NYC 25×25 is a plan proposed by Transportation Alternatives, which acts to transform a quarter of the current urban space available to cars: an area equivalent to thirteen Central Parks to be taken away from traffic.
Category: space travel – Page 175
50 years ago, the U.S. and U.S.S.R. joined forces to ensure astronauts could survive in space
Could this happen today?
This document laid the foundation for modern space exploration and research. It is also a testament to a fading world order where nations worked together in space toward shared scientific goals despite their political differences.
Signed by President Richard Nixon and Premier Alexie Kosygin in the U.S.S.R on May 24, 1972, the agreement led to the first international crewed space mission, 1975’s Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.
John Logsdon, an expert in space policy and professor emeritus at George Washington University, explains that Nixon’s actions were informed by the ideas of his then-Secretary of State Henry Kissinger had grand ideas for the future of international relations and, together with Nixon, he believed an agreement toward mutual assistance between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. would ultimately help the U.S. hold greater influence over world politics.
10 years ago, one SpaceX launch showed NASA they could work with Elon Musk
“This mission heralds the dawn of a new era of space exploration.”
Ten years ago on May 22, 2012, Elon Musk’s SpaceX made history. The company became the fourth entity, after the United States, Russia, and China, to launch a spacecraft into orbit and, on May 31 of that year, return it back to Earth. The achievement fundamentally altered the course of the next decade of space exploration.
That mission, the Dragon C2/3, was also the first commercial spacecraft to dock with another spacecraft in orbit — the International Space Station, in SpaceX’s case, on May 24, 2012. It was also the first commercial spaceship to return cargo back to Earth.
At the time, Musk reportedly stated in a press conference: “This mission heralds the dawn of a new era of space exploration, one in which there is a significant commercial space element.”
Scientists grow plants in lunar soil for the first time
For the first time ever, scientists have grown plants in soil samples collected from the Moon fifty years ago, a feat that could have implications not only for prolonged space exploration, but for plants trying to thrive in harsh conditions on our planet.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.
NASA Reveals Early Plans to Send Two Astronauts to Surface of Mars
During a high-level talk on NASA’s objectives for human space exploration, we got an early glimpse of what a 30 day crewed mission to the surface of Mars could eventually look like.
It’s an exciting prospect that, while many years if not decades away, shows the agency’s commitment to fulfilling humanity’s dreams of setting foot on the Red Planet for the first time in history.
NASA director of space architectures Kurt “Spuds” Vogel outlined what such a mission could entail. The agency is envisioning a habitat spacecraft to make the months long journey there, which uses a hybrid rocket stage that combines chemical and electric propulsion.
Boeing Starliner OFT-2 launch date, specs, and timeline for the ISS flight
Nearly three years ago, OFT-1 aimed to accomplish the same goals as OFT-2. Although the Atlas V rocket inserted the Starliner capsule into a perfect trajectory, the capsule’s navigational systems believed “it was in an orbital insertion burn.” Despite this failure, mission control was able to safely return Starliner to Earth. Over the coming months, inspectors found that the capsule had encountered two critical software issues.
Comprehensively inspecting and fixing the navigation system for a complex spacecraft is no easy task, which is one of the reasons why a second orbital test has been so delayed. Unrelated issues forced Boeing to scrub the intended second launch in August 2021. Now that Starliner is back and presumably better than ever, this launch will test the complex imaging system required to dock to the ISS, along with the rest of the Starliner spacecraft.
WHAT’S NEXT? — If OFT-2 is successful, Boeing can finally progress toward moving astronauts to the International Space Station. Currently, NASA’s only ride to the ISS is through SpaceX’s Crew Dragon program, which has seen four flawless Commercial Crew missions to the space station, two other crewed launches to the ISS, and one orbital all-civilian mission. Pending a successful test, Starliner could see crewed use by the end of 2022.