Fill it up, RROxITT! And check the solar panels, too.

For a very long time, satellites orbiting the Earth have had a very finite lifetime. Some satellites have lasted over ten years, and aside from anomalies and failing components, a satellite’s fuel tank has been key to how long a satellite can function. But that might change soon for geosynchronous (GEO) satellites, thanks to RROxITT (Remote Robotic […]

Explorer 1, the First US Satellite

January 31st, 1958. 56 years ago, and the United States had finally succeeded in launching its own satellite, the Explorer 1. According to this Yahoo! Travel post, the launch of Explorer 1 was linked to the International Geophysical Year (IGY). The big deal about that, as explained in this wiki entry, is the IGY marked the beginning […]

NASA Centennial Challenges in Space

Here’s my latest Clearancejobs.com post for you. NASA wants competitors in this challenge to do some very interesting things with small satellites. You can read about the details in: NASA Centennial Challenges: The Start of Star Trekking?

Chinese Space: What has changed?

To hear people tell it, China seems to be gaining the upper-hand in the space warfare department. This Freebeacon post (http://freebeacon.com/experts-china-boosts-space-warfare-capabilities/) tells a tale of the devious Chinese space activities threatening the United States. Articles like this are designed to get people fired up, and that’s disturbing. There are reasons to worry about the future […]

Space Superiority Doctrine

This is a very interesting opinion piece posted on January 16: “U.S. in Space: Superiority, Not Dominance,” written by Mr. Travis C. Stalcup for The Diplomat. I agree with his overall viewpoint about the need for a United States’ space policy. But I’m not sure I agree with the options he presented. He believes there are […]