From 2011 to 2020, astronauts relied solely on Russian Soyuz spacecraft for ISS access. Following a Soyuz failure in 2018, concerns arose about ISS crew rotation. NASA's funding for the ISS was threatened in 2018, leading to discussions on privatization. The ISS's future options include continued government funding or controlled deorbiting.
Updated June 2026 In this post I’ll talk about the history of the International Space Station (ISS) and some of the other space stations which have been constucted over the years. I’ll also touch on some of the politics involved. The International Space Station Image from NASA The First Space Stations Although America was the… Continue reading Salyut to the ISS: A Journey Through Space Stations
On 18 November two Chinese astronauts, Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong, landed back on Earth after spending 33 days in space, an event which was hardly reported in the western media. During their mission they spent 30 days aboard the Tiangong-2 space station. Image from the Chinese National Space Administration Tiangong-2, shown in the mission patch above, is the second… Continue reading Chinese manned space programme
It has been a very exciting week for space exploration with the pictures sent from New Horizons as it flew past Pluto on Tuesday. Monday next week (20-th July) marks the 46-th anniversary of the first landing on men on the Moon, which was one of the iconic events of the last century. To celebrate this anniversary… Continue reading 20 July 1969 The First Men on the Moon
Originally Posted July 2014 -Updated April 2026 On 20 July 2014 it was the 45th anniversary of the first crewed Moon landing. To commemorate this. I thought that I'd re-post an earlier article which discussed the first Moon landings. My next article, which I will post next week, will be on the subject of space… Continue reading First Humans on the Moon
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