Space Science and Technology

CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM IN SPACE

The microgravity environment of space is well tolerated by the cardiovascular system over during periods ranging from weeks to several months. In many ways, the heart, peripheral vasculature, and central cardiovascular control system are exposed to fewer challenges in microgravity than on Earth. Consider the simple act of standing upright in the normal gravity field […]

CHANDRA X-RAY OBSERVATORY

Introduction The Chandra X-ray Observatory (originally called the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility—AXAF) is the X-ray component of NASA’s ”Great Observatory” Program. Chandra is a NASA facility that provides scientific data to the international astronomical community in response to scientific proposals for using it. The Observatory is the product of the efforts of many organizations in […]

CIVIL LAND OBSERVATION SATELLITES

Introduction The first, and still the most dramatic, example of seeing where we live from the vantage point of space was the image of a pale blue and white globe hanging all alone in an infinite expanse of darkness taken through the window of Apollo 8 on its way to the Moon in December 1968. […]

COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS OF COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE TECHNOLOGY

Introduction According to the Teal Group, satellite communications industry consultants, some 1,017 commercial satellites will be launched in the 10 years from 1999 to 2008. Of these, 102 satellites will be dedicated to conventional broadcasting of radio, television, and data: 82 to direct-to-home satellite broadcasting; 384 to broadband and multimedia transmissions; and 449 to mobile […]

COMETS

Introduction The solar system formed 4.6 billion years ago from a cloud of dust and gas called a molecular cloud (1). The molecular cloud was composed predominantly of hydrogen and helium gases and a small amount of heavier atoms and molecules that had been formed during the lifetimes of previous generations of stars. In addition, […]

COMMUNICATION SATELLITE DEVELOPMENT IN RUSSIA

Introduction Work on the practical applications of artificial Earth satellites began in Russia (USSR) in 1961. The first of these satellites, the small low-altitude Strela series spacecraft of the ”electronic mail” type, were developed by the Scientific Production Association for Applied Mechanics (NPO PM) and placed in orbit in 1964. One year later, the Experimental […]

COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITES, TECHNOLOGY OF

History Early Theories. In 1895, a Russian scientist, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, gave the world its first vision of a stationary satellite. He observed that an object orbiting Earth at 22,300 miles up would match the angular rotation of Earth and thus provide a seemingly stationary ”star” overhead. Fifty years later, the English science fiction writer and […]

CONVERSION OF MISSILES INTO SPACE LAUNCH VEHICLES

This article begins with a brief history of the Yuzhnoye Design Office, one of the leading design bureaus in the Soviet Union and Ukraine. The Yuzhnoye Design Office designed numerous strategic missile systems, launch vehicles, and spacecraft (1). One interesting aspect of this history involves the conversion of missiles into space launch vehicles by a […]

COSMONAUTS SELECTION AND PREPARATION

Cosmonaut Training Center History and Accomplishments The Soviet Union’s launch of the world’s first artificial Earth satellite on 4 October 1957 and its subsequent achievements in developing rockets and space technology and flying living beings in its space flight program marked the beginning of preparations for the first human spaceflight. The issue of human spaceflight […]

DEEP SPACE NETWORK, EVOLUTION OF TECHNOLOGY

The Deep Space Network The Deep Space Network (DSN), managed by the California Institute of Technology’s Jet Propulsion laboratory (JPL), has provided vital communications and navigation services for NASA deep space exploration missions for more than 40 years. The remarkable technical achievements of the planetary exploration program executed by NASA would not have been possible […]

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