by David Todd | Oct 28, 2015 | Apollo, ESA, exploration, NASA, Orion, Seradata News, SLS
While the recent film “The Martian”, starring Matt Damon, whetted the appetite of the general public for long-range human exploration, in truth, any mission to Mars is at least 20 years away. Similarly, while NASA has recently revealed its initial “Journey to Mars”...
by David Todd | Oct 26, 2015 | Apollo, On a Lighter Note
The female compere of the opening ceremony of the International Astronautical Congress in Jerusalem (IAC 2015) noted that while evidence of flowing (salty) water may have been found on Mars, she would be more likely to want to go to the planet if it had been wine that...
by David Todd | Feb 23, 2015 | Apollo, NASA, On a Lighter Note, Technology
NASA often likes to mention how its programmes have given the world new technologies – most noticeably in the fields of new materials and digital computing. Among the spin-offs it remains rather coy about is a hi-tech lubricant, developed for the Space,...
by David Todd | Sep 11, 2014 | Apollo, International Space Station, Technology
As we noted the departure to the breakers yard of the former Royal Navy Frigate HMS Plymouth, this column forgot to mention that it was one of the last warships that still had portholes in its main hull. In fact, portholes (more properly known as scuttles) are...
by David Todd | Aug 23, 2014 | Apollo, History, On a Lighter Note, Seradata News, SpaceX
While the urban legend joke about the moonwalking Neil Armstrong congratulating his childhood next door neighbour Mr. Gorsky under his breath on the Moon is untrue (the apocryphal story is too rude to print here but here is a link 🙂 ), and while the Apollo 11...
by David Todd | Mar 26, 2014 | Add category, Apollo, History
For those of us old enough to remember the Apollo moon landings, as this writer does just about, it is always a thrill to meet those few remaining astronauts who have managed to set foot on the Moon. And given that these jut-jawed, all-American heroes of the past are...
