Category Archives: Space Travel

Before school was out for the summer, Cleveland students heard about spaceship travel from someone who once roamed the same school hallways as they do and is now a go-to expert on space travel.

On Tuesday, May 9, Jonathan Ritchie visited with Cleveland Schools fifth grade and middle school students. Ritchie is Chief Engineer of the Virgin Galactic SpaceshipTWO project.

Ritchie, son of retired educators Jack and Dadreon Ritchie, was raised in Cleveland, graduating from Cleveland High School. He attended Oklahoma State University where he obtained his degree in aerospace and mechanical engineering.

In 2011 Ritchie moved to Mojave, Calif. with his family to work at The Spaceship Company owned by Richard Branson, of Virgin Galactic. The companys aim is to not only provide commercial space tourism to regular people, but to be the first to do so. There is a new space race going on, Ritchie explained.

He pointed out that only 550 people have EVER been to space! The touristic experience that The Spaceship Company is striving to offer is a two-hour round-trip from Spaceport America in Mojave, Calif. The space ship will carry two pilots and six passengers. The WhiteKnight airplane also has two pilots onboard. It brings the space ship to 50,000 feet where the SpaceshipTwo and WhiteKnight will separate. Then the rocket engine ignites, burning for 60 seconds, bringing SpaceshipTwo into space at 360,000 ft. The Spaceship Two is fueled by burning rubber and nitrous oxide (laughing gas) lots of it! The passengers would be in space for five minutes and get to unbuckle their seat belts and experience weightlessness. To fully enjoy this experience passengers must go through three days of training before embarking on the two hour flight. The pilots are all specifically trained experimental test pilots. According to plan, Spaceship Two and WhiteKnight would both land separately back at Spaceport.

The new space race is currently running neck-to-neck. Ritchies team has three successful test flights under their belts and working with the best of the best in the industry. Ritchie is confident commercial space travel will be a reality very soon. The whole experience will cost space tourists $250,000 and there are already over 700 people on a waiting list.

Passengers must be 18 years old for legal consent. Height restrictions are between 5 ft. to 6.4 ft. and passengers most weigh less than 260 pounds.

Ritchie concluded by saying, I hope you have a great summer and never lose your curiosity and imagination. Imagination and desire joined with action are what make dreams come true.

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Cleveland Grad Engineering Commercial Space Travel - Cleveland American

the Irish News

Space travel from UK ports coming soon, says government the Irish News Legislation aimed at making the UK the most attractive place in Europe for commercial space flight will be introduced over the next two years, the British government has announced. The Space Industry Bill will feature new powers to license space ports, ... and more »

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Space travel from UK ports coming soon, says government - the Irish News

Stephen Hawking is saying we need to colonize the Moon and Mars and fast.

"We are running out of space and the only places to go to are other worlds. It is time to explore other solar systems. Spreading out may be the only thing that saves us from ourselves. I am convinced that humans need to leave Earth," Hawking said, according to BBC.

The world renowned theoretical physicist noted that fighting climate change and global warming are still important goals, but that human space travel is key to "elevate humanity."

Hawking said that leading nations should send astronauts to the Moon by 2020, and plan to build a lunar base within 30 years. He added that people should be going to Mars by 2025.

"Spreading out into space will completely change the future of humanity," Hawking said. "I hope it would unite competitive nations in a single goal, to face the common challenge for us all."

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Stephen Hawking: 'I Am Convinced That Humans Need to Leave Earth' - Fortune

Since its inception in 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has affected consumers everyday lives without many of us knowing. In fact, the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 ensured this quiet influence by including the stipulation "that activities in space should be devoted to peaceful purposes for the benefit of all mankind."

Developments in space travel remain crucial to the technological advances we enjoy daily. Long-distance communications, solar energy, artificial limbs, memory foam and household smoke detectors all were first used in space. The smartphones we carry in our pockets are up to a million times more powerful than all of NASA's computers combined in 1969. Imagine what well hold in our hands20 years from now.

Related:20 Unforgettable Moments in Space Exploration

All this advancement brings a different set of challenges. Among these: overheating. Its a critical operations problem for electronic devices because it can lead to poor performance and -- in some cases -- dangerous situations.

Samsungmade the unprecedented decision to recall all Galaxy 7 phones after 35 of them overheated. Some exploded, rupturing their cases. The number of overheating incidents reported quadrupled after Samsung announced the recall.

Another example focuses on the hoverboard, of the past few years most popular toys. The hoverboard also fell victim to the perils of overheating and posed a safety threat to consumers. Its since been recalled and is illegal to operate in many cities.

Related:Elon Musk Says We're Living in a Video Game. Are We?

KULR Technology is among the companies looking to leverage what it's learned in space and apply those lessons to innovations here on Earth. Michael Mo and Timothy Knowles cofounded KULR (pronounced cooler) in 2013. Their basic premise: solve the challenges to keep electronics cooler, lighter and safer in an ethical and environmentally sustainable manner.

KULRs technology traces its beginnings tothe high-performance aerospace industry. The San Diego-based firm has won more than 500 contracts with agencies and companies including NASA, Raytheon, Boeing and JPL. KULR also provided the carbon-fiber-based thermal-management solutions used in the International Space Station, Mars Rover and Mercury Messenger.

KULR and other groups will find a robust marketplace as they translate the knowledge gained from interstellar successes. Thermal management already is an $11 billion annual business,and the opportunities only will grow exponentially as technology develops.

Related:The Next Big Opportunity for Tech Entrepreneurs? 'Smart' Homes.

On a larger scale, the advances made during the past decade require tremendous computing power. Over the next 5, 10 and 15 years, these and other emerging technologies will change how we live.

Related:Would You Fly on an AI-Backed Plane Without a Pilot?

Over time, these technologies will increase in consumer base -- and consumers will focus more and more on performance. As a devices number of transistors multiplies, its computing power increases exponentially. In turn, its form factors shrink. But increased density of transistors on a chip has led to performance issues including overheating. That can cause slowed or even broken-down connections.

The cycle feeds the need for continued evolution. KULRs proprietary carbon-fiber-based architecture replaces older aluminum- and copper-based head spreaders and exchanges that were the standard for years. Unfortunately, those earlier particle-based thermal-interface materials are inefficient as well as energy-intensive and less environmentally friendly to produce. KULRs newer versions offer lower contact pressure and longer reliability, making devices higher-performing and higher-compliance.

KULR has given environmental impacts a large role in another part of its strategy, too. Corporations require increasing electricity to operate their facilities, and they spend staggering sums to keep their data centers cool. Technology that lowers the temperature from the inside reduces the amount of energy needed to cool these components from the outside in.

Related:New Strain of Malware Can Take Power Stations Offline

Elena Titova is a serial entrepreneur and user experience expert based in New York City. Shehas been working in fintech, web and app development startups. Her areas of interest includeVirtual Reality, business strategy and creat...

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A Different Kind of Space Race: How Far-Out Tech Changes the Way You Live - Entrepreneur

When Elon Musks company SpaceX successfully launched a Falcon 9 rocket on March 30 this year, it made history. It was the first time the same rocket had been propelled into orbit, returned to Earth and been launched again. It also landed safely for a second time, and provided further support for Musks thesis that the combination of reusable rockets and private companies will be at the heart of the new spaceindustry.

I think its an amazing day for space, he said after the launch. It means you can fly and re-fly an orbit-class booster, which is the most expensive part of the rocket. This is going to be, hopefully, a huge revolution in spaceflight.

Of course, he would say that. Its his company, which faces competition from several others, including Jeff Bezos Blue Origin, and wobbles with his other ventures, such as Tesla and Solar City, have illustrated just how important public opinion can be when youre chasing ambitious goals.

SpaceX faced a severe setback in September 2016 when another Falcon 9 rocket exploded during a test. On board was a $200-million satellite that was intended to provide internet connectivity to parts of Africa in Facebooks Internet.org project. Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg issued a statement that made one thing clear he was notamused.

A busy calendar brings a different dynamic and some new project management challenges

But others at the forefront of the new space industry agree with Musks assessment. Its a great technical milestone, says Mike Lawton, chief executive of Oxford Space Systems. Its an incredible achievement, especially when you consider that when SpaceX started talking about the vision and the timeframe, lots of people dismissed it. One large US space contractor said to us, We got thatwrong.

For Musk and SpaceX, though, proving that reusable rockets work is only one step on a longer journey. Now, they have to work out how to turn it into a profitable business, says MrLawton.

If everything goes to plan, this will partly be achieved thanks to an increase in the number of launches and missions. Company president Gwynne Shotwell said there would be one launch every two or three weeks from early this year thanks to the completion of a third launch site in Florida; there were only eight launches in the whole of 2016. A fourth launch site in Texas is currently under construction and should further increase the frequency offlights.

But thats easier said than done. A busy calendar brings a different dynamic and some new project management challenges. SpaceX does a lot of activity in-house, which is helpful from a project management perspective, says Dr Renaud Durand, managing consultant and aerospace specialist at supply chain firm Vendigital. But, as operations grow, it will become less efficient to invest in in-house capabilities. There will be a strong push to outsource or the company will have to create an additional layer of management, which could slow down the decisionloop.

As the company launches more and more reused rockets, it will also need to manage a shift from production to MRO [maintenance, repair and operations] activities, which requires a different set of skills and operational know-how.

But, in Mr Lawtons view, the project management challenges that SpaceX faces are not so different from the ones that confront other companies in the new space industry. And the answer is to go as fast and hard as you can, hesays.

Musk has been open about the fact that SpaceXs overarching aim is to make humanity an interplanetary species, something that he hopes will be achieved by sending people to Mars by 2022. However, undertaking manned missions should give him pause to reassess the way projects are managed. Its one thing to destroy a fellow billionaires $200-million satellite, but the equation changes when theres human life atrisk.

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Private space travel could soon be a reality - Raconteur

The landmark transport bill will be announced on Wednesday

COMMERCIAL space flights will move a step closer as the Government unveils three landmark transport bills in the Queens Speech.

A space industry bill will allow firms to launch satellites from the UK for the first time putting Britain at the heart of new spaceflight technology.

Getty Images

It will also enable regional spaceports to be set up across the UK, allow horizontal flights to the edge of space for scientific experiments and end our dependence on foreign launch services.

The space bill will also introduce new powers to license a range of cutting-edge technology including vertically-launched rockets, spaceplanes and spaceports.

A second bill will rip up red tape that prevent drivers switching to plug-in vehicles.

VIRGIN GALACTIC/EPA

Those wanting to use publicly accessible charging points currently need to register with several different firms that run them but the new law will ensure drivers will only need to register once.

A third transport bill will finally give the go-ahead for the northern leg of HS2 - bring high speed rail between the Midlands and North West England.

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Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said: We are absolutely determined to give Britain the transport infrastructure it needs so that we can thrive and grow as we leave the European Union.

The measures we outline this week will ensure our legal structures are ready for the high skill, highly paid jobs of the future, while backing the transport projects that will make journeys better for ordinary working people.

Its only by backing infrastructure through our Modern Industrial Strategy that we can spread prosperity and opportunity around the country.

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Space travel set to take off as Government unveils plans to build 'rocket ports' around the country in the Queen's ... - The Sun

Exploring the Past and Future of Space Travel

Credit: NASA

We choose to go to the moon in this decade not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win. -John F.Kennedy

Such was the case after WW2 when America claimed many of Germanys stockpile of V-2 ballistic missiles. Tests began using this arsenal as a means of assuring American leadership in technology.

Atlas launch complex, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Credit: RolandMiller

Not the hot, aggressive variety but a war of espionage, counterintelligence and competing ideologies. This was the Cold War. A war to determine which superpower would inherit the world.

During this period, space exploration emerged as a major area of contest and became known as the space race. NASA was born in response to this race out of the simple preamble;

An Act to provide for research into the problems of flight within and outside the Earths atmosphere, and for other purposes.

V-2 Launch Complex, 33 White Sands Missile Range Credit: RolandMiller

Monkeys, our close genetic companion, went up first. Many perished. They paved the way for humans to follow. Albert II became the first monkey in space as his flight reached 134 kmpast the Krmn line of 100 km, taken to designate the beginning of space.

A confident Ham the monkey perhaps a bit peeved about the rocket flight. Credit:Life

Satellites went up next as part of an international effort to gather scientific data about Earth. Advances here paved the way for our current GPS systems. Then on September 12, 1962, President Kennedy proclaimed Americas intention to send a man to the moon by the end of the 1960s.

Launch control room. Vandenberg Air Force Base. Credit: RolandMiller

Russia took the lead. First satellite with Sputnik 1. Then first man in space when Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin first passed the Krmn line and later completed the first orbit of Earth.

Sputnik-1 spacecraft Credit:NASA

America quickly caught up in both cases with Alan B. Shepard Jr. reaching space, followed by John H. Glenn Jr. reaching orbit.

In 1969 America won the race. Neil Armstrong took his first steps on the surface of the Moon. This marked the end of what Kennedy would call;

the most hazardous and dangerous and greatest adventure on which man has ever embarked.

Iconic. Credit:NASA

In 1981 America returned to manned spaceflight with the Space Shuttle. STS-1 took offdemonstrating that it could take off vertically and glide to an unpowered airplane-like landing. Sally K. Ride became the first American woman to fly in space when STS-7 lifted off on June 18, 1983.

Then tragedy struck. On January 28, 1986 a leak in the joints of one of two Solid Rocket Boosters attached to the Space Shuttle Challenger caused the main liquid fuel tank to explode 73 seconds after launch, killing all 7 crew members.

In 1988 the shuttle returned to service. Going on to fly a total of 87 missions. Then tragedy struck again in 2003. A breach in the heat dispersion system lead the Space Shuttle Columbia to fill with hot gas causing catastrophic failure and the loss of all 7 crew-members. Evidence hints these brave men and women may have been alive during the fall.

From left to right: Brown, Husband, Clark, Chawla, Anderson, McCool, Ramon. Credit:NASA

The Shuttle was primarily used to launch the pieces for the next period of space travel, orbiting laboratories. First Skylab in 1973, then in 1998 construction on the International Space Station officially began.

The ISS Programs greatest accomplishment is as much a human achievement as it is a technological one. The ISS only exists because of the cooperation of the United States, Russia, the European Union, Japan, and Canada. It has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever.

The ISS. Credit: NASA

Excess fuel will push it into a descending orbit over the Pacific Ocean. Most will burn up, with the remainder plummeting to the watery depths.

In 2004 the rover Spirit landed on the Martian surface. Its mission was to find evidence of life. It collected samples, and showed us life had quite likely existed off our familiar pale blue dot. We werent alone.

Mosaic of the Mars surface taken by Spirit. Credit:NASA

Then in 2012 Spirits follow-up Curiosity successfully reached the Martian surface. In an area near Yellowknife Bay Curiosity discovered evidence of an old lakebed.

Radiometric dating and chemical analysis led researchers to determine this lakebed had a habitability window of 700 million years, ending 3.1 billion years ago. There almost definitely had been microbial life on Mars.

This revelation stunned the world.

Yellowknife Bay, on the Martian surface. Credit:NASA

SETI is an international mission to discover extraterrestrial life. Using space and ground telescopes like Hubble to scour distant solar systems for traces of habitable planets. Recent findings like the TRAPPIST-1 series of exoplanets has revealed habitable planets are very common in our universe.

Could one of these planets host our cosmic neighbors? Credit:NASA

The forthcoming James Webb Telescope will give us even greater detail. Primed to be launched to Earths L2 Lagrange point it will operate 1.5 million km from Earth, locked to an orbit 3x beyond that of the Moons. Its viewing instruments will give it a 100x better view of the universe than its predeccesor Hubble.

The soon to be quite distant James Webb Telescope. Credit: TheFullDome

The newest space race seems to be heating up; JAXA, Roscosmos, the CSA, the ESA, NASA, UAESA and the newest player Chinas CNSA are all to various degrees cooperating and competing to reach the next milestone of spacea manned mission to Mars.

Artists interpretation of Mars colony, Mars Base Credit: DavidShrock

Various agencies including private ones like SpaceX all peg our landing date on Mars in the 2030s sometime. At first it will be scientific, then perhaps a colony.

2033 seems to be the ideal date. A period of low sun activity coincides with an ideal alignment of Mars and the Earth. The next generation of NASA astronauts wont be the ones to go. With their training finished in 2015, theyll be the ones winding down the ISS program.

Optimal Earth-Mars alignment for a manned mission (Photo:NASA)

The Mars wave will consist of iconic young men and women like Alyssa Carson, Abigail Harrison and Ryan MacDonald. Today theyre in high school and university. But by 2033, theyll be around NASAs average astronaut age of 34 and primed to explore the newest world.

Netflix special The Mars Generation introduces us to our 2033 candidates Credit:Netflix

When Europe colonized the modern world, they did so first funded by milestone driven governments. Then economics set in and exploration became profitable. With asteroid mining, microgravity manufacturing and offworld power generation this cycle will conceivably repeat itself.

Coming to an asteroid near you Credit: FactorMagazine

The outer space economy will follow the maxim; energy outward, resources inward. The sun will pulse and provide the inner system with its energy, while outward itll be diffused more and of less use. Whereas the beyond Mars asteroid belt, and Kuiper belt even further will provide the rich mineral resources our hungry civilization will crave.

The Gas Giants will provide our gaseous resources and together theyll build our new civilization. One stretching from one end of the solar system to the other.

Globalization didnt stop Credit: Inspiration Seek

Peoples bodies will change out there. Reduced gravity offplanet will cause some peoples spines to lengthen and bone density to decrease. Our bodies will become more vestigial than today. Opposing that well begin merging with machines and AI.

Devices like the Neuralink or artifical augmentation will change the paradigm of being human. Different planets and bodies will have unique cultures and customs. There will be clashes, perhaps wars. Humanity will get smarter, well likely never kill ourselves fully. But like our ancestors well posture and clash over change.

Humanity may never leave conflict behind Credit: KarenWhimsy

Proxima Centauri lies a mere 4.24 light years away, our nearest stellar neighbor. With technological advances, perhaps generation ships, cryogenic freezing, modified biology or robotic substitutes well begin venturing beyond our homely solar system.

Our first faltering steps will resemble our gradual progress towards other celestial bodies from Earth. People will argue about the value, the cost. Others will value the mission over their lives. Fights will occur, there will be setbacks and then eventually well go.

Humanity may never leave conflict behind Credit: KarenWhimsy

By this point our vast power systems will extract the majority of what our sun can offer. This system will be replicated on our nearest star systems, and then their nearest. The colonization wave will take a million years to spread throughout the Milky Way galaxy.

Like a bacteria well gradually spread to every cell of our 100,000 light year home. Then the cycle will repeat. Why go to other galaxies? What would be the point? We press on.

Von Neumann machines are one method of colonizing other worlds Credit:Smash

By this point humanity has extinguished the existential threat. Were not going anywhere. Even if a supernova were to wipe out multiple star systems wed be too deeply ingrained to lose.

Galaxy by galaxy we spread. Our unending conquest spanning many millions of generations. Age may be irrelevant by now, humanitys collective concousness stored in a hard drive which we all draw from. Indistinguishable from the machines we once feared, death has been irradicated.

Von Neumann machines are one method of colonizing other worlds Credit:Smash

Humanity will be the supreme being in the universe. Our cradle Earth long forgotten we will seek new frontiers. Perhaps well encounter rival intelligences, they may outcompete us. They may not be us, but their trajectory will resemble ours.

Intelligent species must follow the same trajectory Credit: ScienceMag

The stark reality isa civilization must either expand or collapse. As populations expand, resources must be introduced into the system to offset the increased demand. Known as a colonization bubble it could be the Great Filter that stops universal domination.

As the bubble expands the interior beings run out of resources and are consumed and destroyed by civil wars. This inner wave spreads out and consumes the bubble whole. Perhaps humanity will overcome this.

Chesley Bonestell may have an alien competitor to his space art greatness Credit: Bonestell

Whatever intelligent species it is, one will eventually come to dominate the universe. Then an interesting situation occurs. Either they run out the clock and pass along with the universe, as in Asimovs The Last Question.

Or they find a way to escape to the next layer, what you could call the Multiverse. In this layer they discover they can manipulate other universes at will and create different universal constants in different universes. Their tinkering destroys many universes and creates life in others. They are the simulators theorized to be running our universe.

Each bubble another universe Credit: YayoiKusama

The multiverse begins to close in on these beings and so they must solve the same problem again. Transcend their environment or be annihilated alongside it. With infinite possibilities one species escapes. The layer above the multiverse. This repeats, ad infinitum.

The great paradox, that there are turtles all the way down.

Naturally everything after NASAs Mars dates was speculation but its a chilling thought. Our universe will end. Hundreds of trillions of years will have passed and we wont be alive. But intellectually its intimidating. Non existence is scary. For all our intelligence we cant escape the fundamental nature of a distinct existence.

Life is so vast, beautiful and unnerving. This great paradox of our universes end resembles the reality our distant ancestors had to contend with as they scanned the night sky. What were those bright lights up there? Why are we here? But they pressed on in their search for truth and today we know infinitely more than they do.

This trend will continue. Well keep turning over vast rocks to see the unimaginable truths hidden below. Its not in humanity to give up, despite the great uncertainty surrounding our universe and our place within it.

One thing is certainhumanity has never stopped progressing to its future amongst the stars. Hopefully we never will.

Voyager 1s historic Pale Blue Dot image of Earth from 6 billion km away Credit:NASA

For more of Andrews writing visit his widely published space and entrepreneurship blog Landing Attempts. Or support his writing with a few dollars on Patreon, it means the world.

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Exploring the Past and Future of Space Travel - The TechNews

The Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle will be the first spacecraft capable of taking a human crew to multiple deep space destinations. On Thursday at Promontory Point, Utah, the crafts launch abort motor was put to the test.

Orbital ATK is the company that designed and manufactured the launch abort motor for NASA and executed the test. According to Charles Precourt, vice president and generalmanager of Propulsion Systems at Orbital ATK, the test that took place on Thursday at Promontory Point is an important step in proving that the launch abort system will work.

This is a key milestone on the way to validating our capability to field those systems, Precourt said.

According to Orbital ATK, the launch abort system will help to save astronauts in the event of a malfunction during launch. If something goes wrong, the launch abort system is activated within milliseconds igniting the boosters in the abort module and pulling the crew capsule off and away from the rocket. Capable of producing about 400,000 pounds of thrust, the abort motor will carry astronauts far away, and fast, positioning them for a safe landing.

Once complete, the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle will be the first spacecraft of its kind, capable of bringing its crew to more than one destination in deep space. It will carry up to six occupants, twice as many as the Apollo capsule did. The launch abort system will sit atop the craft, a safety feature that will, under the best circumstances, never see use.

Utah facilities continue to play a role in creating components of the spacecrafts launch abort system. Orbital ATK is producing the abort motor at its facility in Magna, and the composite case for the motor at its Clearfield facility.

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How Utah Is Contributing To Safer Space Travel - Utah Public Radio

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Aerospace companies are often intimately involved in research and development of all kinds, and Airbus is no different. As part of a current project, it is working to produce an experimental unit for the fluid science laboratory installed within the Columbus module of the International Space Station (ISS), with a focus on the study of soft matter. Soft matter results from the different mixtures between gases, solids, and liquids (including gels, foams, aerogel emulsions, and granulates).

The ISS is a multidisciplinary laboratory, technology test bed, and observatory that will provide unprecedented undertakings in scientific, technological, and international experimentation.

The idea behind this experimental unit is to support basic research of such soft matter in order to determine and fine tune the mathematical tools used to model it; this can later result in the optimization of industrial processes on the ground, as well. Currently, the experiments are focused on the study of wet foams and compact granulates under microgravity conditions. Microgravity is needed as gravity masks the dynamics of the soft matter being studied.

For the development and production of such an experimental unit, the European Space Agency (ESA) contracted Airbus to lead an industrial consortium stretching over three European countries. The Fluid Physics and External Payloads department of Airbus manages the soft matter dynamics project, developing this unit for the ISS. Airbus has been in charge of the technical requirements breakdown for the device, while subsequent design work was performed by their subcontractors in collaboration with Airbus.

The control module for the soft matter experiments will soon find its way to the International Space Station.

The company aimed at several key specifications, including the ability to offer as many options for the equipment as possible, easy implementation of modifications for the utmost flexibility, a short learning curve, andmost of alla small size, which was critical for the application. For the motion control portion of the device, Airbus worked with AllMotions controllers and drivers to operate miniaturized stepper motors for high-accuracy of optical components in the application.

The AllMotion EZ4AXIS four-axis compact controller and driver combination is 2.25 in. by 2.25 in. by 0.6 in. (57 mm by 57 mm by 15 mm) in size. One of the design factors for the equipment was to have a small but powerful controller/driver. The unit includes built-in power drivers. The controller incorporates dual encoders as an integral part of the package for high-accuracy applications.

The AllMotion EZ4AXIS controller is an important component of the Airbus soft matter dynamics experiment device and offers high accuracy positioning at low speeds in a stepper motor configuration.

The original design was to allow for the rapid implementation of multi-axis stepper motor solutions in the industry. Each independent axis functions through a 1 Amp (2 Amp peak) pulse width modulation (PWM) chopper driver. Optional heat sinks are available for high-power applications, as well. The software used for the controller/driver is based on using any of the industry standard serial interfaces available today. This means that direct interaction with the product is easy to incorporate during the investigation and early prototyping phases of design.

Interfacing was also an important consideration in designing the experiment, since the final device also had to interact with other electronics units, including an experiment controller, a commercial scan state, and micro stepper motors that drive proprietary mechanical displacement devices. Key characteristics of the motors and controllers was to provide low torques at low speeds, but at very high accuraciesdown to 10 micrometer step displacement and 1 micrometer position read-outto mainly drive the optical system which included rotatable polarizers, a scan stage, and encoders for feedback.

According to the design team at Airbus, several engineers on the team have been able to integrate the controllers quickly into their workflow. Since the fluid sciences department is continually working toward providing additional devices for the ISS, it finds that working with the right components on all levels is a benefit.

Originally posted here:

Designing Advanced Motion Systems for Space Travel - Machine Design

Elon Musk has put his manifesto on the future for spaceflight up online. While it's the same speech he gave last year as the keynote speaker at the 67th International Astronautical Congress, its online publication in the journal New Space allows for easy searching and a way to hold Musk and SpaceX accountable.

"In my view, publishing this paper provides not only an opportunity for the spacefaring community to read the SpaceX vision in print with all the charts in context, but also serves as a valuable archival reference for future studies and planning," New Space editor-in-chief Scott Hubbard said in a statement.

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If you don't recall the details of Musk's vision for space flight and Martian cities, titled "Making Humans a Multiplanetary Species," it revolves around reusable rockets and spaceships. A rocket would take tankers of rocket fuel into space, where the spaceships that would take people to Mars would be waiting in orbit. "Over time, there were would be many spaceships," Musk says. "You would ultimately have upwards of 1,000 or more spaceships waiting in orbit. Hence, the Mars Colonial fleet would depart en masse."

The speech gets into the details of the Raptor engine, which Musks says will have "the highest chamber pressure engine of any kind ever built, and probably the highest thrust-to-weight." He talks about rocket boosters, liquid oxygen tanks, propellant plants, and numerous other crucial factors needed to even imagine a flight to Mars. We gave it a close reading at the time.

He also discusses pricing, which is a good thing to have on paper. "Right now," he says "we are estimating about $140,000 per ton for the trips to Mars. If a person plus their luggage is less than that, taking into account food consumption and life support, the cost of moving to Mars could ultimately drop below $100,000."

Ideally, Musk wants to start making these flights in ten years. SpaceX has delivered on reusable rockets and testing has already begun on the Raptor. There's a long way left to go before we start naming Martian cities, like figuring out how not to get cancer on the flight. But at least we can measure Musk's many promises in writing now.

You can download the paper here.

Source: Space

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Elon Musk Publishes His Vision for Mars Travel - Popular Mechanics