QDSA (Queensland Defence Science Alliance)’s Post

🚨 🚀 A Giant Leap for Private Spaceflight: Polaris Dawn's Historic Spacewalk 🚀🚨 In a groundbreaking achievement, the Polaris Dawn mission has just made history with the first-ever commercial spacewalk! 🧑🚀💫 Led by billionaire Jared Isaacman, the crew of four opened the hatch of their SpaceX Dragon capsule and ventured out into space, marking a new era in private space exploration. 🌍🚀 What makes this so monumental? • Isaacman and SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis conducted the spacewalk using SpaceX's lighter, more flexible spacesuits, a game changer for future missions! 👩🚀👨🚀 • These suits, tethered to the Dragon capsule by umbilical cords, are designed to be more scalable and cost-effective for future exploration. The spacewalk itself was brief but historic. Each astronaut spent less than 10 minutes outside the capsule, testing the mobility and performance of the new suits. 🧑🚀💡 Why It Matters: • This marks a significant milestone for private spaceflight, as previous spacewalks were exclusively performed by government astronauts. 🌍🚀 • SpaceX's innovative suit design represents a leap toward more accessible missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. 🌕🪐 Even NASA Administrator Bill Nelson recognized this achievement, calling it a "giant leap forward" for the commercial space industry. 💥 The future of space exploration is bright, and private missions like Polaris Dawn are leading the charge! 🌌✨ Stay tuned to Future Techly for the latest updates on this groundbreaking initiative and the latest in tech and business! Source: TechCrunch #SpaceX #PolarisDawn #Spacewalk #Innovation #PrivateSpaceflight #SpaceExploration #Astronomy #TechNews #FutureTechly

Introducing Radian One: The Future of Space Travel Radian Aerospace, a pioneering US-based company, is gearing up to test a scale model of its groundbreaking "spaceplane" this year, aiming to revolutionize space missions as we know them! 🚀✈️ Founded in 2016, Radian Aerospace is bringing back the dream of a Single-Stage-To-Orbit (SSTO) spaceplane—a concept last attempted by NASA's X-33 program. The Radian One spaceplane is fully reusable and takes a fresh approach to space launches. Instead of traditional vertical rocket launches, Radian One will use a rocket-powered sled system on a two-mile-long rail to accelerate from a standard runway. This innovative method reduces fuel requirements, potentially lowering costs and offering a smoother ride for passengers. Key features of Radian One include: 🚀 Fully Reusable Design: Capable of up to 100 missions, minimizing waste and reducing costs. ⏱️ Rapid Turnaround: Can relaunch just 48 hours after landing, enhancing mission flexibility. 🧑🚀 Crew Capacity: Can carry up to five crew members and stay in orbit for up to five days. 🌍 Horizontal Launch and Landing: Operates like a jet aircraft, eliminating the need for complex launch pads. 🛠️ SSTO Capabilities: Reaches orbit without shedding parts, thanks to innovative technologies like its rocket-powered sled launch. With plans to have a full-size version ready by 2028, Radian Aerospace is poised to make history. If successful, this could be a game-changer for space exploration, satellite deployment, and even space tourism. 🌠 The future of space travel is on the horizon, and it's taking off in a whole new direction! #SpaceInnovation #RadianAerospace #FutureOfSpaceTravel #AerospaceEngineering #Spaceplane #RocketScience Source @EuroNews Visit: www.shesightmag.com

🚀 What if Starship was ready for an October 2024 Mars mission: A Masterclass in Astrodynamics 🌌 Before EDEN Prime, my passion for space architecture and astrodynamics has been self-taught and driven by project-based learning. Imagining SpaceX's Starship on its voyage to Mars, back in 2021, I calculated its potential trajectory (Earth to Mars, no Lunar pitstop), exploring the dynamics of space travel and its effect on designing spacecraft & long mission/travel Modules and the meticulous planning involved. We approach October 2024, the optimal window for a Starship Launch to launch to Mars as Earth-Mars opposition nears. It's the perfect moment to reflect on an extraordinary journey of designing interplanetary missions.  This exercise isn't just about reaching Mars; it's about mastering the complexities of spacecraft design in zero gravity and understanding the long-distance trajectories critical to navigating our solar system. For aspiring aerospace engineers, space industry professionals, educators, and enthusiasts join me in dissecting this fascinating process. Let's delve into the intricacies of a Mars mission and inspire the next frontier of space exploration. #SpaceArchitecture #Starshiplaunch #MarsMission #SpaceX #Starship #Astrodynamics #SpaceExploration #Engineering SpaceX Blue Origin TUM Management Alumni e.V. TUM Venture Labs Technical University of Munich European Space Agency - ESA NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration German Aerospace Center (DLR) NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Axiom Space The Exploration Company Rocket Factory Augsburg - RFA International Space University Airbus Defence and Space ARIANESPACE Redwire Space ispace, inc. Gravitics Inc Sierra Space Delft University of Technology Technische Universität Berlin European Space Resources Innovation Centre (ESRIC) Lockheed Martin https://lnkd.in/ecGYep4w

🚀 **Historic Spacewalk: SpaceX Achieves Private Milestone** 🚀 In a groundbreaking achievement for private space exploration, billionaire Jared Isaacman and SpaceX crew trainer Sarah Gillis executed the first privately-financed spacewalk early Thursday morning. Floating just outside their Crew Dragon capsule at 458 miles above Earth, this historic event marks a new era in space exploration. Isaacman, reflecting on the serene view, commented, “Back at home, we all have a lot of work to do. But from here, it sure looks like a perfect world.” The spacewalk, which lasted from 6:51 to 7:58 a.m. EDT, involved Isaacman and Gillis testing the mobility and comfort of their SpaceX-designed EVA suits. The suits, equipped with umbilicals for air, power, and communication, were tested in a series of planned movements to assess performance and comfort. The Crew Dragon, without an airlock, required modifications including increased oxygen levels and a new nitrogen repress system to ensure safety during the spacewalk. Cameras both inside and outside the capsule provided stunning views of space, enhancing our understanding of EVA suit design. This milestone aims to perfect low-cost, easily manufacturable spacesuits for future commercial astronauts, paving the way for future missions to the Moon and Mars. Isaacman, who also led SpaceX's first fully commercial flight in 2021, is working with Elon Musk on additional missions, including the first piloted flight of SpaceX’s Super Heavy-Starship rocket. As we celebrate this achievement, it's clear that the boundaries of private space exploration are being pushed further than ever before. #SpaceX #PolarisDawn #PrivateSpacewalk #Innovation #SpaceExploration #EVA #SpaceSuit #CommercialSpaceflight #NASA

Today we have been reflecting on an impactful experience that happened on this day in 2008! After a failure of its Briz-M upper stage shortly after launch on March 14, 2008, the AMC-14 communications satellite was left stranded in an inclined geostationary transfer orbit. John Carrico, Owner, CTO at SEE and Mike Loucks, CEO at SEE developed a recovery trajectory to deliver the spacecraft to its originally intended orbit. Changing the angle between a spacecraft’s orbit plane and the equator is expensive in terms of propellant. Since AMC-14 was stranded near an inclination of 52 deg, propellant could be conserved by boosting the apogee of the spacecraft’s orbit out to lunar distance. Two lunar encounters (a “double lunar swingby”) reduced the inclination to 0 deg (an equatorial orbit) and raised perigee to GEO altitude. Perhaps counterintuitively, the propellant required for these large changes in altitude was less than that required to reduce inclination propulsively. Ultimately, AMC-14 did not utilize a double-lunar swingby trajectory to reach GEO. Instead, a series of low-thrust maneuvers were performed to raise orbit and eventually reach an inclined, geosynchronous orbit. The SEE team has studied the use of double lunar swingby trajectories for other applications, including transferring a satellite from a lunar rideshare to GEO. Stephen West presented this work at last year’s Spaceflight Mechanics Meeting. *link to paper: https://lnkd.in/gA2gbH42 Double lunar swingbys are one of the “tools” in the astrogator’s toolbox. For resource constrained missions, lunar gravity assists can enable large orbit changes while conserving propellant. Every day, the SEE team applies techniques like this to solve challenging mission design problems!

Interesting read about FireFly's business model and their vision for the future of #commercialspace. Did you know that the space economy is forecasted to reach $1.8 trillion by 2035, growing at a rate of 9% annually? Also, according to the Space Foundation, launch providers are launching every 34 hours. Exciting times ahead for #lunarmissions, #spaceflight, and #rocketlaunches. The above details and others can be found here: https://lnkd.in/gRX-6bm7

The international astronautical congress 2024 is very close and the Space Safety and Sustainability (SSS) Project Group from Space Generation Advisory Council will be present with the following papers: Title: State of the art for proximity and docking procedures throughout the latest years Member(s): Diya Jose, Javier Maldonado-Romo, Atzin Constantino, Yuti Antani, Virgile Gautier and Yakov Bobrov  Objective: On-Orbit Servicing (OOS) improves space sustainability and safety through remediation and mitigation strategies. A thorough analysis of past RPO events reveals recurring trends and critical variables impacting mission success. The study suggests safety guidelines and best practices to enhance the security of spacecraft and the longevity of the orbital environment. Title: Characterization of orbits in cislunar space for space traffic management Member(s): Sourav Ghosh Objective: Lunar exploration missions have increased, necessitating traffic management in cislunar space. Characterizing orbits for specific use cases, such as communication relays and space stations, can improve coordination and efficiency. Title: Constraints and challenges in guidance, navigation and control architectures for beyond earth orbit cubesat missions Member(s): Sourav Ghosh Objective: Interplanetary CubeSats face unique challenges in Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) systems due to limited space, power, and communication. Addressing these challenges requires innovative solutions, such as optical navigation and autonomous guidance, to enable successful and cost-effective exploration of the cosmos. Title: The new voyager: astronauts and the modern myth of space exploration Member(s): Chiara Limardi Objective: Space exploration’s impact on Millennials and Zoomers is explored, examining how globalization and technology influence the creation of an internationally shared narrative on astronauts. The study analyzes national depictions of astronauts from the US, India, Italy, and Japan to understand the extent to which a universally shared mythology of space exploration can be presented. Mahhad Nayyer Atzin Constantino Gómez

What do Blue Origin's NS-26 and SpaceX's Polaris Dawn missions have in common? More than you might think. In his latest blog, Frank White dives deep into the contrasts and connections between these two private space ventures and how these missions reflect the growing impact of private funding in space exploration. https://ow.ly/SUay50TeJ4c #SpaceIndustry #SpaceExploration #PrivateSpaceflight

Starship: Revolutionizing Space Exploration SpaceX’s Starship represents a monumental leap in space exploration, transforming the way humanity approaches travel beyond Earth. Designed to be fully reusable, Starship aims to transport both cargo and crew to destinations as close as low Earth orbit (LEO) and as distant as Mars. Its significance lies not just in its ambitious goals but in its potential to make space travel more affordable, accessible, and sustainable. Before Starship, space missions were often one-way trips for spacecraft. Rockets like Saturn V or the Space Shuttle had limited reusability, with enormous costs per launch. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 disrupted that model by landing its first stage for reuse. Starship takes this innovation further. As a two-stage vehicle, both the Super Heavy booster and Starship spacecraft itself are designed to be fully reusable, potentially reducing launch costs to a fraction of what they were. Starship’s impressive payload capacity—up to 150 metric tons to LEO—makes it capable of carrying satellites, space station modules, and even entire habitats for Moon and Mars missions. It can be a game-changer for scientific research, space tourism, and interplanetary exploration. NASA’s decision to use Starship as a lunar lander for its Artemis missions underlines the confidence in its capabilities. Moreover, the goal of making Starship a multipurpose space vehicle opens new possibilities. From refueling in orbit to enabling human settlements on the Moon and Mars, Starship represents the future of humanity’s off-world ambitions. With its capacity to launch large payloads more frequently and its potential to eventually support hundreds of people on long-duration missions, Starship could redefine our relationship with space. While technical challenges remain, SpaceX has consistently demonstrated an ability to overcome obstacles and push the boundaries of what's possible. Starship, with its bold vision, promises not just to change how we explore space but to make interplanetary civilization a tangible reality in the decades to come. #SpaceXStarship #SpaceExploration #MarsMission #SpaceInnovation #FutureOfSpace #ReusableRockets #InterplanetaryTravel #SpaceTravel #ElonMusk #SpaceX

𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭: 𝐀 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝑮𝒆𝒕 𝒂 𝑭𝑹𝑬𝑬 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆: https://lnkd.in/gig_k_QX As we journey through the vast expanse of space exploration, let's take a moment to reflect on the evolution of the commercial rockets market. From humble beginnings to soaring achievements, this timeline encapsulates the remarkable advancements in space transportation: ·       𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟐: Elon Musk's SpaceX launches its first Falcon 1 rocket, marking the beginning of a new era in commercial spaceflight. ·       𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟎: SpaceX's Falcon 9 makes history, becomes the first privately developed rocket to successfully launch, orbit, and recover a spacecraft. ·       𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟓: Reusable Rockets Revolutionize Industry - SpaceX achieves a major milestone by successfully landing a Falcon 9 rocket booster back on Earth, paving the way for reusable rocket technology. ·       𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟔: Jeff Bezos' BLUE ORIGIN successfully launches and lands its New Shepard rocket, demonstrating the viability of vertical takeoff and vertical landing (VTVL) technology. ·       𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟎: Commercial Crew Program Takes Off NASA partners with SpaceX and Boeing to develop spacecraft capable of ferrying astronauts to and from the International Space Station, ushering in a new era of commercial space travel. ·       𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐: Small Satellite Launch Market Booms Companies like Rocket Lab and Virgin Orbit capitalize on the growing demand for small satellite launches, offering cost-effective solutions for deploying payloads into orbit. ·       𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭: The commercial rockets market continues to expand, with a diverse array of companies competing to lower costs, increase reliability, and push the boundaries of space exploration. Looking ahead, the future of commercial rockets promises even greater innovation and collaboration, as we strive to unlock the mysteries of the cosmos and make space more accessible to all. #commercialrockets #spaceexploration #innovation