Daily Archives: May 10, 2023

view from Mars Getty Images / Nzoka John

Is it time for humans to inhabit space? SpaceX and NASA certainly think so. Elon Musk's space company had its first rocket test flight and Musk has been vocal about his goal to reach Mars. NASA has also made strides towards space habitation byannouncing the crew manning the next mission to the moon and unveiling 3D-printed habitats for four people to live like they would on Mars.

The moon is also viewed as the next colonizable territory for the world, which has launched the U.S. into a fierce space race with China. NASA's Artemis mission aims to get people to the moon once again and use that knowledge to "take the next giant leap: sending the first astronauts to Mars." While the effort has set into high gear, there are plenty of critics of space colonization.

Some argue that there are far too many hurdles to jump before we can actually inhabit space, while others see it as the way of the future.

So far, much of our exploration of space has been through robots and technology, however, humans "canmovefasterthanrobotsandmakequickerdecisions," NASA chief scientist James Green told Upfront. This could allow for Mars and the moon to be studied and analyzed far faster and more efficiently. Sending humans to Mars could be a huge step in discovering whether it once contained life.

NASA revealed a potential habitat for four astronauts to live in Mars-like conditions in preparation for a Mars expedition in the future. "What can take a rover days and weeks to analyze, a person can study in just hours," Green added. NASA also emphasized the goal of its Artemis mission to the moon is to "allow our robots and astronauts to explore more and conduct more science than ever before."

While some view extraplanetary habitation as a way for the human race to survive, others see space travel and colonization as merely a distraction from addressing the problems on Earth. "We should deal with our own environmental issues here first," wroteBruce Dorminey inForbes."Then worry about terraforming Mars." The lessons learned "from cleaning up our own planet and preserving its flora and fauna will only help us when terraforming the world next door."

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Climate change is currently one of the largest problems human civilization is facing. It is threatening our resources and livelihood. Advancing technology like carbon capture methods and geoengineeringas well as switching to renewable energy can help combat climate change but require more investment to come to fruition. "The billions if not trillions of dollars needed to colonize Mars could, for example, be better spent investing in renewable forms of energy to address climate change," argued Zahaan Bharmal of TheGuardian. "There is no guarantee that the same fate would not befall Mars colonists."

Humans are meant to explore and space is simply the next treasure trove of discovery. "The greatest accomplishments come from taking risks, exploring the unknown, and reaching for the stars," remarked Lauren Brace forThe Central Trend. "For a planet that is constantly evolving, it seems only fitting that we expand our horizons to another destination out of this world."

Exploration and discovery are tenets of the human experience and "we pick up the mantle of ourexplorer ancestors, and we explore again," Jack Brady opined inTheMichigan Daily. Having an otherworldly goal gives society a goal to work toward and "expanding, outwardly-focused civilizations are farless likely to turn onthemselves," per Fred Kennedy inForbes. Brady adds that space exploration "gives us an opportunity to dream again to change our course as a species forever."

While the idea of being a species of more than one planet is exciting, the "idea of living on another world where we can't be outside just doesn't sound that appealing," according to Bill Nye. In reality, neither the moon nor Mars has an atmosphere or environment that humans can freely live on as they do on Earth. Mars in particular would require terraforming or "transforming Mars into a more Earth-like habitat," according to USA Today.

"Everything on Earth, from its atmosphere to its climate to its gravity, is a factor that we have evolved around," and in turn, humans have the "extreme disability to survive anywhere other than Earth,"Skyler Verrone wrote in an opinion forThe Triangle. Essentially, "it'sanenormouschallengetogethumanssafelytothesedestinations," senior scientist for the Planetary Science Institute AmandaHendrix told Upfront.

With threats like climate change and nuclear war, moving to the moon or Mars might just be our only hope. Elon Musk has long supported this idea, saying that becoming interplanetary will "safeguard the existence of humanity in the event that something catastrophic were to happen." Perhaps a "Planet B" is not a terrible idea.

Life on Earth is fragile as it is and any number of world-ending events could occur. "In the last 500 million years of the Earth's history there have been five mass extinctions of species," NASA's director of planetary scienceJim Greene, told NBC News."If we're going to live as a species, we're going to have to 'back up' in other places ... and that place is Mars."

Even if we do decide to move to the moon or Mars, the cost is a substantial barrier. Humans "require a vast support infrastructure to provide things like water, food, and breathable air," Bharmal continued. All of these require significant technological advancement in addition to the cost of actually moving people on Earth to the moon or Mars.

"The question isn't whether or not we're technologically capable of doing it, because we are. The question is whether or not we have the political will to do it,"NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine. Governments have long expressed interest in putting man back on the moon and traveling to Mars but fell short when it came to budget. However now, there are private investors like Elon Musk as well as better technology. "The question is: Will we receive the budgetto do it right now?"

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The pros and cons of space colonization - Yahoo News

The actor Ed Harris plays NASA flight director Gene Kranz in the 1995 film Apollo 13, directed by Ron Howard.Credit: Landmark Media/Alamy

Failure is not an option, NASAs legendary flight-operations director Gene Kranz is said to have remarked, as seen in the 1995 film Apollo 13. Actor Ed Harris portrayed Kranz as he guided his team to save a spacecraft that had run into trouble on the way to the Moon. In the movie, as in real life, the three astronauts on the Apollo 13 mission pulled off a spectacular fix and returned safely to Earth.

Not all space ventures have such a tidy ending. A 2019 attempt by Israeli company SpaceIL to land on the Moon crashed. On 20 April this year, a spectacular intentional detonation ended the first major test flight of Starship, the worlds largest rocket, which SpaceX in Hawthorne, California, is building to carry humans back to the Moon and to Mars. The craft had spun out of control four minutes after lifting off its launch pad in Texas. Five days later, a robotic mission from the Japanese company ispace, based in Tokyo, tried and failed to land safely on the Moon.

Moon mission failure: why is it so hard to pull off a lunar landing?

Its crash-landing was devastating not only for the small team of engineers that had built and flown the spacecraft, but also for others whose hopes were riding along with it. When the lander crashed, it pulverized two rovers designed to travel around and explore the Moons surface one built by the space agency of the United Arab Emirates and the other by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. A camera system built by Canadensys Aerospace of Toronto, Canada, which was designed to photograph the rovers deploying, also went up in smoke.

The scientists and engineers involved should not be discouraged by these failures. Space is hard. This is a truism trotted out every time theres an attempt to launch from this planet or land on another. But it is accurate. Those who wish to explore the cosmos should expect to fail perhaps many times before they can succeed.

Engineering requires iteration, time and again: first to design machines that might work and then to test them against as many possible scenarios in which things could, and of course do, go wrong.

As with all failures, the Starship explosion will teach scientists and engineers valuable lessons before the craft attempts to fly again. Along with studying why the rockets 33 engines did not all ignite and burn as they were supposed to, SpaceX also needs to reckon with the extensive environmental damage caused when Starships launch pelted nearby communities with more sand and debris than expected. NASA is watching this process closely, because it is depending on Starship for its plans to send humans back to the Moon in the coming years.

Private ispace Moon landing fails: researchers are investigating

Ispace, too, will study and learn from its missions problems, ahead of a planned second launch next year. It looks as if the spacecraft ran out of propellant just before reaching the surface, causing it to crash-land.

Humans live in a culture in which it seems as if everything must go right the first time we try it, but that is not how successful products are developed, nor how science unfolds especially in space. Back in the 1960s, both the US space programme and the Soviet Unions equivalent went through a process of trial and error, as they tried time after time to land the first Moon missions, and failed repeatedly. Both learnt from each attempt and incorporated those lessons the next time around.

Kranz did not actually say Failure is not an option although that didnt stop him using the phrase as the title of his 2000 autobiography. In research and development, failure is indeed an option. In fact, it can be a necessary learning objective on the path to success.

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In space, failure is an option often the only one - Nature.com

Virgin Galactic announces return to space, crew

Las Cruces native and New Mexico State University graduate Jamila Gilbert is one of four Virgin Galactic employees who will serve as a mission specialists to evaluate the astronaut experience when the company returns to space later this month. The aerospace and space travel company Virgin Galactic yesterday announced the crew and its plans to return to space after close to two years in order to conduct the final assessment of the spaceflight system and astronaut experience before commercial service begins in late June. Returning to space is what we have all worked towards, President of Spaceline Missions and Safety Mike Moses said in a statement. Our mission specialists were selected for their diverse expertise, and they couldnt be better suited to validate the astronaut training program and overall experience. After this flight we will begin flying our customers to space. Gilbert, according to a news release, is a non-engineer who has been with the company since 2019 where she has been an integral part of our team, leading internal communicationsas a Latina woman of Purpechan-Mexican roots, a visual artist and a communications professional who speaks four languages, Jamila will bring a different perspective from the pilots and engineers who have flown before her. Last month, Virgin Galactic completed its glide flight from Spaceport America, another key step, the company said, before starting commercial flights.

Santa Fe District 1 Councilor Renee Villarreal announced yesterday she wont run for re-election come Nov. 7. When I first started on this path as an elected official, I indicated that I would commit to two terms (eight years), and then step down to create space for the next leader as part of my values of building community leadership and ensuring diverse voices have access to positions of power, Villarreal says in a statement. Villarreal also praised Alma Castro, a local organizer and owner of Caf Castro, who announced her intentions to run for the seat last week. I am thrilled to see another woman of color run for public office and am proud of Alma Castro for stepping up! Villarreal says. I have known Alma through the decades and have appreciated her leadership as a community organizer and small business owner. As a local Santafesina, she is running for the right reasons. Several other candidates also reportedly indicated their interest in the District 1 seat yesterdaythe start of the public financing campaign period. Villarreals announcement leaves two vacant seats in the upcoming municipal election; District 3 Councilor Chris Rivera also announced last week he wont seek re-election, whereas Districts 2 and 4 Councilors Michael Garcia and Jamie Cassutt will each seek another term.

I am not in LA, so I cannot walk a picket line as I did in 1988, but I want to go on the record with my full and complete and unequivocal support of my Guild. So writes Santa Fe-based Game of Thrones author/creator George RR Martin in a recent blog post supporting Writers Guild of America union members, who went on strike May 2. Martin notes that he has experienced several such strikes since he began writing for television and film in 1986. The 1988 strike, the first I was a part of, lasted 22 weeks, the longest in Hollywood history. The 2007-2008 strike, the most recent, went for 100 days. This one may go longer. The issues are more important, imnsho, and I have never seen the Guild so united as it is now. In a subsequent post yesterday, Martin expounds upon what he considers the most important issue at stake in the strike: the so-called mini rooms that the Guild is hoping to abolish, and the terrible impact they are having on writers at the start of their careers. Martin learned how to write for TV, he says, in the writers room on the set of The Twilight Zone; I was the most junior of junior writers, maybe a hot(ish) young writer in the world of SF, but in TV I was so green that I would have been invisible against a green screen, Martin writes. And that, in my opinion, is the most important of the things that the Guild is fighting for. The right to have that kind of career path. To enable new writers, young writers, and yes, prose writers, to climb the same ladder. The way shows work now, he says, the showrunner assembles a mini-room, made up of a couple of senior writers and a couple newcomers and the chance to learn on set has been lost. Variety magazine reported yesterday several major studies are suspending first-look and other deals amid the ongoing strike.

State Public Education Secretary Arsenio Romero yesterday announced five new members of his leadership team, who will oversee areas ranging from policy to curriculum to equity. These education leaders embody our vision to boost student outcomes across the board, Romero said in a statement. Thought, care and intention were put into the selection process to produce a varied team of individuals poised to affect change. This is my personal dream team. Seana Flanagan, who has been in the position of managing director in an interim capacity, has been named to that position; she has been with PED since 2014, and previously served as division director of education quality. Gregory Frostad, former interim Policy and Legislative Affairs director and Safe and Healthy Schools director is now assistant secretary of Policy and Research. Amanda DeBell, who is currently Albuquerque Public Schools Zone 3 schools associate superintendent will be the departments deputy secretary of Teaching, Learning and Innovation. KatieAnn Juanico, who formerly worked for San Felipe Pueblo as its education director, is now assistant secretary of Indian Education for the state. The only out-of-state hire, Candice Castillo, is currently executive officer of Student Support Services at Houston Independent School District and will be coming to New Mexico to serve as deputy secretary of Identity, Equity and Transformation. According to a news release, Castillo will oversee such things as federal programs, safe and healthy schools, language and culture, and the Black and Hispanic education acts, as well as student, school and family support.

Reported May 8: New cases: 293 (includes the weekend); 681,034 total cases. Deaths: 0 Statewide fatalities: 9,236; Santa Fe County has had 410 total deaths; Statewide hospitalizations: 57; patients on ventilators: four. The state health department will stop reporting daily COVID-19 cases on May 11.

The Centers for Disease and Prevention most recent May 4 community levels map shows two New Mexico counties have turned yellow, depicting medium levels: Colfax and McKinley. The rest of the counties remain green, aka have low levels.

Resources: Receive four free at-home COVID-19 tests per household via COVIDTests.gov; Check availability for additional free COVID-19 tests through Project ACT; CDC interactive booster eligibility tool; NM DOH vaccine & booster registration; CDC isolation and exposure interactive tool; COVID-19 treatment info; NMDOH immunocompromised tool kit. People seeking treatment who do not have a medical provider can call NMDOHs COVID-19 hotline at 1-855-600-3453.

You can read all of SFRs COVID-19 coverage here.

On the most recent episode of KSFRs CinemaScope podcast, host Nazneen Akhtar Rahim talks with stand-up comedian Mona Shaikh, the first Pakistani female comedian to be selected for the Laughs Factory Funniest Person in the World Competition. Host of her own show Minority Reportz, Shaikh talks about how she broke into the industry. Stand-up comedy is a hard life, Shaikh says. So, if you grew up in a normal stable loving home, theres no need to do stand-up. Being born and partially raised in Pakistan, she never planned to enter the industry, she says, noting: I truly believe that you dont choose comedy; comedy chooses you.

As part of its Culture Shifters series, Huffington Post spotlights 23-year-old filmmaker Kymon Greyhorse (Navajo and Tongan), whose short film I Am Home was chosen for the 2023 Sundance Film Festival just six months after Greyhorsewho grew up in both New Mexico and Utahgraduated from the University of New Mexico. I Am Home, the story notes, began as a poem Greyhorse wrote during the pandemic while isolating in Albuquerque. All of that built-up loneliness and feeling lost and confused of what the future looked like for meit was like I was almost desperate for anything that would ground me while I was slowly drifting off, Greyhorse tells Huffington Post. I wanted to feel family. I wanted my anxiety to fade away and for someone to tell me that Im good and that this feeling isnt forever. So I took all of those emotions and put it to words. Last year, Greyhorse released his first narrative short film Can I Love You? inspired by his mother and the addiction and violence she encountered growing up on the Navajo reservation. About the film, Greyhorse says in his directors statement: My mom was the backbone of the family, the responsible one that grew up too fast. She tried her best to hide and protect my aunt and uncles from the ugliness but would soon watch them indulge in the same poisons of substance abuse, domestic violence, and neglect. She had dreams she thought mightve been too big. Ones that seemed too good to be true. Ultimately, he says, the film is a love letter to my mom.

While we normally eschew spreading conspiracy theories, were making an exception for one that involves our favorite topic: chile peppers. In this case: jalapeos. Dallas-based D Magazine dining critic Brian Reinhart began his investigation into the de-spicification of jalapeos in his own kitchen, writing: Its not just you: jalapeo peppers are less spicy and less predictable than ever before. As heat-seekers chase ever-fiercer varieties of pepperCarolina reapers, scorpions, ghoststhe classic jalapeo is going in the opposite direction by design. He then speaks with Dallas-area chefs, many of whom agree jalapeos have lost their fieriness. But you cant just yak with Texans if you want to investigate chile peppers; you have to consult the expertsin this case: Stephanie Walker, extension vegetable specialist at New Mexico State University, advisory board member of that universitys Chile Pepper Institute, and chair of the 2023 New Mexico Chile Conference. Walker says shes heard the complaints about jalapeos diminishing kick and, it turns out, she has a theory, which Reinhart characterizes as the vast jalapeo conspiracy. We wont completely spoil the story of how jalapeos lost their punch (its a good read) but suffice it to say: big processing, cross-breeding and Texas shoulder some of the blame.

The National Weather Service forecasts another relatively calm day for Santa Fe, with sunny skies, a high temperature near 72 degrees and north wind 5 to 15 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon. However, elevated fire conditions are in effect throughout much of the state and, yesterday, interagency fire officials reported the Las Cocas fire, burning just south of Guadalupita in Mora County. As of last night, the fire was at estimated at 75 to 100 acres and 10% containment, with volunteer firefighters digging hand lines; and Santa Fe hot shots en route. The cause of the fire is under investigation. In the wake of last years devastating Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon wildfire, caused by prescribed burns, fire officials this week say they postponed a scheduled prescribed burn scheduled to have begun Sunday in the Carson National Forest in response to this weeks dangerous fire weather.

Thanks for reading! The Word almost wishes she was in New Jersey so she could visit the Toni Morrison: Sites of Memory exhibition at Princeton University Library, about which Jasmine Liu writes compellingly in the LA Times Review of Books.

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Virgin Galactic Announces Return to Space, Crew | - Santa Fe Reporter

Experience the extraordinary world of space travel in Grande Centre Point Space Pattaya

Humans love to travel, to explore, and to experience new things. And because of that love and curiosity, it even pushed for the development of space exploration where astronauts go out of the earth to travel the universe and explore the unknown.

But not all of us can do that. The good thing is, some hotels and accommodations are bringing the space travel experience closer to its customers through space themed hotels and parks. One of those establishments is the Grande Centre Point Space. Located at Pattaya, in Thailand, this hotel is named as Thailand's first-ever space themed hotel.

A product of innovative cutting edge design and technology, this hotel has 490 space rooms and suites inspired from actual space capsules, 12,000 square meter space water park, game zones, and a lot more.

Prior check-in, guests can already have a taste of spaces top-notch technology. By moving their hands to the 88 square meter interactive wall, they can embark on fun and exciting adventures by completing computer generated missions.

In time of entering their capsules, they will be greeted by a space equipped with Wi-Fi, bathtub, shower, balcony with overlooking view of Pattaya Beach, that they enjoy with complimentary snacks and softdrinks in every room. Meanwhile, those who will book their own space suites will have all of the mentioned features plus built-in bluetooth speaker, capsule coffee with its machine, and jacuzzi. At night time, guests can opt to switch on the space light features in the room. These lights mimic the wonders of celestial space at night. Its like exploring the universe while laying in the comfort of their own bed.

After a relaxing sleep, guests can enjoy the hotels vast water park. This Space Water Park is divided into four theme zonesflying rocks, mountain, space pirate beach, and planet zone. Adrenaline junkies will have a great time in flying zones for it has two water chutes including an eight-meter slide tower, that will send them flying into an endless loop. This zone also has its outdoor playground with a sandpit and trampoline.

For those who love a chill time with nature, the mountain zone features a lazy river, a cave pool, and jungle jacuzzi. Meanwhile, party goers will surely flock to the space pirate beach zone. Made with artificial white sand beach with waves, this zone also has its own space beach bar that does not simply offer drinks but some of Thailands famous street food. Lastly, families, especially the kids will enjoy the planet zone, as it has its own mini golf course, pool, and amphitheater.

On top of all of these, Grande Centre Point Space Pattaya is also boasting its various in-house restaurants including the Orbit that has 420 sitting capacity and offers a wide selection of buffet and other menu options. Theres also the Solo Luna, the hotels rooftop restaurant, where guests can enjoy the magnificent view of Pattaya while enjoying Thai food.

And this is how ordinary humans can travel to space without leaving the Earth.

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A tour inside the Thailand's first space themed hotel - Manila Bulletin

When we think of space exploration, one name always stands out: Buzz Aldrin. Aldrin was thesecond human to touch the moon.These days, you can call him Brigadier General Aldrin, as the United States Space Force has named him an honorary Guardian. It's no surprise, really. Aldrin has been a key figure in space history, bringing invaluable experience and knowledge to the newest branch of our military.

From moonwalker to Space Force

Buzz Aldrin's journey began in 1930 when he was born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. Growing up loving aviation, Aldrinfollowed his passion and became a fighter pilot in the United States Air Force. In 1963, he was one of several aviators selected as an astronaut. In turn, this paved the way for his historic Apollo 11 mission in 1969. That year, Aldrin and fellow astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first humans to walk on the moon.

Aldrin's involvement in the USSF is more than just an honorary title. As a seasoned astronaut and veteran, he contributes a wealth of expertise to developing and implementing space-based defense strategies. The USSF,established in December 2019, is the sixth branch of the United States military. Guardians defend America's interests in space, ensuring that our military can access and control critical space-based assets. Now, Aldrin will have a hand in that, too.

Aldrin's role in the Space Force

As an Honorary Brigadier General, Buzz has the added perk of skipping daily PT, which might make a few folks jealous. At the DFAC (and probably in his office), he'll be dishing out advice and mentorship to the newest iteration of America's warfighters. Given his incredible achievements, BG Aldrin's mere presence is likley to inspire not just Guardians, but all service members, and Americans, too. In addition, he'll be advocating for careers in the growing field of space defense, motivating a new generation to join the Space Force.

Lessons from a lunar legend

Buzz Aldrin's life story is a testament to the power of hard work, perseverance, and passion. His commitment to pushing the boundaries of human exploration can be a valuable lesson for those in the Space Force and beyond.

Here are a few key takeaways from Aldrin's incredible journey:

Embrace Challenge: Aldrin's trip to the moon was fraught with risks and obstacles. However, he embraced the challenge and achieved what many thought was impossible.

Pursue Excellence: Throughout his career, Aldrin has been dedicated to mastering his craft. His pursuit of excellence helped him become a key figure in one of the most significant achievements in human history.

Be Adaptable: Aldrin has remainedrelevant and influential in space exploration long after his historic moonwalk. By adapting to new roles and staying engaged in the conversation, he has continued to shape the future of space travel and defense.

Buzz Aldrin's involvement with the United States Space Force underscores the importance of investing in our nation's space capabilities. As America and the world look to the stars, we need leaders like Aldrin to inspire and guide us to protect our assets. In turn, we'll ensure our nation's security and help maintain America's role as a global innovation leader.

In the words of Buzz Aldrin, "We explore or we expire." His dedication and contributions to the USSF remind us that the final frontier is not just a place for dreamers and scientists but also for our military's brave men and women.

Buzz Aldrin's contributions to this new frontier in military defense are significant, as they help to ensure that our military is well-equipped and prepared for the challenges of the 21st century. Moreover, as a trailblazer in space exploration, Aldrin's experience and wisdom provide valuable insights for future Space Force members. In turn, shapes a generation of leaders who will navigate the complexities of space defense, paving the way for a safer and more secure future.

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Buzz Aldrin named Brigadier General by Space Force - We Are The Mighty

Space is not just the preserve of scientists and astronauts. Its also big business and has an impact on our economy and may even one day become a tourist destination.

Our hugely-experienced Kiplinger Letter team will update you on all the important developments (Get a free issue of The Kiplinger Letter or subscribe). Heres the latest forecast

The rising challenges in space are highlighted by Virgin Orbits recent bankruptcy. The launch company struggled to rise amid a crowded field of space firms and underscores the froth in the market that we noted in January.

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Virgin Orbit (VORBQ) was vying to offer flexibility and lower costs to take small satellites into orbit. The company, founded in 2017, has launched 33 satellites but burned through $1 billion in cash and couldnt find more funding to keep operating, resulting in nearly 700 layoffs.

For now, the number of rocket launch providers well exceeds demand, especially with the economy slowing in the near term. Consider that even SpaceX, the leading launch provider, needs to secure funding to continue operations.

Meanwhile, note an upcoming milestone for the commercial space industry: SpaceXs first launch of its Starship, a first-of-its-kind reusable rocket thats nearly 400 feet tall, with a payload capacity of up to 150 tons. The initial focus is bringing satellites into orbit, but the rocket is capable of taking a crew to the moon or possibly Mars.

SpaceX says it will be able to carry 100 people on long flights. The huge, reusable rocket will usher in a new era of commercial space travel.

This forecast first appeared in the The Kiplinger Letter. Since 1925, the Letter has helped millions of business executives and investors profit by providing reliable forecasts on business and the economy, as well as what to expect from Washington. Get a free issue of The Kiplinger Letter or subscribe.

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Virgin Orbit Failure Casts Cloud Over Space Voyages - Kiplinger's Personal Finance

Rob Mather of IFS identifies the five key developments that will bring profits back for commercial aviation in 2023. (Photo: IFS)

An overriding sense of optimism is rippling through the aviation industry again after a turbulent couple of years. Profits look set to return to airlines for the first time since 2019 as predicted by the International Air Transport Association. Rob Mather, Vice President, Aerospace and Defense Industries, IFS identifies the five key developments that will bring profits back to the industry. His predictions span new modes of travel on earth and space to new manufacturing developments, not to forget the need to negotiate the bumps in the road caused by maintenance and sustainment challenges.

A net profit of $4.7 billion and a 0.6% net profit margin is on the table for the aviation industry in 2023 according to the International Air transport Association (IATA) figuresthe first profitable year since 2019. Fueling these rises in profit is a 20% increase in deliveries of large aircraft by compared to 2022 figures and production rates will match this increase by the end of FY 2023, according to Fitch Ratings figures. It also predicts the increase in air traffic to boost aftermarket sales and maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services.

Exploiting these opportunities in the aviation value chain are crucial with slim profit margins, so any chance for marginal gain is essential to explore. Some of these profits can be realized within five growth areas in the aviation industry on both a macro and micro scale.

Unstable supply chains are one of the biggest causes for concern within the aerospace and aviation industry. Deloitte stated in its most recent Aerospace & Defense Industry Outlook, that it believes there will be a shift to regional sourcing from global sourcing next year, including the transfer of raw materials, parts, and complete A&D goods globally. A key priority for aviation businesses to diversify their supply chains to pivot to local sourcing and near-shoring to prevent concentration risks across the supply chain. One method that is seems tailor made to enable this push towards localization is additive manufacturing (AM)which is already showing its potential and is designed to help reduce, control, and lessen supply chain challenges. AM has already been found to reduce cost and lead time of spare parts/inventory management by 60-90% compared to other manufacturing methods.

3D printing is already being implemented by many airline operators and MRO providers in a range of ways. After Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) couldnt find off-the-shelf engine covers, exhaust plugs and other parts due to supply chain issues for its stored aircraft, the airline turned to partnering with a local aviation engineering business with 3D printing capabilities to print the relevant parts. Recently, a component for the IAE-V2500 engines anti-icing system received official aviation certification from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) after being manufactured by Lufthansa Techniks Additive Manufacturing (AM) Center. Despite these advancements there are still bumps in the road to wide adoption and regulatory success, but the future is bright for local suppliers having a role in play in improving the resilience of the aviation industry supply chain and additive manufacturing will be crucial in this journey.

In 2023, were looking at a new kind of space race. NASA and SpaceX both have lunar visits in their sights. The widely covered NASA Artemis Moon Mission will eventually include a crewed lunar landing. Meanwhile SpaceX is targeting making lunar orbits more accessible with its Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket. Its dearMoon mission is a weeklong journey containing a crew of artists, content creators, and athletes from all around the world that will travel within 200 km of the lunar surface. Other space tourism market entrants include Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic, all contributing to the industry exhibiting a huge Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 36.4% from 2022-2028.

Beyond space tourism, there are other areas of focus in the increasingly commercialized space sector. As the number of satellites providing critical on-earth infrastructure support increasesfor communications connectivity, navigation, weather observation etc. Space Infrastructure Servicing (SIS) or in-orbit servicing is becoming a growing addressable market. This includes the life extension, phasing, repair, and maintenance of critical assets as they orbit the earth. The market is huge. Some research organizations forecast as much $14.3 Billion In-orbit Servicing & Manufacturing revenue through 2030. In 2023 expect to see enabling technology evolve alongside the expanded commercialization of space.

The commercial aviation advanced air mobility (AAM) industry is still in start-up mode. There are some stand-out OEMs manufacturing the next-generation of air transportation, but there is still more progress to be made in terms of aviation authority certification and creating the supporting infrastructure to manage these new methods of travel. Projections from the Advanced Air Mobility Index show that 24% of the top AAM start-ups are expected to move from prototype and testing to Entry into Service (EIS) over 2023 and 2024.

On the regulatory side, there are also encouraging breakthroughs. At the beginning of November 2022, the FAA proposed its criteria for the Joby Aviation Model JAS4-1 eVTOL air taxi aircraft to be certifiedproviding an example of how eVTOL certification would work in practice. In December, the FAA published its proposed airworthiness criteria for Archers Midnight eVTOL. Over the next few years, as the industry matures, many of these manufacturers will become the operators and maintainers of these new air assets.

To get there though, the advanced air vehicle manufacturers will need to shift from prototyping mode to production mode. As start-ups this is new territory for most of the leading AAM companies, and infrastructure that can provide a digital backbone capable of supporting AAM system design, manufacturing, supply chain, and aftermarket services, will be essential to develop the successful commercialization and sustainment of AAM now and into the future.

On the flip side, traditional airframe sustainment and support is also coming under the microscope. A large proportion of top airlines are managing their maintenance processes through highly configured ERP implementations, older best of breed systems, or legacy software. While some of these implementations are coming to the end of their system lifecycles, getting to the point where existing software used to manage aviation maintenance needs to be replaced, others are being forced to upgrade by their software vendor. These upgrades involve a major technology shift, and particularly with the heavily customized ERP implementations, will even end up requiring the effort of a brand-new implementation. These upgrades are required just to keep maintenance software operational, let alone support new business models, growth plans or new aircraft introductions.

Investment in modern aviation maintenance software is vital for airlines to grow and thrive in the current marketplace. Evergreen maintenance solutions will enable airlines to deploy continuous improvements over time instead of massive upgrade projects at the end of system lifecycles. An evergreen solution will guarantee ongoing system performance characteristics, and scale MRO to meet passenger and business demand now and into the future. This will also enable them to capitalize on new embedded technologies to improve automation and optimization, while maintaining security standards.

This is underlined by a recent ARC Advisory Group report: There is a growing trend among carriers with large fleets to seek enterprise level core MRO solutions that are more comprehensive in scope (fleet/line, engine, component, heavy maintenance), and are at enterprise scale. Based on the research of this study, legacy ERP/MES systems are being replaced or seek replacement by core MRO solution sets at enterprise scale. The shift in the market share of MRO software solution providers reflects this growing trend among the top carriers.

Sustainability is progressing in the aviation industry as more businesses make sustainability promises, progress is being made for traditional and new forms of aircraft propulsion. More sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is being used to power traditional aircraft flights. SAF production is expected to close out 2022 at 300 million liters according to IATA Figures a tripling over 2021 production. SAF is predicted to account for 65% of the mitigation needed to meet industry net zero CO2 emissions targets, meaning production will must rise to 450 billion liters annually by 2050. The positive sign is that over 50 airlines and over 450,000 of total commercial flights are using SAF as shown by IATA.

For new modes of air transport, AAM is seen by Deloitte as crucial for the industry to meet its sustainability targets, especially due to the progress in certification and Entry into Service shown above. This is already starting happen, and the AAM industry is receiving more investment and orders from airline operators including Air Canada, United Airlines, and Japan Airlines according to Cirium.

AAMs have a huge role to play in the reduction of emissions for regional or urban movementa recent Deloitte study predicts AAMs to reduce travel time by 75% with zero operating emissions for a 25-mile intracity trip. In support of this is McKinsey estimates flights below 600 miles in length, make up for 17% of total airline CO2 emissions. Put these together and its clear AAM can help alleviate emissions problems due to their electrification and hybrid propulsion features incorporated into standard airframes for short-haul and regional distances.

2023 is the year for the aviation sector to reach new heights

Following a tough period for the aviation industry, the difference between profit and loss for many businesses will be these macro and micro-level developments. The aviation organizations that explore these new manufacturing processes, new methods of propulsion and new methods of air transport will quickly grab market share as the aviation sector progresses through 2023 and beyond.

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OPINION: A Return to Profitability for Commercial Aviation - Avionics ... - Aviation Today

Over the years, the vastness of space and encountering extraterrestrial life have long captivated our imaginations. Many movies have sought to portray these captivating themes with a touch of realism. These movies introduce us to the world of space and aliens, and here are 12 that do an excellent job of that.

Contact is a movie centered on a scientist, played by Jodie Foster. While investigating extraterrestrial life, he receives a mysterious signal from outer space. The film explores the complexities of scientific exploration in search for extraterrestrial intelligence.

Contact captivates audiences with an engaging storyline and enthralling performances. It also delves into the profound implications of encountering alien civilizations.

This movie is an intellectually stimulating film that showcases the difficulties of communicating with aliens. Starring Amy Adams, the movie follows a linguistics expert recruited to decipher an alien language.

As she delves deeper into the alien world, she unravels its impact on human perception of reality. Arrival offers a fresh take on the challenges and possibilities of interstellar communication.

Europa Report takes viewers on a thrilling journey to one of Jupiter's moons, Europa. This movie is about a crew of astronauts on a dangerous mission to uncover Jupiter's moon.

This movie'srealistic depiction of space travel and the inherent risks involved offers a gripping insight into humanity's extraterrestrial discovery.

This thriller combines horror and science fiction elements to engage this genre's lovers. The plot of this movie centers on astronauts who encounter deadly alien species in space.

This film explores the crew's moral dilemmas when encountering an extraterrestrial threat. Alien Covenant offers an intense atmosphere, an excellent storyline, and captivating visuals.

District 9 presents a unique take on man's first contact with extraterrestrial beings. Set in a near-future Johannesburg, the film portrays the segregation and mistreatment of stranded aliens.

It delves into the complexities of prejudice, identity, and humanity's response to the unknown. It also blends social commentary with thrilling action and a strong plot. This movie's compelling narrative and impressive visual effects make it a standout film in the genre.

This classic sci-fi film explores the human fascination with alien encounters. The movie follows ordinary individuals drawn to a series of unexplained phenomena.

As they attempt to decipher these encounters, more curious factors arise. It also explores the possibility of communication with intelligent beings from beyond our world.

This movie is about a thrilling journey to discover aliens in the ocean's depths. The plot centers on a group of scientists and astronauts sent to investigate a mysterious spacecraft found in the ocean.

They encounter a sphere that grants them unimaginable powers while exploring a spacecraft. This suspenseful film explores the psychological impact of engaging alien technology.

Moonfall showcases a catastrophic event where the moon is knocked out of its orbit and travels toward Earth. A group of astronauts is sent to avoid the moon colliding with the Earth.

This film explores human resilience and the lengths we go to save our planet from an extraterrestrial threat.

Apollo 18 presents an account of a secret lunar mission that uncovers terrifying alien encounters.

It follows a crew of astronauts encountering mysterious creatures on the moon, which leads to a suspenseful and chilling exploration of the dangers lurking beyond our planet.

Annihilation takes us on a thrilling journey into an alien-infested zone called The Shimmer. A team of scientists ventures into this zone to unravel its secrets. This movie explores the relationship between humans and aliens.

The Martian is a space travel movie about an astronaut stranded on Mars after his crew believes him dead. Facing overwhelming odds, he must rely on his resourcefulness and ingenuity to survive while awaiting rescue.

The Martian showcases the challenges and triumphs of human perseverance in isolation and uncertainty.

Morons from Outer Space offers a fun approach to stories regarding alien contact. In this comedy, four hapless aliens from space accidentally crash-land on Earth.

They become mistaken for humans because they resemble earth beings. Becoming unwitting celebrities, they struggle to adapt to human society. This film provides a funny perspective on the cultural difference between aliens and humans.

This thread inspired this post.

This article was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.

Boloere Seibidor, fondly called B.S. is a Nigerian-based writer and poet. Her favorite topics to cover include music, especially Hip-Hop, film, lifestyle, and fashion. She's been published by Feral Journal, Fantasy Magazine, The Temz Review, and most notably, Wealth of Geeks. She enjoys romantic dinners, movie nights, and touring new sites. When she's not writing, she's delving back in time to the underground world of Hip-Hop, watching TikTok, or visiting the cinema.

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12 Realistic Films About Space Travel and Making Contact With Aliens - Wealth Of Geeks

THE GREAT WALL FROM SPACE

No, you cant see the Great Wall of China from outer space Buzz Aldrin repeatedly tried to end this urban myth. Only from a few hundred kilometres above Earth can shuttle astronauts see the Great Wall when the sun hits it at the right angle. You can see plenty of other objects from low orbit, such as airports, dams, bridges, big highways and Dubais reclaimed Palm Islands. See

Do the Yupik and Inuit have exceptional numbers of words to describe snow? Thats debatable, because it depends how you define a word. Eskimo-Aleut languages, like German, create compound words, for example for snow that is falling or snow suitable for sleds that are short phrases but still shared concepts in English. English incidentally has 30-something words for snow and ice. See

No, not that one. Its the Great Pyramid of Cholula near Puebla in Mexico, whose volume of 3.3 million cubic metres is almost 50 per cent greater than that of Egypts largest pyramid. Its base is four times larger. The Mexican pyramid can probably claim to be the largest monument ever built. However, much of it remains buried, and its now topped with a church. See

Your parents probably warned you about swimming right after lunch; the theory is that blood rushes to your stomach so your limbs just flop, and youll drown. Actually, normal meals create no problem for swimmers, although heavy meals can cause discomfort after any vigorous exercise. Just before they set off, marathon swimmers tuck into meals high in carbohydrates without sinking to the bottom. See

Ships and aircraft are said to mysteriously vanish into this section of the North Atlantic in a myth that can be traced back to American newspaper and magazine articles from the 1950s. Credible research from the likes of the US Coast Guard, Lloyds shipping insurers and scientific investigators have found no disproportionate disappearances within the Bermuda Triangle, only plenty of inaccurate, exaggerated and inventive reporting. See

Many people assume the famous Cape of Good Hope is Africas southernmost point. In fact, the less-well-known Cape Agulhas is 55 kilometres further south and the geographic tip of Africa, as well as the official divider between the Atlantic and Indian oceans. The name means Cape of Needles in Portuguese and its a notorious shipping hazard thanks to storms and rogue waves. See

This legend arose when the Earl of Carnarvon, who financed the discovery of King Tuts tomb in 1923, died shortly afterwards. The death rate of others associated with the discovery was no more than normal. Archaeologist Howard Carter lived another 16 years and tomb guard Richard Adamson survived until 1982. Arthur Conan Doyle was a prominent voice in promoting the curse, but he also believed in fairies. See

Marco Polo didnt introduce pasta from China in the thirteenth century. His book never mentions noodles, and writing about pasta in Italy predates his return from China. This myth has been traced to an article in the American Macaroni Journal in the 1920s. Pasta almost certainly originated in Sicily under its ninth-century Islamic rulers, likely thanks to the influence of Persian and Arab cuisine. See

Its frequently said that medieval Europeans and even 1492 explorer Christopher Columbus feared falling off the Earth. Rubbish. The ancient Greeks knew the Earth was spherical Aristotle proved it in 330 BCE and so did early Christians and early Muslim scholars. This myth was promoted in the nineteenth century by prominent writers such as Washington Irving, often in an attempt to discredit the Catholic Church. See

Okay, this wont be a myth until mid-2023, but it will be an ongoing one if we dont update our general knowledge. The United Nations says India will soon have a population of 1.42 billion, three million more than Chinas. The figures are inexact, since no Indian census has been carried out since 2011, but Indias population continues to rise, while Chinas is shrinking. See

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Dont be fooled: 10 of the biggest travel myths, busted - Sydney Morning Herald

On Friday, A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket completed a successful launch from Cape Canaveral, carrying commercial communications equipment as well as NASAs TEMPO earth observation instrument. It was the 23rd launch of the year by Elon Musks spacefaring organization, which is by far the most popular owner of satellites in Earths orbit. While the launch went off without a hitch, SpaceX has not always been so lucky. Two Falcon 9s have been lost during missions, the last being in 2016. But the explosions and breakups of unmanned commercial craft are far from the worst thing to happen in the history of mankinds ventures into space.

To find the worst disasters in space flight history, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed various media outlets. We included events and explosions from multiple space agencies. Many of the disasters listed ended in the deaths of astronauts, and all resulted in a substantial loss of investment and assets and represented major setbacks in the advancement of spaceflight. The events are listed in chronological order.

Space travel, and the preparations for it, is an extremely dangerous undertaking. Space travelers can face extreme temperatures because of a lack of oxygen, lack of gravity, the loss of cabin pressure. On the ground, personnel working on the rocket at the launch pad are handling highly flammable materials. (Also see, the largest spacecraft to crash back to Earth.)

Many of the tragedies occurred during training incidents in high-oxygen environments where a single spark can ignite a fire. Others happened at launches or on reentry back into Earths atmosphere. Not all of the aircraft involved were designed for going into outer space. Some, such as the X-15, were used in sub-orbital or atmospheric flights. Even so, crew members of such aircraft fly at high Mach speeds and are subject to high gravitational forces (g-forces).

With the end of the Cold War, we have more information about the extent of Soviet space tragedies as well as the success and reliability of its technology. Yet even today, we still do not know the full human cost of Chinese space mishaps.

Click here to see 20 of the worst disasters in space flight history.

Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

1. Vanguard TV-3>Date: Dec. 6, 1957>Agency: NASA>Mission: Satellite launch

In the wake of the successful launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik in October 1957, the U.S. supercharged its two space programs: the National Academy of Sciences, and the joint U.S. Army Ballistic Missile Agency-Jet Propulsion Laboratory project. Two months later, the Vanguard Test Vehicle 3, developed by the Naval Research Laboratory and led by the National Academy of Sciences, lifted off to about a height of 4 feet, then the engine thrust gave out and it fell back onto the pad and exploded.

The press called the failed attempt Flopnik and Kaputnik. The result of the fiasco and the inefficiency of different organizations pushed the U.S. government to create a single space agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, in 1958.

The Vanguard satellite, the 6-inch 3-pound satellite which was thrown away from the explosion and damaged, was recovered and is on display at the Smithsonian Institutions National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

Source: sdasmarchives / Flickr

2. Juno II rocket>Date: July 16, 1959>Agency: NASA>Mission: Satellite launch

On July 16, 1959, NASA launched the Juno II rocket carrying the Explorer S1 satellite. During takeoff at Cape Canaveral, Florida, the four-stage rocket veered off course toward the Florida mainland and was ordered to self-destruct by the launch sites safety officer at a height of 100 feet. This was the third Juno II mission, and the first to fail during launch. No one was hurt.

The Juno II rocket was developed for lifting relatively heavy payloads. Of the 10 rocket launches between Dec. 6, 1958 and May 24, 1961, five missions failed because of rocket malfunctions during launch.

Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

3. Titan I>Date: Dec. 12, 1959>Agency: NASA>Mission: Test flight

At the dawn of intercontinental ballistic missiles, Titan I exploded during a test on Dec. 12, 1959. The 100-ton Titan, the first multistage ICBM and already considered to be the nations most powerful weapon at that point, explodedwas torn apart on the launching pad four seconds after launchas the countdown neared zero. The missiles first-stage destruct section ruptured the fuel tank, and the second stage fell back on the pad and exploded. No one was injured.

4. Soviet R-16 ICBM>Date: Oct. 24, 1960>Agency: Soviet Space Program>Mission: Test flight

The Soviet Union had its own problems developing an ICBM. In 1960, an incident called the Nedelin catastrophe named after the Soviet officer supervising the rocket launch claimed the lives of 100 Soviet engineers, technicians, and military personnel.

Nedelin was impatient following delays in launching the rocket and ordered technicians to fix a problem. They proceeded without defueling the rockets booster. An errant radio signal triggered the firing of the second stage, causing the rocket to explode. Nedelin was among the fatalities. The rockets designer, Mikhail Yangel, survived only because he had gone into a bunker to smoke a cigarette.

Source: sdasmarchives / Flickr

5. Atlas Centaur 5>Date: March 2, 1965>Agency: NASA>Mission: Test flight

The Atlas-Centaur AC-5 vehicle was launched on March 2, 1965. Within about one second after launch, the thrust of the Atlas booster engine decayed and the vehicle collapsed onto the launch pad and was consumed by fire and an explosion. The loss of booster engine thrust was due to fuel depletion from the turbopump inlets. This was attributed to the closing of the fuel staging valve.

To prevent such a guidance system failure on future flights, some redundant circuitry was eliminated and more thorough checkout procedures adopted.

Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

6. Apollo 1>Date: Jan. 27, 1967>Agency: NASA>Mission: Apollo 1

The first fatalities for NASA occurred on Jan. 27, 1967. Astronauts Virgil Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee, the first crew members of the Apollo program, were killed after a fire engulfed their command module during a launch rehearsal. A NASA review board found that a stray spark ignited the fire in the pure oxygen environment. Flammable features such as nylon netting and foam pads fueled the inferno. To make matters worse, pressure inside the spacecraft sealed the hatch door and the astronauts could not open it.

The Apollo program was designed to take astronauts to the moon for orbital and landing missions. The tragedy set back the American space program, and it would take more than 18 months of delays and redesigns before NASA astronauts returned to space.

Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

7. Soyuz 7K-OK>Date: April 23, 1967>Agency: Soviet Space Program>Mission: Soyuz 1

The first crewed Soviet Soyuz spacecraft ended in disaster. The main braking parachute failed to deploy, which caused the vehicle to hit the ground at a speed of 50 meters per second. Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov was killed, the first in-flight fatality in the history of spaceflight. The tragedy occurred just three months after the Apollo catastrophe in which three American astronauts died. After the accident of Soyuz 1, the spaceship was redesigned.

Source: nasacommons / Flickr

8. X-15>Date: Nov. 15, 1967>Agency: NASA>Mission: X-15 Flight 191

The X-15 was a joint research program that NASA conducted with the Air Force, the Navy, and North American Aviation Inc. The X-15 was an experimental aircraft that set unofficial speed and altitude records for crewed flight. Because of how hot aircraft get upon entering the atmosphere, the program was set specifically to investigate piloted hypersonic flight in the areas of aerodynamic performance, structural behavior, and pilot performance and physiology during high heating, among other things. Information from the program contributed to the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and Space Shuttle piloted space flight programs.

The overall program was a success but not without tragedy. On Nov. 15, 1967, during pilot Michael Adams seventh flight, he could not bring the aircraft out of an inverted dive because of a technical problem with the adaptive flight control system. The plane crashed, killing him.

Source: Keystone / Hulton Archive via Getty Images

9. Soyuz 7K-OKS>Date: June 30, 1971>Agency: Soviet Space Program>Mission: Soyuz 11

Cosmonauts Georgy Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov, and Viktor Patsayev died in space on June 30, 1971. The crew had set a record for time in space at 23 days. During that time, the Soyuz 11 spacecraft docked with the Soviet Salyut-1 orbital station. The three were heroes in the Soviet Union.

When the capsule returned to Earth, it appeared to land without a problem in what is now Kazakhstan. But when rescue teams arrived, they found all three crew members dead. All had suffocated. The cause was traced to a defective breathing ventilation valve, which had come open too early and depressurized the spacecraft. The crew ran out of air and suffocated before they could close the valve. The three cosmonauts were buried underneath the Kremlin Wall. After the Soyuz-11 tragedy, Soviet crewed flights were suspended for two years.

10. Kosmos 3M>Date: June 26, 1973>Agency: Soviet Space Program>Mission: Satellite launch

With the Cold War heating up, a search team of the Soviet Ministry of Defense chose the village of Plesetsk in the Archangel region, about 500 miles north of Moscow, as the first operational base for the R-7 missile. Plesetsk would be one of the sites under surveillance by Francis Gary Powers, the U.S. pilot shot down by the Soviet Union on a reconnaissance flight in 1960.

It was at Plesetsk that tragedy occurred in 1973. The Soviets were preparing to use the missile launcher Kosmos-3M, which had been in use for about six years at that point. Trouble started when a sensor malfunction indicated the fuel tank was overfilled. Launcher personnel drained some of the fuel and refueled the launcher, but the fuel tank started leaking and the launch sequence was stopped. The launch was canceled and the launch team tried to deactivate the vehicle. A few minutes later, two explosions occurred followed by fire. Nine people died.

Source: Space Frontiers / Archive Photos via Getty Images

11. Space Shuttle Challenger>Date: Jan. 28, 1986>Agency: NASA>Mission: STS-51-L

With a crew of seven, including New Hampshire school teacher Christa McAuliffe, the Challenger space shuttle was intended to orbit Earth while the astronauts deployed a satellite and studied Halleys Comet. A minute after takeoff, the spacecraft was ripped apart. Faulty seals in one of the rocket boosters had led to an explosion. All crew members perished. It was the first time NASA had lost astronauts in flight.

The tragedy immediately grounded the shuttle program. The report from the Rogers Commission report faulted NASA, its Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and contractor Morton Thiokol Inc. in Ogden, Utah, for poor engineering and management.

Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

12. Titan 34D-9s>Date: April 18, 1986>Agency: NASA>Mission: Satellite launch

A Titan rocket carrying a secret military payload exploded at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The blast released a cloud of poisonous fumes and damaged the launching pad and 200 acres surrounding it. At least 58 people were treated at the base hospital for skin and eye irritations. Children at a school nearby were ordered to remain indoors until the cloud dissipated.

The $65 million Titan 34D was the largest of Americas uncrewed rockets and could carry large military satellites into orbit.

Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

13. Intelsat VII-A>Date: Feb. 15, 1996>Agency: China Great Wall Industry Corporation>Mission: Satellite launch

Probably the worst known accident involving spacecraft during the space age occurred on Feb. 15, 1996 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, about 50 miles northwest of Xichang City in the Chinese province of Sichuan. A Chinese Long March 3B rocket launched, carrying the American communications satellite Intelsat 708. It almost immediately veered off course and slammed into the Chinese mainland, to a nearby village. Chinese authorities said six people were killed, but Western experts judging video of the devastated landscape believe hundreds perished.

An investigation of the accident determined that there was a failure in the guidance system of the Long March 3B. The involvement of American companies in the launch caused political controversy in the United States about the use of U.S. technology for the Chinese space program.

Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

14. Delta II>Date: Jan. 17, 1997>Agency: NASA>Mission: Satellite launch

The Delta II rocket was first launched in 1989 from Cape Canaveral and would eventually fly 155 missions until it would be taken out of service after its last flight on Sept. 15, 2018. During its service, the Delta II launched NASA probes to Mars, Mercury, the moon, and asteroids, as well as 48 global positioning system navigation satellites.

In its nearly 20 years of service, the rocket only failed once. That was on Jan. 17, 1997. As a Delta II attempted to launch the first GPS II-R satellite from Cape Canaveral, 13 seconds into the flight, a solid rocket motor exploded, triggering a blast that dropped debris around the launch complex and set several employee vehicles on fire.

Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

15. Titan IV 4A-20>Date: Aug. 12, 1998>Agency: NASA>Mission: Satellite launch

A Titan IV-A rocket exploded on the morning of Aug. 12, 1998, carrying a $1 billion, Mercury spy satellite. The blast occurred just 40 seconds after liftoff at an altitude of about 20,000 feet when the rocket veered off by about 11 to 13 degrees from its planned path. At that point, the rocket could not sustain aerodynamic stresses. An automatic destruct sequence was activated by mission flight control officers 45 seconds into the rockets flight. There were no injuries or damage to property on the ground as a result of the mishap.

A review of spacelift operations by the Air Forces ordered by President Bill Clinton and Defense Department officials determined that engineering and workmanship-related deficiencies contributed to three Titan IV-related space launch misfires within the past year and a half, costing nearly $3 billion.

Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

16. Soyuz-U>Date: Oct. 15, 2002>Agency: Russian Federal Space Agency>Mission: Satellite launch

A Soyuz rocket carrying a research satellite exploded on Oct. 15, 2002, just 29 seconds after takeoff from Russias Arctic Plesetsk cosmodrome. One person was killed and eight others injured. The rocket carried a satellite with European research equipment and was not connected with the orbiting International Space Station.

Soyuz boosters had been involved in 1,586 missions by the end of 1999 and were considered very reliable. The rockets mission reliability at one point was about 98%, among the best in the world. However, Russias space program had been hamstrung by underfunding since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, and the financing shortfalls have been blamed for a series of Russian rocket mishaps in the 1990s.

Source: Getty Images / Getty Images News via Getty Images

17. Space Shuttle Columbia>Date: Feb. 1, 2003>Agency: NASA>Mission: STS-107

The problems of the Space Shuttle Columbia began when it launched on Jan. 16, 2003. During liftoff, the space shuttle was damaged when a section of foam from its tank sheared off and hit the thermal covering on its left wing. Cameras focused on the launch sequence showed the foam collision, but engineers could not nail down the exact location and extent of the damage.

The seven-member crew completed a 15-day mission in orbit. During reentry, the extent of the damage became apparent as heat melted through the wing and caused a loss of control that led to the disintegration of the orbiter at 40 miles altitude over Texas. All crew members were killed. Debris and the remains of the crew were found in locations across east Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana.

Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

18. Intelsat 27>Date: Feb. 1, 2013>Agency: Sea Launch>Mission: Satellite launch

A commercial Sea Launch rocket failed 40 seconds after liftoff from its floating launch facility a converted oil platform in the Pacific Ocean, destroying its cargo, the Intelsat IS-27 telecommunications satellite. The Intelsat 27 satellite was designed to provide 15 or more years of satellite service. It would have completed Intelsats global broadband mobility platform, which was to consist of 10 beams on seven satellites. IS-27 was insured for about $400 million.

The failure of the launch set back the Sea Launchs recovery from its previous failure in January 2007. The Bern, Switzerland-based company is owned by an affiliate of Russias RSC Energia space-hardware manufacturer. Sea Launch had emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October 2010. The reorganization was an indirect result of the 2007 failure.

19. Antares rocket>Date: Oct. 28, 2014>Agency: NASA>Mission: Orb-3 resupply

On Oct. 28, 2014, a commercial Antares rocket built by Orbital Sciences Corp. exploded in a spectacular fireball just after liftoff at NASAs Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Orbitals uncrewed Antares rocket tumbled back into the launch pad. NASA officials reported no injuries, and Orbital Sciences representatives said property damage was limited to the south end of Wallops Island.

NASA chose Orbital Sciences to provide eight cargo delivery missions to the International Space Station. The Virginia-based company launched its first official cargo mission to the space station in January 2014, with a second mission following in July. Both missions, as well as two test flights in 2013, were successful.

Source: David McNew / Getty Images News via Getty Images

20. SpaceShipTwo VSS Enterprise>Date: Oct. 31, 2014>Agency: Virgin Galactic>Mission: Test flight

SpaceShipTwo is a suborbital space plane for space tourism. During a test flight over the Mojave Desert in California conducted with its partner, Scaled Composites, the first SpaceShipTwo was climbing when a descent mechanism deployed prematurely, causing the ship to break apart in mid-air. The disintegration killed pilot Michael Alsbury and seriously injured the other crewperson, who was able to escape the wreckage and deploy his parachute.

The flight was intended to test a new hybrid rocket engine powered by a polyamide-based fuel instead of the rubber-based fuel HTPB that was previously used in the other tests of SpaceShipTwo. A National Transport Safety Board investigation said an analysis of telemetry and video recorded aboard the SpaceShipTwo showed its aero-braking device deployed earlier than designed, and two seconds after it was deployed, the VSS Enterprise disintegrated.

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20 of the Worst Disasters in Space Flight History - 24/7 Wall St.