drew@drewexmachina.com
In today’s world, electronic intelligence or ELINT satellites are considered an important part of maintaining the nation’s security. While the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) is tight […]
After years of effort, NASA has finally chosen a pair of contractors to build replacements for the now-retired Space Shuttle to send Americans into Earth orbit […]
The Titan III and its successor, the Titan IV, served the heavy-lift launch requirements of not only the Department of Defense but also for NASA especially […]
Along with the pair of rovers still active on the Martian surface (including Opportunity which has been on the move for over a decade now), NASA’s […]
Looking at NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) which has been in orbit around the Moon since 2009, people today might take it for granted that lunar […]
While I have had a long-time interest in lunar and planetary exploration both as a scientist and a historian, for the past quarter of a century […]
I bet a lot of space enthusiasts can recall a single event that sparked their interest in space exploration. I know I certainly can but it […]
Whenever I think “gamma ray observatory”, impressive orbiting platforms come to mind like NASA’s massive 17 metric ton Compton Gamma Ray Observatory launched in 1991 or […]
It is quite common to associate rockets with cutting edge technology. But oddly enough until the last decade or so, the rocket engines used by most […]
On December 14, 1962, NASA’s Mariner 2 became the first spacecraft to return data of closeup observations from another world. What is not as widely known […]
At the same time the first Apollo launch abort test flight with the Little Joe II was taking place (see The First Apollo-Little Joe II Launch), […]
In recent years there has been increasing interest in picosatellites (small satellites typically with a mass of 0.1 to 1 kilogram) which use the latest miniaturized […]