Spaceflight Magazine

[aurora899]

The December 2019 issue will be published later this week:


Encoded Comsats

Contributors Gerard van de Haar and Luc van den Abeelen describe the broadening aspects of the US-led international satellite communication systems that are recruiting an increasing number of partners.


Grabbing a piece of the Cataclysm

Dwayne A. Day presents an in-depth study of the various proposals, past and present, for returning lunar samples to Earth from a particularly violent impact experienced by the Moon during the early days of its formation.


Hanging in the Balance

David Todd reports from the recent biennial UK Space Conference, which brought together the great and the good of the domestic space industry in Newport, South Wales, to carve out a
roadmap for future development.

[jacqmans]

SpaceFlight Vol 62 No 01 – January 2020


Rock Follies
NASA is opening lunar samples sealed for more than 40 years in preparation for a new tranche of material from the Moon in the 2020s.

Twin Sisters
The RAF is getting serious about small satellites launched from Cosmic Girl, out of Newquay.

Congressional Hearing
David Todd roamed the halls of the 70th IAC in Washington DC and lived to tell us the tales.

Bringers of Life
Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe muses over the way life may have been brought to Earth.

Heading for the Outer Limits
Calla Cofield of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory brings news from the heliopause about distant Voyager 2.


https://www.bis-space.com/eshop/products-page-3/magazines/spaceflight/spaceflight-2020/spaceflight-vol-62-no-01-january-2020/

[jacqmans]

SpaceFlight Vol 62 No 01 – February 2020


White Knight or White Elephant?
As NASA mulls over prospects for the International Space Station, is it time to retire this world-class laboratory?

Reflections from the Kuiper Belt
Alan Stern muses over the outstanding discoveries and flight performance of the New Horizons spacecraft.

Ticket to Ride
Wings may be carrying astronauts back to the ISS as a commercial provider edges toward a first flight test.

Designs for Living on another world
Mark Yates FBIS visited the Design Museum in London for a simulated Mars experience.

Journey to a Chaotic Moon
Dwayne A. Day looks at a proposal to send a low-cost probe to Neptune’s moon Triton.

North Stars
David Todd reports from RISpace in Belfast and Alistair Scott identifies winners of the Sir Arthur Clarke Awards.

https://www.bis-space.com/eshop/products-page-3/magazines/spaceflight/spaceflight-2020/spaceflight-vol-62-no-01-february-2020/

[jacqmans]

SpaceFlight Vol 62 No 03 – March 2020


Another year…and another delay
The Editor mulls over the events of the last two months and assesses the state of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

Getting the drop on planet Mars
The European Space Agency reports on the impending launch of ExoMars 2020 and describes events associated with parachute tests and checks out the landing site.

Probing Saturn’s mightiest moon
When the Huygens probe descended through the dense atmosphere of Titan, it followed an entirely unpredictable spin profile. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory explains why.

Unlocking the universe – with metaphor
Mark Stewart takes a reflective look at Norman Mailer’s seminal observations on NASA’s Apollo programme and finds a meaningful epitaph.

https://www.bis-space.com/eshop/products-page-3/magazines/spaceflight/spaceflight-2020/spaceflight-vol-62-no-03-march-2020/

[jacqmans]

SpaceFlight Vol 62 No 04 – April 2020


The need for Speed
The ISS has just received a significant upgrade to its data and communication system through a device the size of a domestic refrigerator which will enable a high-speed link with Earth.

Set the controls for the heart of the Sun
Scott Hatton and John Sealander report on the latest solar science probe, designed to dive deep into the Sun’s heliosphere.

Saved by the Book
Dr Michael Warner explores the fascinating tale of how rare Apollo 13 mission documents tell their own story about momentous events 50 years ago.

When in Rome
Davide Marco reports from the first New Space Economic Forum in Italy on how a new wave of optimism is driving Europe’s space initiatives.

A Sting in the Tale
The Editor takes a long look at Scorpion, a multi-mission space vehicle conceived and designed by former BIS President Mark Hemspell and offers a supporting critique.

https://www.bis-space.com/eshop/products-page-3/magazines/spaceflight/spaceflight-2020/spaceflight-vol-62-no-04-april-2020/

[jacqmans]

SpaceFlight Vol 62 No 05 – May 2020


Beyond the ISS
On the verge of engaging with full commercialisation, Axiom is pioneering a habitable module that will attach to the ISS as a preliminary step towards a second US-funded, independent space station.

Places to go?
Nick Spall talks to UK Space Agency Human Exploration Manager Libby Jackson and explores the prospects for further space flights by Tim Peake and other would-be British astronauts. Their conclusion? There’s a lot of potential!

A Matter of Survival
Dr Brett Gooden takes a long, hard look at the physiological challenges facing Mars-bound astronauts and questions the entrenched assumption that the negative health effects of long-duration space flights and surface exploration can easily be overcome. Is it really that simple?

https://www.bis-space.com/eshop/products-page-3/magazines/spaceflight/spaceflight-2020/spaceflight-vol-62-no-05-may-2020/

[jacqmans]

SpaceFlight Vol 62 No 06 – June 2020


The quiet Earth
SpaceFlight surveys the global lockdown and finds that satellites are providing evidence of a natural world bouncing back and of scientists able to do much more than they could before.

Top marks for Perseverance
With the launch window for Mars 2020 fast approaching, we take a close look at how final preparations for NASA’s latest rover are coming together and at the unique items of equipment that could make Perseverance a historic “first”.

The rover returns
Long-standing contributor Dwayne A. Day examines the plan to use Mars 2020 as the springboard for a sample-return mission in which NASA and the European Space Agency join forces to get dust from the Red Planet to Earth.

https://www.bis-space.com/eshop/products-page-3/magazines/spaceflight/spaceflight-2020/spaceflight-vol-62-no-06-june-2020/

[jacqmans]

SpaceFlight Vol 62 No 07 – July 2020


Multiple stations pledge
We look at a critical assessment of the way science is conducted at the International Space Station and finds it wanting.

The man behind the ISS
The Editor reflects on the life of recently deceased Jim Beggs, the NASA Administrator for whom the building of the ISS was his supreme achievement.

Why don’t we just wing it?
Nick Spall FBIS examines the balance between winged lifting vehicles and semi-ballistic capsules, arguing that the former have been grossly overlooked.

Parallels with Apollo
David Baker looks beyond the initial return to the Moon by astronauts and examines the plan for a sustained presence on the lunar surface.

Probing further in the Kuiper Belt
Alan Stern provides another update on the pioneering work of New Horizons.

https://www.bis-space.com/eshop/products-page-3/magazines/spaceflight/spaceflight-2020/spaceflight-vol-62-no-07-july-2020/

[daedalus1]

No story about NASA returning astronauts to orbit since the shuttle, and on the first ever private spacecraft. Did it happen?

[Zardar]

No story about NASA returning astronauts to orbit since the shuttle, and on the first ever private spacecraft. Did it happen?

Of course it did, but since Spaceflight is still distributed on dead trees, which generally travel much slower than electrons, it just hasn't happened yet.

[daedalus1]

No story about NASA returning astronauts to orbit since the shuttle, and on the first ever private spacecraft. Did it happen?

Of course it did, but since Spaceflight is still distributed on dead trees, which generally travel much slower than electrons, it just hasn't happened yet.

Lol. It's been a month, and it's not there wasn't some notice.

[jacqmans]

SpaceFlight Vol 62 No 08 – August 2020


Gene genies
Funny things happen on prolonged space flights, including a level of gene modification now under investigation at the ISS.

Open for Business
Derek Webber of Spaceflight Associates makes an impassioned plea for lunar exploration and resource utilisation as nations prepare to build a permanent presence on the Moon.

Living Space
Stephen Baxter FBIS examines the BIS’ SPACE Project in which a very large habitation in orbit provides a base for space factories.

Rising to Demand
Griffith Ingram looks at the pioneering efforts of B2Space and their push for rocket-carrying balloons and at interim plans for sending experiments to the stratosphere.

Rewards of the Job
Award-winning space historian Frank H. Winter reflects on the honours awarded to Karlheinz Rohrwild and his work as Director of the Oberth Museum in Bavaria.

https://www.bis-space.com/eshop/products-page-3/magazines/spaceflight/spaceflight-2020/spaceflight-vol-62-no-08-august-2020/

[jacqmans]

SpaceFlight Vol 62 No 09 – September 2020


Buyer beware
Sara Langston from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida sounds a cautionary note to those planning to fly on commercial suborbital space trips.

Rooms with a view
Tony Quine implores space tourists to set their sights on higher goals – even deep space – in the search for high-flying thrills.

Wealth without limits
Dr Stephen Cutts examines the potential riches of the solar system and argues the case for regarding them as a natural resource for humans
to exploit.

Watch this space
BIS CEO Elizabeth Anderson talks to UK 2020 World Space Week Co-ordination Manager Vix Southgate about plans for this year’s events and what BIS members can do to help.


https://www.bis-space.com/eshop/products-page-3/magazines/spaceflight/spaceflight-2020/spaceflight-vol-62-no-09-september-2020/

[jacqmans]

SpaceFlight Vol 62 No 10 – October 2020


To Space and beyond
Continuing the theme of space tourism we began last month, Nick Spall digs down into what motivates people to want to take a flight into space and expands that to examine the reasons why professional astronauts do what they do.

Sending out an SLS
We welcome contributor John Sealander, who took a tour of NASA’s Stennis Space Center to bring us the latest developments at the seminal facility for preparing the core stage of the Space Launch System for crucial testing.

Space history in the making
Griffith Ingram explains the background to the new history magazine Space Chronicle and explores the reasons why this reinvented product aims to be at the forefront of fascinating background insights into what made the Space Age, from earliest efforts to the present.

https://www.bis-space.com/eshop/products-page-3/magazines/spaceflight/spaceflight-2020/spaceflight-vol-62-no-10-october-2020/

[jacqmans]

SpaceFlight Vol 62 No 11 – November 2020

Human space flight vehicles
Taking stock of where we are with the wide variety of space vehicles built to carry humans, Jim Thomson sent us a table from which we decided to expand cursory details of what is around.

Europe eyes the Moon
Gerard van de Haar quantifies the level of participation the European Space Agency now has with NASA as it embeds itself with the Lunar Gateway and the Artemis lunar landing programme.

Wood from the trees
The 2Excel geo team explain their programme for monitoring the changing arboreal landscape and see tree-counting by satellite as a key to understanding environmental impact.

Guardians of the deep
We welcome Amelia Jane Piper with her informative focus on how satellites are helping understand the rapidly changing nature of the world’s oceans and its life forms.

https://www.bis-space.com/eshop/products-page-3/magazines/spaceflight/spaceflight-2020/spaceflight-vol-62-no-11-november-2020/

[jacqmans]

SpaceFlight Vol 62 No 12 – December 2020


In search of antimatter: Mirror Quark Limited, a company founded by our own Alan Bond, Honorary Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society, has sponsored an exciting and challenging competition to find methods of storing and handling antihydrogen, for use in advanced space propulsion.

Us – or them? Geoffrey Briggs looks again at the old controversy – human or robot space exploration? Electronics and Information Technology have made amazing advances since the early space probes, but can they completely replace human astronauts?

How to feel the Universe: How can disabled people enjoy and appreciate the exhibits at space museums? Russ Palmer tells of the innovative measures that museums, such as the National Space Centre, Leicester, are taking to help the disabled, with accessibility, good toilet accommodation, assistance from both human guides and trained Assistance Dogs, and by allowing carers and personal assistants free admission.

https://bis-space.com/shop/product/spaceflight-vol-62-no-12-december-2020/

[jacqmans]

January 2021 cover

[mlindner]

He was active on this forum as well, https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?action=profile;area=showposts;u=7814

He made all sorts of wild claims about working on various projects. How many people did he mislead on these forums? Any way to summon a moderator to edit all his old posts and add a clarifying note that the information is faked? He even posted a bunch of information on to L2 historical section, for those who can see it.

For example this bit: https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=16059.msg890298#msg890298

Or this bit: https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=22681.msg636250#msg636250

Or this whopper: https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=22681.msg636260#msg636260

And I guess Blackstar interacted with him a lot on the forums years ago and he told a lot of "stories" that I wonder how much of them are completely fake. Like this one: https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=15043.msg693773#msg693773

[daedalus1]

Maybe Spaceflight magazine will now have some articles on the rise of SpaceX just for balance.
I have highlighted it before and is the main reason I stopped buying it after decades of doing so.

[Lar]

Not seeing the need for moderator action as yet.