On a Critical Path: NASA\u2019s Tracking & Data Relay Satellite System
\nJoel Powell links current developments in connecting Earth-orbiting satellites and spacecraft with their ground control centres and examines NASA\u2019s TDRS system. A network of satel-lites first launched in April 1983 is now a robust and widely used tracking and relay network without which much of the data obtained by orbiting platforms would be lost.<\/p>\n
The Plutonium in the Closet
\nDwayne Day recounts the fascinating story of how plutonium 238 fuel for Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators used to power deep-space spacecraft has come, gone and re-turned with only vague explanation for the reasons why! He shows how a resurgence of \u2018new-found\u2019 plutonium has doomed a potential replacement for the standard RTG which could have been a valuable technology boost.<\/p>\n
Flashback
\nAs we come up to the 50th anniversary of the start of the space race, when Russia officially approved a dash to put cosmonauts on the Moon before NASA, Spaceflight begins a new series. Each month we will look back at events 50 years ago which play into the events of today, recalling how the space programmes of all the space-faring nations have been shaped by that seminal event in the history of the Cold War.<\/p>\n
Yuri Gagarin: A Contribution to Peace
\nChronicler, author and broadcaster Gurbir Singh offers a view which places Yuri Gagarin outside the propaganda machine of the USSR. Was he a product of a well oiled publicity campaign for encouraging uncommitted countries to warm to Russia and its communist sys-tem? The evidence, says Singh, is there but was that also a fabrication?<\/p>\n
Regular Features<\/strong><\/p>\n Britain in Space \u2013 Rosetta homes in on Comet 67P<\/p>\n World News Analysis \u2013 Replenishment slowdown for GPS \u2013 Air-Launched Boost for An-tares \u2013 Seeding Mars, Literally<\/p>\n Briefing notes \u2013 news shorts from around the world<\/p>\n From the Editor<\/p>\n Satellite Digest \u2013 498 April 2014<\/p>\n ISS Operations Summary \u2013 16 April \u2013 15 May 2014<\/p>\n Off the Shelf \u2013 America\u2019s Great Endeavour \u2013 GPS Declassified: From Smart Bombs to Smartphones \u2013 The Surprising Science of our Sun<\/p>\n Inbox \u2013 Credit where due \u2013 Wrong man<\/p>\n Obituary \u2013 Colin Pillinger (1943-2014) \u2013 Wubbo Ockels (1946-2014)<\/p>\n Society News \u2013 Cosford IV-People, Places and Projects \u2013 Council Elections<\/p>\n Diary Notices<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":896,"template":"","meta":{"_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"pwb-brand":[],"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[89],"product_tag":[],"class_list":["post-1540","product","type-product","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","product_cat-2014-spaceflight","product_shipping_class-magazine","first","instock","purchasable","product-type-variable","czr-hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"brands":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bis-space.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/1540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bis-space.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bis-space.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bis-space.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bis-space.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"pwb-brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bis-space.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pwb-brand?post=1540"},{"taxonomy":"product_brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bis-space.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_brand?post=1540"},{"taxonomy":"product_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bis-space.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_cat?post=1540"},{"taxonomy":"product_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bis-space.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_tag?post=1540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}