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China begins research into constructing kilometer-spanning spacecraft

2021-09-01T16:23:00-04:00

A mega spacecraft assembled in orbit is among projects that Chinese researchers have been invited to study, as the country expands plans for future space exploration and long-term crewed missions. The National Natural Science Foundation of China has called on scientists to join a five-year project to study the mechanics of an “ultra-large spacecraft spanning kilometres”

This is among 10 proposed research projects released in August by the foundation’s mathematical and physical sciences department, which will provide funding of up to $2.3 million to five projects. The project will gather researchers to investigate how this endeavor could be realized, exploring the engineering challenges of such a major undertaking. For example, according to the project’s outline, the modular spacecraft would have to be assembled in space through a series of separate trips due to its size. To limit the number of launches and construction costs, researchers will be tasked with minimizing the weight of the spacecraft.

According to the South China Morning Post, China has invested heavily in its space program, with projects including sending a functional rover on Mars and the development of its Tiangong space station.

In regards to the kilometer-spanning speculative project, the foundation states, “[Such a spacecraft] is a major strategic aerospace equipment for the fu...

Japanese scientists to run space elevator experiment in orbit

2018-09-05T13:31:00-04:00

A team made up of researchers at Shizuoka University and other institutions is set to conduct an experiment in September for a project to develop a "space elevator" connecting Earth and a space station by cable -- attracting attention as a possible dream vehicle for space travel and cargo shipments in the future.

The idea of a space elevator has been around since 1895 when Russian/Soviet rocket scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (inspired by the newly erected Eiffel Tower in Paris) envisioned a very long cable running from earth's equator to space beyond geostationary orbit with a counterweight at the top to offset our planet's gravity—maintaining an upright tether, under tension, to run cars up and down.

NASA to start testing inflatable "space house" concept

2016-04-04T20:11:00-04:00

NASA is hoping a new expandable habitat might one day give astronauts a little more alone time. The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, or BEAM, will be ferried to the ISS later this spring for a series of tests expected to last several years...experiments will help determine the viability of expandable habitats, which weigh less and occupy less space on a rocket, as laboratories and living quarters for future deep-space missions.

Space Noir

2014-12-01T14:28:00-05:00

The European Space Agency recently released a group of photos taken by astronaut Alexander Gerst showing the International Space Station at night. The only real contextual information provided is that "the six astronauts on the weightless research centre live by GMT, and generally sleep at the same time." Gerst—so close to Geist!—thus took advantage of the downtime to produce some images that make the ISS look uninhabited, a dead mansion rolling through space.

How do humans perceive the built environment in outer space?

2014-07-10T14:43:00-04:00

I put out a call via twitter and facebook for quick drawings of the ISS from memory. Asking my social media friends for sketches wasn't some kind of contest about accuracy or skill, it was more an investigation into what sorts of visual responses come up when people think about the space station. The (totally unscientific) results reveal much about how we see and understand the built environment in outer space.