Launch vehicle dynamics are very complicated due to forces acting on the system and the different regimes the vehicle undergoes during flight. However, as a first attempt to understand and model the dynamics, one can rely on first principles.Newton's laws describe the motion of a variable mass system where momentum is exchanged between the rocket and the propellant expelled at high velocity. In this post, I will try to explain how rockets fly from a simplified perspective.
Understanding orientation in 3D space is fundamental for scientists and engineers. How would it be possible to control an aircraft, rocket or spacecraft without defining their orientation precisely? Unlike the 2D case, description of orientations in space becomes involved and harder to visualize. The purpose of this post is to introduce different ways to describe orientations in space and make complicated concepts easier to understand through basic math and animations.
SpaceX is trying to revolutionize the internet communications sector by launching a megaconstellation of thousands of small satellites, called Starlink. With state-of-the-art satellite internet technology, and a global network unbounded by ground infrastructure limitations, Starlink will deliver high speed broadband internet to locations where access has been unreliable, expensive, or completely unavailable. How will Starlink make this possible?
After several attempts and numerous flight tests, on December 22, 2015 at 01:29 UTC, SpaceX accomplished one of the milestones in the history of engineering: landing Falcon 9's first-stage autonomously from space. It was the first time that the first stage of an orbital rocket made a successful return and vertical landing. The dream of launch vehicle reusability came true. The effort and persistence finally paid off. But, how did SpaceX slow down and stabilize a craft travelling at 3,000 miles per hour?
Historically, accessing space has been a luxury only available to government agencies and high capital businesses. However, this trend has shifted in recent years owing to the surge of tiny, versatile miniaturized satellites called CubeSats. Since 1999, CubeSats have become increasingly popular as affordable solutions to access space. Nowadays, CubeSat technology is well supported by the space community and ready to take off, but will they revolutionize the space sector in the coming years?
