Spacecraft images captivate people’s imagination, shifting people’s understanding of our planet’s place within space. Some images have even become cultural icons. Scientists can immediately process uncompressed satellite images for details enhancement, contrast adjustment and color manipulation as well as adding filters. Archival-quality images contain similar metadata as consumer digital cameras, such as exposure times and…
Over the last 50 years, astronauts have built up an extensive legacy in performing on-orbit inspection, servicing and assembly tasks. Unfortunately, such activities are very costly, time consuming, and require extensive pre-launch testing before launch. Core technologies for on-orbit manufacturing and assembly are currently under development utilizing teleoperation, robotics and autonomy technologies. These approaches can…
Spacecraft must protect their components from environmental elements and prevent excessive heating from them, this includes minimizing heat lost to space and eliminating dissipated environmental fluxes. SmallSats often employ passive thermal control elements such as multilayer insulation (MLI) blankets to maintain component temperature limits. MLI blankets serve two important purposes – they both prevent heat…
Spacecraft are vehicles designed for travel in outer space, typically orbiting planets or moving through our solar system. These examples were automatically collected from various online sources to demonstrate current usage of’spacecraft.’ This page does not reflect the views or endorsement of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Aldrin Cycler Buzz Aldrin of Apollo 11 pioneered this…
Spacecraft concept art combines artistic design aesthetics and sci-fi storytelling in order to produce scintillating spacecraft designs. Crafting scintillating cruisers or powerful battleships requires careful consideration when crafting such spaceships for sci-fi stories. Starting from simple line drawings and progressing into full 3D imagery is possible thanks to senior concept artist Joe Gloria using 3D-Coat…
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has broken speed records over the last several years by continuously approaching closer and faster towards the Sun, picking up speed with each pass. But, what exactly is spacecraft speed, and how are scientists measuring it? In order to answer this question, let’s first determine what we mean by “speed.” To…
No other movie quite matches this semi-autobiographical tale of growing up near NASA’s Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston as much as Before Sunrise by Richard Linklater (Boyhood, Before Sunrise). Linklater used research including old television listings from that era for some shots. This movie boasts some impressive special effects, from black holes and wormholes to…
As a spacecraft systems engineer, you will play an integral part in humanity’s quest to explore space. Design and integrate complex space systems, conduct feasibility analyses and system analyses, as well as contribute to project planning and management. At Rocket Lab, our aim is to meet customers’ demanding timelines while simultaneously assuring safety and reliability…
NASA’s Orion spacecraft will take astronauts further into deep space than ever before – beyond even the International Space Station and towards Moon and Mars. Orion was designed to withstand the rigorous environment of outer space with its heat shield and in-space propulsion system, radiation sensors, vibration monitoring instruments and accelerometers. Spacecraft Overview Orion spacecraft…
