Infrastructure
2021 TSRQ4 – Analysis: Legal Barriers Complicate Future in Orbit
As spacefaring nations grow more active in space exploration, the idea of a peaceful exploration and use of outer space starts to fade in the absence of international rules.
2021 TSRQ4 – Commercial Spacecraft Boost Payload Deployment to New High
Unprecedented numbers of spacecraft were deployed during 2021. For the year, space operators successfully deployed 1,730 spacecraft, an increase of 29% from 2020’s deployments of 1,340. Companies and operators from 33 nations took part. . .
2021 TSRQ4 – Asteroid Mining: Potential Develops, but so do Regulatory, Technical Issues
Mankind could soon be able to exploit asteroids to obtain natural resources for use on Earth, gather ingredients for missions in space, and support habitation on the Moon and Mars.
2021 TSRQ4 – Launch Analysis: 2021 Sets Record for Successful Orbital Launches
Successful launches soared past annual records in 2021 with 134, beating out the previous record of 128 launches, last met in 1984. Chinese launches grew by. . .
2021 TSRQ4 – The Next Space Stations: Building Blocks of an Orbital Economy
The low Earth orbit (LEO) economy is developing rapidly, and new infrastructure will help LEO activity continue to grow. While the International Space Station (ISS) is nearing the end of its life, there are . . .
2021 TSRQ3 – Six Telescope Launches to Watch this Decade
Barring schedule slips, a half dozen of the most powerful telescopes ever imagined will launch this decade. The most notable, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, is set to launch Dec. 18, 2021, kicking off a new era of cosmology . . .
2021 TSR – Space Symposium Special Edition: Three Dimensions of Building Toward a Sustained Lunar Return
The Moon is re-emerging as a focus for global space exploration activities at a level and tempo that will surpass the peak of lunar activities during the space race of the 1960s and 1970s. Governments and commercial entities . . .
Nuclear Power and Propulsion: A Keystone for the Security, Exploration, and Development of Space
Advancements in space nuclear power and propulsion are essential for maintaining a safe and secure space environment, achieving an enduring human and robotic presence in deep space, and expanding commercial activity in and beyond traditional earth orbits. . .
2021 TSR – Space Symposium Special Edition: A Growing Ecosystem: The SmallSat Economy
Between 2011 and 2021, commercial business in the global space industry experienced profound changes in the small satellite (SmallSat) sector. In less than 10 years, an ecosystem expanded, catering to commercial SmallSat operators. The sector . . .
2021 TSR – Space Symposium Special Edition: Go For Launch
Inspired by forecasts predicting that thousands of SmallSats will launch over the next decade, launch entrepreneurs have raised billions of dollars and assembled legions of technical experts in a quest to build innovative and cost effective new rockets. But as the first of these next-generation new entrants reach the launchpad . . .