Important Innovations

  CEO Elon Musk's Roadster Approaches Mars                                                                           Source:  SpaceX and Tesla "Starman" Behind the Wheel, Inside a Rocket SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk's red, $100,000 Tesla Roadster had made its closest approach to Mars.  The Roadster driver "Starman", which is a mannequin in a spacesuit, are part of a payload inside the second stage of a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. Colonizing Mars One of entrepreneur Elon Musk's major goals is to colonize Mars and make all of us an interplanetary civilization. SpaceX says the Falcon Heavy rocket vehicle with the Roadster inside made their first close approach to Mars and was within 5 million miles of the planet.   Harvard Astronomer Tracking Harvard astronomer Jonathan Dowell is tracking the journey.  He says the SpaceX spacecraft is in an elliptical orbit around the Sun.  The vehicle is 37 million miles from Earth and has travelled 1.3 billion miles sin

US Air Force's X-37B Mystery Space Plane Source:  US Air Force Now 700 Days in Orbit on its Fifth Mission The X-37B, the US Air Force's mystery space plane, has been circling the Earth for the past 700 days on its fifth classified mission.  The space plane is solar powered, robotic and reusable.  The Air Force says it is testing technology for future reusable spacecraft missions and also carries scientific experiments.  But beyond that, the mission is a mystery.  For a great news blog, go to Important Innovations Collection: Mystery USAF Space Plane : 700 Days into a Secret Mission Source:  US Air Force X-37B Military Space Plane The US Air Force's X-37B space plane has been orb...

Elon Musk & Space X Take Big Step into Space Courtesy of Space X  - The BFR Flying to the Moon It's the dream of innovator Elon Musk to make space travel accessible to everyone.  His company just took a big step toward that goal.  They've just announced that they've signed the 1st private person to fly around the Moon.  The trip will be aboard Space X's BFR, the Big Falcon Rocket, which is a giant new rocket ship. Rocket Man This is a first and a very big step forward to commercializing space travel.  However, the BFR is still being prototyped and is a yet unproven spacecraft.  Eventually, Space X wants to use the rocket to launch the 1st manned mission to Mars.  Space X says it will identify the person and their purpose next week.

DARPA's Satellite Servicing System RSGS Satellite Bodyguards The US Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency DARPA is developing a robotic system to service satellites in geosynchronous orbit (RSGS).  Besides doing refuels, repairs and other services, RSGS is also designed to protect vital US satellites against adversaries' robotic systems used as antisatellite weapons.  RSGS is a satellite bodyguard system against space threats. Satellite Stalking Threat By early 2020, Russia and China will have robotic systems in geosynchronous (G) orbit.  Satellites in G-orbit are difficult to reach by other types of antisatellite weapons.  Experts are warning of a growing threat in space of satellite stalking. US Budget Issues The US Air Force wants to launch the US RSGS system in March 2021,  The US Senate just cut the $209 million in launch money from the USAF budget.  As Russia and China ramp up their systems, experts are warning of growing, US satellite v