Posts

Showing posts with the label space exploration

The 21st Century Race for Space

A new age of space exploration, and exploitation, is dawning. But surprisingly, some of the boldest efforts at putting humans into space are now those of private companies started by a handful of maverick billionaire businessmen.   The 21st Century Race for Space Brian Cox gains exclusive access behind the scenes at Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin and Spaceport America, exploring what is really happening in privately financed space flight right now. From space tourism to asteroid mining, and even dreams of colonies on Mars, these new masters of the universe refuse to limit their imaginations. But are private companies led by Jeff Bezos, Sir Richard Branson and Elon Musk really going to be able to pull this off? How will they overcome the technical challenges to achieve it? And is it really a good idea, or just a fool's errand? Cox meets key players in the story - Bezos, founder of Blue Origin as well as Amazon, and Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Galactic. He wants to find out

The Sky at Night - Return to the Moon ?

The Sky at Night - Return to the Moon ? -  Nearly 50 years ago, Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon and it seemed like the dawn of a new age. Soon we'd be flying to the moon as effortlessly as we fly to America, and a moon base would be filled with men and women building a better future out in space. But then the moon fell out of fashion. We soon realized it was brutally inhospitable and getting there was eye-wateringly expensive.   [video width="1280" height="720" mp4="https://video-clump.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/The-Sky-at-Night-Return-to-the-Moon.mp4"][/video]   Rather than spend huge sums of money going where we'd already been, Mars and the other planets seemed much more exciting destinations. But now that is set to change. For the first time in a generation, there are credible plans to go back to the moon, and maybe even build a working moon base. The Sky at Night examines this renewed interest in the moon, and asks why it's happeni

The Space Age NASA’s Story part 3

Part 3 : Triumph and Tragedy Triumph and Tragedy follows the story of NASA. With repeated triumphs and new challenges come increasing risk, until loss breaks the pattern. The white-knuckle suspense thriller of Apollo 13’s famous near-disaster is only a triumphant prelude to darker moments ahead. The launch of the space shuttle program promises routine trips to Earth orbit for many new astronauts. But just when that promise seems fulfilled, routine shuttle launches begin to bore the public. As a result NASA responds by training a school-teacher to fly, in order to teach children lessons from space. Christa McAuliffe’s life is tragically cut short as she and the rest of the crew perish aboard the shuttle Challenger. All missions are halted. Eventually the shuttle returns to orbit, for fifteen years of successful missions until disaster strikes again with the shocking loss of Columbia. It would be the beginning of the end for the shuttle. This BBC series offers a fresh look at an amazing

The Space Age NASA's Story part 1

A definitive, primetime guide, The Space Age: Nasa's Story offers a fresh look at an amazing organisation and mankind's quest to understand the universe. Blending stunningly restored footage with revealing, insightful and engaging interviews with the people who were there - the astronauts, family members and journalists - this is an epic story of the heroes, the triumphs and the tragedies of space exploration. Starting with NASA's beginnings in the Cold War, the BBC science series follows the iconic moments of space exploration from the race to get the first man in space to the first steps on the moon. And with triumph and achievement comes risk and disaster, as the series follows the white-knuckle suspense of Apollo 13 and the tragedy of the shuttle Challenger. Intelligent, inspiring and accessible, The Space Age is a complete history of mankind's journey into space. The Space Age NASA's - Story From The Ground Up ep.1 Born of the Cold War, NASA moves stridently fr