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ArsTechnica looks ahead to 2018 space news:
Last year offered a mixed bag for spaceflight aficionados. The highs were very high, with SpaceX flying, landing, and reflying rockets at an unprecedented rate while finally beginning to deliver on its considerable promise. But the lows were pronounced, too, with the loss of the Cassini spacecraft in the outer Solar System and NASA's continued lack (for nearly a full year) of an administrator.
There were also delays upon delays. The ultra-expensive James Webb Space Telescope saw its launch date slip from 2018 into some time in 2019. NASA's Space Launch System rocket saw its maiden launch slip from late 2018 into 2019 and then again into 2020. The Falcon Heavy also moved to the right on the calendar, from November, then December, and finally into early 2018.
But all of those delays mean that the last couple of years of the 2010s should feature a lot of spaceflight action, and a good chunk of that will occur in the next 12 months. Looking ahead at what is to come, here are the key spaceflight milestones we're most eager to see in 2018, grouped by the approximate quarter of the year in which they might happen.
Falcon Heavy, Solar Sails, Chinese Land on the Moon, and more.
[The 'loss' of the Cassini spacecraft was a planned event. Having nearly exhausted the fuel available for orbit corrections, it was sent on a trajectory to disintegrate in Saturn's atmosphere. This, instead of running the risk of possibly landing on, and contaminating, one of Saturn's potentially habitable moons (e.g. Enceladus) --martyb].
(Score: 4, Informative) by takyon on Saturday January 06 2018, @11:13PM (1 child)
They make a good case for the Falcon 9 Block 5 [wikipedia.org]. It has increased thrust and improvements that could make it much easier and faster to refurbish/reuse.
Even if Falcon Heavy works, there won't be that many flights of it. There will be more Falcon 9 flights per year (some payloads originally planned for Falcon Heavy years ago have flown on improved versions of Falcon 9 instead). And BFR will knock both Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy out of the park [wikipedia.org] by lifting more while being fully reusable (recovering and reusing the Falcon 9/Heavy second stage is unlikely).
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2, Interesting) by khallow on Sunday January 07 2018, @05:30AM
If it flies. Falcon Heavy is the big deal because it means that the largest rocket in the world is privately owned.