One of the earliest characteristics of human civilisation (large populations living together in organised cities) was the creation of rules or laws that everyone who lived there agreed to abide by. The 50th anniversary of first humans to visit the Moon is celebrated later this year. In 1968 it was pretty much just two countries and […]
Episode 75. China -back to the Moon with Chang’ E 4
One mission two spacecraft, China is going back to the Moon with Chang’E 4 mission that I think is the most exciting lunar mission since the 1970s. By the end of 2018, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) will launch Chang’E 4 that will explore the far side of the Moon with a lander and a […]
Episode 74. Space Debris and Sustainable use of Space
Space, as the author Douglas Adams said “is big. Really big. You just won’t believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is”. After 6 decades of launching spacecraft, some orbits are now congested with space debris from collisions and poor end-of-life mission management. This has now become a serious hazard and even a danger to operational […]
Episode 73. Using Commercial Of the Shelf (COTs) Components to build spacecraft
If you follow this podcast, you will notice a very long pause since the previous episode. I have been busy writing my second book, the Indian Space Programme which is now finally complete. So I am now back to my familiar but irregular podcasting mode. The growth in the space sector now widely estimated to […]