One of the biggest issues with deep space human travel and human orbital missions is the ability to withstand the zero gravity conditions. Will we ever be able to produce gravity …

Consider a turbofan, with specific impulse of [greater than either solid or hybrid motor configurations]. To optimize a jet-assist launch trajectory, I seek the ambient pressure ra …

I would really like to do something like this and be able to send a Balloon into space with a video camera attached to it. I know this is not very expensive, and was wondering if t …

Are there any liquids that can exist in hard vacuum, Or does the lack of pressure make all fluids go gaseous?

With relation to my previos question (see http://payload42.com/questions/61/speed-needed-to-reach-iss) where I suggest using "artillery" to shoot a person into space, I was wonderi …

I've watched all the recent videos on YouTube that show a simple balloon/camera combination getting to the edge of space. Why could this same methodology not be used to cheaply ge …

Where can I get the famous Shuttle Crew Operations Manual? It is about 40mb/1100++pages manual for the Space Shuttle. I have tried to google it but cannot find any thing like that. …

Will An Object Exiting The Earth's Atmosphere Experience The Same Thermal Variances/Friction As An Object Re-Entering? I know that with re-entry, there is very high friction actin …

What would happen if the planet Mercury blew up by maybe say due to humans blowing it up or a massive sun grazing comet?

If one were to shoot a projectile from a high mountain. What speed would be needed in order to reach height of the ISS? I would know how to calculate this, when not counting in fri …

I am making an 8.5" mirror. Presently in the final polishing stages. There is a lot of advice on the Internet about correcting various shape defects. But I couldn't find a compreh …

What is the difference between Space Physics and Astrophysics?

Howdy, I'm a soon-to-be amateur telescope maker, and I'd like some advice on mirror sizing. I'm planning a pretty standard Newtonian reflector on a Dobsonian mount. Truss tubes, …

I am interested in a list of mass fractions throughout rocket history. A good answer to this question would be a list of rockets including name(s), country of origin, and mass frac …

As we approach the first flight test of the Ares I-X -- a rocket that is, in effect, a space shuttle SRB with a large dummy load -- I wonder how much progress we've made since the …