Since October 2000, our species has achieved something quite special. We have had a constant presence in space. Granted, it’s on a space station just 200 miles away from our planet, but it’s still a great achievement.
Most people do not have a great deal of awareness of what is going on in Space right now. That is understandable, as the various space agencies around the world just do not have the time or money to raise awareness with the public. But also, I suspect there is another reason for this: Sci-Fi.
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| With such great Sci-Fi, is it any wonder we find NASA 'boring'? |
Think about it; we are bombarded with impressive CGI Sci-Fi so often that it has replaced the average geek's need to actually know what’s really going on in space! For example, think back to the 60s. If you were a geek back in those days, you likely read comic books and novels by the likes of HG Wells, Jules Verne, or Isaac Asimov. So when you saw footage from NASA missions, you were glued to the television, it captured your imagination. Why? Because your eyes had never seen anything like this, it was the closest you could get to going to space yourself.
Now though, we are bombarded with movies, television, and video games of such a high quality that they drown out real life space travel and even make it seem mundane.
Of course that’s simply my opinion, and I’m mostly guessing as I wasn’t alive during the 60s. But it begs the question – what actually is happening in space? What is science-fact, and what is science-fiction?
Let’s start with all the currently operational Human-carrying Spaceships.
US Space Shuttle (STS).
Remember that movie, “Armageddon”? Well, forget about it. That was pure fiction. The Shuttles are limited to LEO (Low Earth Orbit). That means that they can travel to a maximum distance of about 400 miles away from the planet. To put that into perspective, the Moon is about 240,000 miles away.Yikes.
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| C'mon, that's pretty cool! |
But don’t let that fool you, the Shuttles are still impressive. About the size of a large truck, and capable of 0-17,500mph in just under 8 minutes, they are not to be sniffed at. They can carry up to 10 people to Orbit (although usually they only carry 7) and can take up cargo inside their Cargo Bays, and bring things back, too.
The Shuttles have been instrumental in our development as a space-faring civilisation. They have launched and maintained the Hubble Telescope, which has been instrumental in teaching us about how our Universe works. They have been the vehicle which has built the International Space Station (ISS), and re-supplied it. They have pioneered new space, aviation, and computing technologies.
There are only 3 Shuttle Flights left.
Russian Soyuz
The Soyuz is an ‘old-school’ space capsule. It can carry up to 3 people to LEO, having a similar range to the US Space Shuttle. Again, don’t let its seemingly plain appearance fool you; it is a great little craft. It has been taking people to Space for longer than any other Spaceship, and has the best safety record of any craft.
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| Soyuz in LEO |
It too gets up to speeds of 17,500mph, and is used to ferry people to and from the space-station. It has an unmanned variant, known as the ‘Progress’, which can be used to transport relatively small amounts of cargo to the ISS.
There are no plans to retire this reliable workhorse; in fact Russia currently plans to upgrade the Soyuz with a whole bunch of new technology to boost its capabilities.
Chinese Shenzhou
Less information is available about the Shenzhou. It is very similar in design and capabilities to the Soyuz. It can carry 3 people to Orbit, and can operate autonomously.
It has been used to carry out an EVA (Extra vehicular Activity, or “Spacewalk”) and officially makes China the 3rd nation in known history to send Humans to Space.
International Space Station (ISS)
The ISS is a huge Orbital Laboratory- by far the largest artificial structure we’ve ever put in space. It Orbits the Earth once every 90 minutes, and is easily visible from the ground with the naked eye.
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| Our Pride and Joy, the ISS |
At any given time, it is home to five or six astronauts, who conduct experiments and test technologies in microgravity (not ‘zero-g’) providing us with a unique opportunity to make meaningful progress in Space. When we finally make it to colonise the Moon, or Mars, it will have been the ISS that provided us with both the tools and the methods needed to do so.
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| R2 in action |
As of the next Shuttle, the ISS will also be home to the first Humanoid Robot to go to space, “Robonaut2” (or R2). R2 will assist the crew with repairs and maintenance. He will be able to perform tasks which are too difficult or dangerous for Humans to do.
The ISS is planned to remain in Orbit until 2020, at which point we’ll simply let it burn up in the atmosphere then Crash into the sea. (Obviously we’ll evacuate it first!)
So, there you have it. A crash-course in what space looks like now. And it’s not something to be sniffed at. We are on the verge of taking meaningful steps out to explore the solar system. And the work that the men and women of all of our space agencies are doing is vital to hitting that goal. They regularly risk everything just to push our civilisation further, and they deserve our respect.
Plus it’s damn cool to send a robot to a space station!
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