Doug Plata and Chris Wolfe have an updated design for solar drapes for gathering power at the South Pole of the moon. They looked at how much power a single lunar Starship (100 tonnes) could establish at the best so-called Peak of Eternal Light (PEL) at the lunar south pole. The concept of operations would …
Xors Moon Base project is a lunar habitat which seems feasible within the next ten years and able to accommodate 2-3 crews at one time, will be presented by Innspace team members. The project took 4th place in the Moon Base Design Contest. The base consists of 4 living modules and 2 additional ones covered …
Brian Wang explores what SpaceX will be achieving this decade. Brian is a SpaceX investor and is a member of angel investment groups including Space Angels and Allocations which each make many space investments. The keys to the SpaceX decade will be the Super Heavy Starship and rapid reuse of it. The rapid reuse will …
Elon Musk had a Starship and Heavy Booster update. The SpaceX Super Heavy Booster will be eventually flown every hour. It will boost for two minutes and return in four minutes and refuel in 30 minutes. The SpaceX Starships that go to orbit will be flown every 6 to 8 hours. They will have to …
China is developing a megawatt nuclear reactor for moon and Mars missions according to the South China Morning Post. Jiang Jieqiong, a professor with the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Nuclear Safety Technology, has suggested that the nuclear reactor could use a foldable structure – similar to an umbrella – to increase the surface …
A recent NASA audit reveals Boeing and Grumman cut of Space Launch System contracts. It also reveals that NASA Artemis will end up costing $93 billion through 2025. $29 billion will have gone to SLS. Lockheed gets $17 billion for Orion. SOURCES – NASA Written by Brian Wang, Nextbigfuture.com Brian WangBrian Wang is a Futurist …
NASA Office of Inspector General – Office of Audits IG-22-003 (A-20-008-01) says NASA Artemis program will not land humans on the moon before 2027. The NASA Artemis program had been targeting to return humans to the Moon by late 2024 rather than 2028 as initially planned. NASA implemented modifications to its routine procurement and program …
A large rocket landing on the moon will blow the dust like regolith all over the place. The dust and regolith could damage the rocket landing and the material could even fly off into space causing damage and hazard to satellites. A NASA NIAC study is looking at putting materials into the fuel of a …
Doug Plata wrote an article on the Space Review that indicates that Starship to Orbit should be a policy tipping point. Orbital Starship is a historic transformation. It is the vehicle which will let us spread beyond Earth. Super Heavy Starship is not only developing the largest and most powerful rocket in history, but SpaceX …
Intuitive Machines is developing the Nova-C lander which they want to send to the surface of the moon in early 2022. It will be powered by their VR900 engine, and replete with innovative avionics for advanced guidance, navigation and control. “IM-1” is capable of carrying 130kg of cargo, and will ferry numerous experiments to the …
The $2.9 billion NASA funding for the SpaceX Lunar Starship means that a Starship will get man-rated for four astronauts. This means getting the chance of loss of crew less than one in 500 for a lunar landing. SpaceX Lunar Starship will only initially support four astronauts because the launch will be performed by SLS …
