Tag Archives: space science
Redirect: “The Impact of Sally Ride’s Contributions in Space and Education”
On Friday, May 17, 2013, we held at the National Air and Space Museum here in Washington, D.C., a wonderful program on Sally Ride and her place in the history of spaceflight and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education. … Continue reading
Exoplanets: The Kepler-62 System Compared to Our Solar System
This is so cool. This graphic diagram comes courtesy of the stunning Kepler mission searching for extra-solar planets. Here is the description of this poster: The diagram compares the planets of the inner solar system to Kepler-62, a five-planet system … Continue reading
A New Moon Race?
It’s amazing when you think about it. One might think that there is a new race to the Moon underway, this time with robotic spacecraft rather than astronauts and cosmonauts. There has been a small armada of space probes sent … Continue reading
Nuclear Power Systems for Spacecraft: The Transit Navigational Satellite Connection
Flying in space requires reliable, uninterrupted, stable electrical power, not only for engines to maneuver and navigate but for systems on spacecraft performing a range of functions. During the first two decades of the space age in the 1950s and … Continue reading
Venturing to the Outer Solar System: Pioneer 10 and 11 and the Technology of Long Duration Space Exploration
As the first attempt to send robotic probes to any part of the outer solar system, in 1964 NASA scientists first conceived of what became Pioneer 10 and 11, missions that undertook a “windshield tour” of Jupiter and Saturn as … Continue reading
Redirect: Chicken Little Was Right
I published on March 4, 2013, a new commentary on the policy issues surrounding what to do about asteroid/meteor/comet impacts. Chicken Little Was Right just appeared on the National Air and Space Museum’s blog. It notes that yes, indeed, the … Continue reading
“Lost and Gone Forever”? Clementine and the Blending of Civilian and Military Space Science
I have been working on a study of the Clementine program, a lunar orbiter that flew in 1994. Here is the abstract for this study. I would welcome any thoughts about it. In the early 1990s, just as the Cold … Continue reading
How Do Space Activities Contribute to Our Daily Lives?
I was recently asked this question, how do space activities contribute to our daily lives? I must confess that I have been asked it many times previously. Virtually every time this question is asked, however, it is because the person … Continue reading
Wednesday’s Book Review: “Red Moon Rising: Sputnik and the Hidden Rivalries that Ignited the Space Age”
Red Moon Rising: Sputnik and the Hidden Rivalries that Ignited the Space Age. By Matthew Brzezinski. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2007. The fiftieth anniversary of the launch of Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957, sparked the publication of … Continue reading
Publication of my Edited Work: “Exploring the Solar System: The History and Science of Planetary Exploration”
I am pleased to note that this week Palgrave Macmillan released my edited work, Exploring the Solar System: The History and Science of Planetary Exploration. This book has been years in the making, and includes essays on a broad selection … Continue reading
