Ad Astra
The magazine of the National Space Society
Volume 14, Number 2 March-April 2002
ON THE COVER: Nighttime test firing of a candidate upper stage engine for the future Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) is done at the U.S. Air Force Test facility at Arnold Engineering Development Center just outside Memphis. The test, done in 1997, was a success. The first EELV rockets will start flying this summer. Photo: courtesy AEDC.
Featured Articles:
12
The Future of Rocket Science
New rockets and systems are under design and development today. They promise advances in the way we explore the Solar System and the universe.
By Jeff Foust
16
Riding the Vasimr Rocket
JSC engineers are working on a truly radical way to send astronauts to deep space destinations.
By Eugene Cervone
20
Sub-orbital Rockets to Space
New suborbital rockets could open up space to greater flight rates, and new entrepreneurs.
By Clark S. Lindsey
24
Reinvigorated Rocketry?
NASA and industry research may create a new opportunity for launch vehicles.
By Roger Launius & Howard McCurdy
28
Selling the Moon
Lunar entrepreneurs are hard at work crafting machines and businesses that could flourish in the Moon’s dusty soil.
By Richard Wagner
32
Lunar colonization: Why, How and When?
What will constitute a lunar base? Who will work there, and what kinds of projects would be best? The idea is not as far out as you might think.
By Niklas Javstrat
35
Makin’ That MoonMud!
Moon soil has the potential for becoming the future building block of construction on the Moon.
By John Wickman
37
Tales of a Mars Mission Medical Emergency
The Mars Sim team recently tested their ideas in a dress rehearsal of what may await on the Red Planet.
By Eleanor A. ORangers
40
Space Research in the DOD
In addition to communications, early warning, and navigation, basic research programs are part of the Pentagon’s space plans.
By George Carruthers
Departments:
4 Launch Pad
5 Transmissions
6 Mission Control
44 Space Community
46 ISDC 2002
48 Lifting Off