Where No Satellite Buses Has Gone Before

In today’s time, the space flight industry has become quite esteemed. Over half a century ago, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was the first space explorer to orbit the Earth in 1961.

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Since that time, more than 550 people have visited the black abyss. However, the masses remained divided on how far will you have to go to consider whether you have been to space. Answering this particular question was not easy since there was no internationally-set figure.

How Far Have We Been in Space?

While the Soviets were the first to visit space, the US first put a man on the Moon. JF Kennedy, the then-President of America, promised that the US would put a man on the Moon by the end of the 1960s. Soon enough, Apollo 11 landed on the Moon in 1969.

Over the next few years, 12 Americans landed on the Moon. However, no one has been back there since 1972 since there was less idea on how a satellite bus work.

When we talk about astronauts in space, we often imagine them bouncing on the Moon’s craters or floating in free space. However, most of them have only hung around on the low Earth orbit, which is not more than a few hundred miles from the Earth’s surface. This is where most navigation and communications satellites orbit the Earth, often reaching speeds of a thousand miles per hour to prevent falling back on Earth.

Even though astronauts are yet to explore the deep end of space using satellite buses, we have already become accustomed to working in the atmosphere, often conducting experiments to learn more about how microgravity (or weightlessness) affects the human body.

The Mir space station was launched in 1986 by the Soviet Union. Unfortunately, it fell and burned up on re-entering the atmosphere. Later, the International Space Station (ISS) was launched, which is the current space outpost. Since the 2000s, we have started exploring the Earth by traveling in satellite buses.

Are We Going to Visit the Red Planet Anytime Soon?

Hold your horses; while people may think it is easy to get to Mars, experts believe that the only logical step is to go back to the Moon first. It is believed that while sending people to Mars is not a far-fetched dream, we are limited by our experience, competence, and technology in satellite bus details.

Visiting the Moon offers a lot more advantages. For instance, it takes only three days to reach the Moon instead of spending several months visiting Mars and returning to Earth. The Moon has often been touted as a perfect location to set up a research station, similar to the one in Antarctica.

From this research station, scientists and experts could study weightlessness on a celestial body closest to Earth as well as the impact of radiation. Additionally, setting up a station on the Moon can help us prepare for traveling further into space via a satellite bus.

So, Are We Going to The Moon?

The answer is both yes and no. According to the Global Exploration Roadmap, it is better first to build a space station as an orbital base so that astronauts can visit and leave the Moon. While it may look very similar to the ISS, it will orbit the Moon instead of rushing around the Earth.

Can We Ever Reach Mars?

Reaching the red planet is quite a mammoth task; therefore, you should expect some serious delays. Two factors decide where we go in space – what we would like to do and the reality of budgets and time. Yes, the idea of sending astronauts to Mars has been around for quite a long time. However, it is a long-term vision, and we still lack the technology required to keep people in space for a long time.

How Strong Is the Space Cooperation Between Countries?

The first space rivalries took place because of the Cold War, and however, space exploration has now become more about nations joining hands and resources and working together. In today’s time, five space agencies – the Canadian Space Agency, the pan-European agency ESA, JAXA from Japan, Roscosmos, and NASA – were all slowly assembled over 13 years from 1998.

One significant exception here is China, which has not sent a single astronaut to the ISS and has been going along with its space ambitions by itself. To top it off, Beijing developed and tested lasers on imaging satellites launched by the US; this was reportedly done to damage or blind them. This ended the space cooperation between the China space agency and NASA.

Final Thoughts: What is Next?

Since most of the world’s governments are prioritizing the Moon, there are quite a several people looking straight at Mars. For instance, an American entrepreneur wants to create a thriving Mars colony as a fail-safe for the human race in case of any catastrophic event on the planet. For this, he is working on developing a rocket that he claims will be able to send crewed flights to Mars by the middle of the 2020s.

According to the released statements, the rocket will look somewhat like Tintin’s rocket and be as tall as 40 stories high. Since it is such a giant rocket, it will be able to transport roughly 100 people on each trip, depending on the luggage they bring. If you were wondering why are satellite buses useful—it’s because of such applications.

What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments!