23 miles of frozen ice pack in Canada’s high Arctic on May 11.
May 26th, 2003
Flying On Solar Power
United Solar Systems Corp based in Auburn Hills Mich has been awarded an $11,503,782 cost plus fixed fee contract for their program designed to advance the state-of-the-art of ultra lightweight, high efficiency, and flexible thin film solar cell technology for the emerging space and airship markets.
May 19th, 2003
Tumbling Across Distant Worlds
Students from North Carolina State University (NCSU) are helping NASA expand the exploration of the surface of Mars. The team of students and researchers has designed a wind-powered rover that can be blown, like tumbleweed, across the surface of the Red Planet collecting atmospheric and geological samples at multiple locations.