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Space is one vast, and amazingly fascinating topic. In this section we hope to share some of of the more interesting bits about space exploration, from intriguing technicalities to fascinating scientific phenomena and discoveries.
Latest article
What were the payloads of rocket maiden flights? How common are boilerplates?
We’ve looked into maiden flights of the launch vehicles since 2010 and investigated what did they launch, trying to find out how common are boilerplates such as the one in an upcoming SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch.
Spaceflight
Thermal Control in Space: Heat Sources
Do you remember what we talked about in the Article Thermal Control in Space? In this article we made a general introduction to thermal control, applied not only in space but in several fields. However, now we go a little step forward by describing the main heat...
Cubesat, the new way to launch a satellite.
Nowadays, space travel is on the news every day, with new missions, new launches, and new astronauts working there. What if I told you that there is a way that students can build and put their own satellites in orbit? Does that seem incredible, an unaffordable luxury...
Thermal Control in Space
Space, many times defined as the last boundary for human beings. Is that true? Are we going to stay on Earth forever? Is the interplanetary spaceflight just a dream? Not at all, but almost. As you may know, it is commonly accepted that space starts above 100 km of...
What does it really take to be an astronaut?
Imagine, for a moment, that you are an astronaut at the International Space Station (ISS). You are working on some wires during an Extravehicular Activity (EVA, also known as spacewalk), when you notice something strange: the feeling of liquid accumulating around your...
Rocketry
What were the payloads of rocket maiden flights? How common are boilerplates?
We’ve looked into maiden flights of the launch vehicles since 2010 and investigated what did they launch, trying to find out how common are boilerplates such as the one in an upcoming SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch.
Propulsion Technologies II – Electric Propulsion
As we have seen, there is a limit on the ejection speed achievable by chemical propulsion rockets. But electric propulsion can overcome this limitation, reaching ejection speeds in excess of 50 km/s…
A tailor-made thruster
Space propulsion systems can fulfill numerous different roles. Depending on them and on the environment they will operate in, there will be a huge difference in priorities in thruster design…
Striving for performance: Specific impulse
There are many parameters involving spacecraft design, and especially, thruster design. One of them is mass reduction. The other one is the Specific Impulse…
Aviation
The scientists: the day aviation changed
From George Cayley’s time, the importance of aerodynamics for airplane design was well understood. However, it took a time (and some remarkable people) for the theoretical side of aerodynamics to catch up with progress in aviation and start providing reliable predictions, that would allow much faster design optimization…
The not so special day at Kitty Hawk: the day aviation changed
As almost everybody knows, the Wright brothers carried out the first powered flight of a heavier-than-air machine on December 17, 1903 in Kitty Hawk. But there is much more depth to this history than meets the eye…
The gliders and the stumblers: the day aviation changed
After George Cayley set up the fundamental concepts for flight, putting them into practice should have been a child’s play, and humans should be flying in no time. Or was it?
Not flying like birds: the day aviation changed
Flying has always been a dream for humanity. It was always associated with freedom, bringing the possibility to go wherever wanted, regardless of terrain and conditions. After all, one of the most known myths about flight actually talks about freedom (and its risks):...
Science
Wavelengths – seeing the unseen from space
Every substance interacts with light in a different way. Knowing these interactions allows us to figure out of what are composed the materials we are looking at. Thus, in a visible light spectrum chlorophyll in plants absorbs red and blue light while...
Cooking your own star
Stars are the bright spots of our lives, this recipe gives you the basic astrophysics you need to cook one yourself. Some will last longer than the Universe is old, whereas others are short-lived, ferocious beasts.
Realists vs Antirealists: So, What now?
After a few headaches reading Realists’ and Antirealists’ version of perception, the only way for us is to answer…
What shall we trust now?
Realists vs Antirealists: Realists
In the borders between Modern Physics and Philosophy, the discussion about the realism, conducted by Einstein, continues. Is there a real antirealism in Modern Physics?