Abstract A concept called the skyhook might revolutionize the way humans travel in space very soon. Functioning as cables thousands of kilometers (km) long that orbit the Earth, the skyhook can latch onto outbound spacecrafts at the edge of Earth’s atmosphere and move them away along the cable, bypassing the immense energy that it takes [...]
Electric or ion propulsion is the newest propulsion system that NASA has put into successful operation. The Deep Space 1 mission used the ion engine as its primary propulsion system and tested its capabilities for the 21st century. Its advantages over conventional propulsion include lower fuel weight, much higher fuel efficiency, and longer operational life. [...]
Launched in 1997, the Cassini-Huygens mission is a seven-year project that reached Saturn in June 2004. Upon arrival Cassini began four years of data gathering on Saturn and nine of its twenty known moons. In November 2004 the probe Huygens was released and descended to the surface of Titan, Saturn's largest moon. Some scientists view [...]
