This article is reproduced with the permission of SPACENEWS November 2, 2015 Making Launch Affordable –Debra Werner SAN FRANCISCO — Microcosm President James Wertz, a professor and author of space reference tomes, points to history to explain the importance of...
Abstract: In the present budget environment, there is a strong need to dramatically drive down the cost of space missions. There is the perception that SmallSats are inherently much lower cost than more traditional larger satellites and can play a central role in...
Abstract: The Scorpius low-cost launch vehicle architecture greatly reduces the cost of space access due to its emphasis on designing specifically for low total life cycle cost. Due to its simplicity, a pressure-fed launch vehicle is low in cost compared with pump-fed...
Abstract: In the present budget environment, there is a strong need to dramatically drive down the cost of space missions. There is the perception that SmallSats are inherently much lower cost than more traditional larger satellites and can play a central role in...
Abstract: In the present budget environment, there is a strong need to drive down the cost of space missions. There is the perception that small satellites are inherently much lower cost than more traditional, larger satellites and can play a central role in reducing...
Abstract: When a disaster occurs, an aggressive machine of governments, agencies, and volunteers immediately reacts to the event with a lack of information. Currently, agencies rely on unstable communications, perhaps UAV passes (which may be politically limited), or,...
Abstract: Download Taylor, C., A. Shao, N. Sarzi-Amade, R. Van Allen, and J. Wertz. Microcosm Inc. ISSC 2013, Pasadena, CA, June 20–21, 2013.
Abstract: This paper will present the Hummingbird concept and its strengths that enable versatile interplanetary mission architectures. Interplanetary missions and system architectures for small satellites require a new type of thinking. Specifically, taking...
Abstract: Long-term orbital debris is a continually growing problem that has proven challenging to overcome. A straightforward solution to the problem is to put the majority of future LEO spacecraft into Moderately Elliptical Very Low Orbits (MEVLOs) with perigees...
Abstract: The methods, processes, and technologies currently in use for major space programs are based on 50 years of lessons learned in the exploration of space. They draw on a large number of both successes and failures in space and represent our collective wisdom...