Spacecraft propulsion

They are met with a number of challenges. The most pressing being the increasing emission in solar weather produced by the black hole’s accretion disk, they constantly need to fix the solar electric sail that not only produces the main source of propulsion it is also responsible for energy production for the craft and the main shilling device for the astronauts,…

Caltech: Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. (250 - 650) In my home, I am known as the IT department. Whenever anyone in my family needs technical support, they come ask me. My family first noticed my knack for computer skills when we got our first family computer. I would always be playing around with settings and games. One…

The modern form of Homo sapiens has been on Earth for roughly 100,000 years (Homo). Only within the last 55 years have humans, or modern Homo sapiens, traveled beyond the Earth’s atmosphere. Not only have humans escaped Earth’s atmosphere, but humans have also landed on other celestial bodies, such as the Moon. As humans continue to explore, there will become a need for further advancements in all fields of study, to not only reach distant planets but also to sustain life on them as well. There…

growing space debris problem today. Space debris, in this context, is all of the bits of destroyed man-made technology left in space, some of which fall into orbit. While in orbit, this space debris poses massive risks to active satellites or other spacecraft. Some efforts are being made to reduce the volume of debris but they may not be enough. It is entirely possible that a chain reaction has already begun and it is too late (http://webpages.charter.net/dkessler/files/KesSym.html). For this…

We’re currently in the technology era, with new things being developed and discovered almost every day. Something crazy is always in the works and the next big technology always seems to be right around the corner. Self-driving cars and iPhones aside, some of the biggest advancements are happening in the industry of space exploration and physics. SpaceX just recently landed a launched rocket safely onto a barge out in the ocean, LIGO discovered that Einstein’s predicted gravitational waves are…

Throughout history, humans have always held a fascination with extraterrestrial life. Science fiction tales were written in the second and tenth centuries (Joy and “Satire or the First Science”). Crop circles were claimed to be found in medieval times (Radford). Searches for canals built by martians were carried out more than two hundred years ago (Simon). The fascination with alien life integrated itself into human culture and as it changes, the beliefs change as well. Science fiction allows…