Blue Origin is the private space company started by Jeff Bezos, the Amazon billionaire. During the Space Frontier Foundation’s NewSpace conference in Renton, WA, Blue Origin presented their plan to support the development of permanent settlements on the Moon. Their plans will begin with a mission to land on the Moon in the next five years.
Up to this point in the evolution of human space launch systems, the best we a have been able to do is to put payloads on huge tanks of propellant and blast our way to orbit. Over the years, a variety of different types systems for getting payloads to orbit have been proposed.
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The International Space Station (ISS) is a habitable artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The first component for the station was launched in 1998 and the last pressurized module was incorporated in 2011. Components are still being launched to be added to the ISS. The ISS is supposed to be in use until at least 2028.
The exploration of Mars has taken place either in orbit or on the surface. So far, the vehicles that have been sent to Mars and landed on the surface have been wheeled. They have had to navigate across a rough landscape, avoiding many obstacles. Thus, they have been confined to areas which are mostly open and flat.
Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) is an private U.S. aerospace manufacturer and space transportation services company. It was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk with the stated mission of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonization of Mars. SpaceX has developed the Falcon family of launch vehicles and the Dragon family of spacecraft.
A muon is a subatomic particle that is similar to an electron but has two hundred times as much mass. It has an electrical charge of minus one and a spin of one half. It is categorized as a “lepton” which means that it does not have any substructure composed of simpler particles. Muons are unstable and only have a half life of about two millionths of a second.
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The CEO of the Nuclear Industry Association said, “This ambitious deal between industry and government will ensure nuclear plays a key role in providing the UK's low-carbon energy supply for the future, maximizing opportunities in overseas markets, leveraging technology and innovation and increasing competitiveness.”