A vision for a new space age based on small launch vehicles. An introduction to microlaunchers and microlaunchers technology with a general overview of rocket design and engineering but at a popular and student level. Written for those who have a basic understanding of high school algebra and physics.

This book examines the recent shift in US space policy and the forces that continually draw the US back into a space-technology security dilemma. The dual-use nature of the vast majority of space technology, meaning of value to both civilian and military communities and being unable to differentiate offensive from defensive intent of military hardware, makes space an area particularly ripe for a security dilemma. In contrast to previous administrations, the Obama Administration has pursued a less militaristic space policy, instead employing a strategic restraint approach that stressed multilateral diplomacy to space challenges. The latter required international solutions and the United States, subsequently, even voiced support for an International Code of Conduct for Space. That policy held until the Chinese anti-satellite (ASAT) test in 2013, which demonstrated expanded Chinese capabilities. This volume explores the issues arising from evolving space capabilities across the world and the security challenges this poses. It subsequently discusses the complexity of the space environment and argues that all tools of national power must be used, with some degree of balance, toward addressing space challenges and achieving space goals. This book will be of much interest to students of space policy, defence studies, foreign policy, security studies and IR.

FOREWORD By Bruce McCandless II Former NASA Astronaut This volume is the fifth in the series on contemporary space topics by the Aerospace Technology Working Group with support from Secure World Foundation, the International Space University, and the International Institute of Space Commerce. It deals principally with the topic of sustainability of space operations. In all fields of challenging endeavor actually accomplishing an objective (e.g., putting a satellite into orbit) comes first, followed by exploitation or commercialization, and lastly by a realization that the resource is finite. Such "finite-ness" may come from considerations of pollution (e.g., space debris, propulsion effluent) or of actual limitations on the availability of the resource (e.g., crowding of Geostationary Earth Orbit - GEO). Both of these topics are among those discussed in detail in this volume. Developing countries, in particular, may find such considerations too burdensome, and this begs the need for regulation to avoid the classic "Tragedy of the Commons" situation. In the case of orbital debris we have collectively arrived at a point where tens of millions of tiny pieces of debris are currently in orbit, decaying at diverse rates in a situation where a single flake of paint has been demonstrated to be capable of causing damage when impacting at high relative velocities. At the other end of the spectrum, defunct satellites (e.g., ESA's Envisat) present discrete problems worthy of individual retrieval/disposal efforts but fraught with complications arising from ownership to potentially still effective ITAR constraints on access to onboard technology. And, of course, the managers of the International Space Station are absolutely paranoid about higher altitude orbital debris eventually decaying to and ultimately impacting their very large orbiting facility. While space may realistically be dubbed "infinite," very specific orbits, or sets of orbits, have practical capacity limits. In GEO, for example, spacing of satellites along it are subject to constraints arising from use of the same radio frequency spectra and the size of ground based antennas required to spatially discriminate between adjacent satellites. In popular high inclination sun-synchronous Earth imaging orbits, these all converge near the poles, creating a traffic management concern arising from the risk of collision. The subject of "green propellants" is treated from several aspects. The Liquid Oxygen / Liquid Hydrogen system, while yielding only water vapor from combustion, may have a significant carbon footprint associated with the manufacture of the LH2 from methane or methanol. Aluminum oxide, an exhaust product of common solid propellant boosters is generally regarded as inert, but the inhalation of fine particles of it can cause pulmonary fibrosis or other lung damage in humans. Additionally the need for oxidizer depletion shutdown in the family of hydrazine/oxidizer booster stages results in significant quantities of UDMH (for example) being dispersed upon impact of the early stages. No Foreword can do adequate justice to the carefully developed material within the publication itself. For a detailed and thought provoking coverage of the principal topics associated with the sustainability of space operations, this book is highly recommended, authoritative, and "a good read."

From earliest times, humans have looked to the sky in wonder, and their wonder and curiosity fueled science. Ancient peoples built enormous temples and monuments to observe the sun and track the movement of stars. And as scientific knowledge expanded, technologies grew more sophisticated. Each development changed the way we viewed our place in the universe. But no technology changed our understanding more than the ability to launch scientific equipment—and human explorers—into space. In this book, we'll explore seven wonders of space technology. Scientists and engineers have built vehicles and equipment to explore the farthest reaches of the solar system. Orbiting satellites and telescopes have given us everything from more accurate weather reports to glimpses back to the beginning of the universe. International teams have built an orbiting space laboratory and are working on plans for human lunar settlements and missions to other planets. Learn about the people and the science behind these amazing advances in space technology.

As we stand poised on the verge of a new era of spaceflight, we must rethink every element, including the human dimension. This book explores some of the contributions of psychology to yesterday’s great space race, today’s orbiter and International Space Station missions, and tomorrow’s journeys beyond Earth’s orbit. Early missions into space were typically brief, and crews were small, often drawn from a single nation. As international cooperation in space exploration has increased over the decades, the challenges of communicating across cultural boundaries and dealing with interpersonal conflicts have become all the more important, requiring different coping skills and sensibilities than “the right stuff” expected of early astronauts. As astronauts travel to asteroids or establish a permanent colony on the Moon, with the eventual goal of reaching Mars, the duration of expeditions will increase markedly, as will the psychosocial stresses. Away from their home planet for extended times, future spacefarers will need to be increasingly self-sufficient, while simultaneously dealing with the complexities of heterogeneous, multicultural crews. "On Orbit and Beyond: Psychological Perspectives on Human Spaceflight," the second, considerably expanded edition of "Psychology of Space Exploration: Contemporary Research in Historical Perspective," provides an analysis of these and other challenges facing future space explorers while at the same time presenting new empirical research on topics ranging from simulation studies of commercial spaceflights to the psychological benefits of viewing Earth from space. This second edition includes an all new section exploring the challenges astronauts will encounter as they travel to asteroids, Mars, Saturn, and the stars, requiring an unprecedented level of autonomy. Updated essays discuss the increasingly important role of China in human spaceflight. In addition to examining contemporary psychological research, several of the essays also explicitly address the history of the psychology of space exploration. Leading contributors to the field place the latest theories and empirical findings in historical context by exploring changes in space missions over the past half century, as well as reviewing developments in the psychological sciences during the same period. The essays are innovative in their approaches and conclusions, providing novel insights for behavioral researchers and historians alike.

The influence of space power pervades almost every sphere and level of human existence, from politics to military affairs to commercial activities to cultural mind-sets. Yet there is little to be found today in the way of coherent space power doctrine and strategy, particularly in national security circles. To what extent do our national interests rely on space? How shall we defend our interests in space and how shall we deny our adversaries the benefits of space power in time of conflict? How can we control and exploit the space environment? How can we effectively wield space power against the full spectrum of threats -- from the lone terrorist to global peer competitors? What should be our long-range strategy and objectives if our goal is to achieve and maintain long-term space superiority? The purpose of this paper is two fold: first, to illuminate the historical and ever-increasing importance of space in modern society; and second, to prescribe, in view of this importance, the foundations of a strategy for achieving lasting space superiority and ensuring national and world security.

A lavishly illustrated catalog of space technology of the future: lab-tested devices, experiments, and habitats for the age of participatory space exploration. As Earthlings, we stand on the brink of a new age: the Anthropocosmos—an era of space exploration in which we can expand humanity’s horizons beyond our planet’s bounds. And in this new era, we have twin responsibilities, to Earth and to space; we should neither abandon our own planet to environmental degradation nor litter the galaxy with space junk. This fascinating and generously illustrated volume—designed by MIT Media Lab researcher Sands Fish—presents space technology for this new age: prototypes, artifacts, experiments, and habitats for an era of participatory space exploration. These projects, developed as part of MIT’s Space Exploration Initiative, range from nanoscale imaging of microbes to responsive, sensor-mediated living environments. They show the usefulness of a seahorse tail for humans in microgravity, document the promise of shape-memory alloys for CubeSat in-orbit maneuvering, and introduce TESSERAE (Tessellated Electromagnetic Space Structures for the Exploration of Reconfigurable, Adaptive Environments), self-assembling space architecture. Some are ongoing, real-world systems: an art payload sent to the International Space Station via Space X CRS-20, for example, and a crowdsourced interplanetary cookbook. More than forty large-format, coffee table book–quality, full-color photographs make our future in space seem palpable. Short explanatory texts by Ariel Ekblaw, astronaut Cady Coleman, and others accompany the images.