While we’ve talking about Lunar Exploration, a parallel path would be underway to check out the Red Planet. Starting around Robotic Asteroid Exploration (OPS.7), the phase known as Robotic Martian Exploration (OPS.11) would begin. The
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Heroes of Apollo
Fifty Years ago today, the Apollo crew of Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, And Michael Collins made their way to our Moon, with Armstrong and Aldrin completing a successful (if harrowing) landing on the lunar surface.
Read moreThe Orion AA-2 Mission
Lockheed launched its Ascent Abort 2 (AA-2) test mission today, and by all accounts it was a complete success. It’s been a long time coming (too long by a number of measures) but it is
Read moreSpaceX Got It On the Nose Today
Great news! SpaceX has been trying for years to accomplish this feat, and today they did it. They recovered the very expensive nose fairing from today’s Falcon Heavy Launch of US Air Force Payload. They
Read moreOutbound Operational Plan for Space Migration: Settlement!
The next step, now that we’ve had the robots do the rough preparations, and a succession of human crews fine-tune things at the outpost site, including testing prototypes of equipment meant to make human living
Read moreOutbound Operational Plan for Space Migration: Short Term Lunar Outpost
Now that we’ve gotten the robots to achieve the rough set up for a lunar foothold, and a crewed mission or two to really fine-tune everything, it would then be time for building a home.
Read moreOutbound Operational Plan for Space Migration: Human Lunar – SortieS
After the Lunar Automated missions have scoured landing sites for data and validating the local stability, and the Asteroid missions have built some operational confidence in the ability to travel Beyond Earth Orbit (BEO) and
Read moreOutbound Operational Plan for Space Migration: Robotic Asteroid Exploration
So far, I’ve been charting a programmatic course that has taken Outbound to the moon with robotic surveys and construction demonstrations. Now it’s time to flex some operational muscle and go for stretch goals. In
Read moreOutbound Operational Plan for Space Migration: Robotic Lunar Exploration
I would like to point out that some of the Outbound operational plan I’m walking through has been more or less followed by the Earth’s space agencies already. Probably, you’d gather that I don’t have
Read moreOutbound Operational Plan for Space Migration: Human Orbital Flight
Certainly, we just talked about suborbital flight in light of Yuri Gagarin’s achievement in the orbital realm, which I think was a mistake on Russia’s part at the time. Certainly, it was a huge geopolitical
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