Rocketry is hard: You can’t get anywhere without carrying enough fuel to get there. And then you’ve got a spacecraft design on the screen, all … Read More

But it’s not about explosions or fire. There is a quiet tyranny at the heart of every rocket launch. It’s called the rocket equation and … Read More

For moving an object from one circular orbit to another, there’s still only one best route: the Hohmann transfer, a double push on a single … Read More

Play an online game on a satellite link: you get instant lag. Pressing the key makes your character jump but only a fraction of a … Read More

If you’re reading this, odds are that you’re at a coffee shop, probably on your phone, and enjoying a good connection. Chances are you haven’t … Read More

When I think of a satellite, I imagine it to be a perfectly still object in space, silently surveying the earth below from on high. … Read More

Imagine that you’re standing on Earth and there’s a satellite right over your head, parked perfectly still in the sky. For months, maybe even years, … Read More

It is a little geometry and a little energy. Two numbers, the farthest point (apoapsis) and the closest point (periapsis) (form the shape of an … Read More

The shape of an orbit conveys much information. The easiest case is that of a perfect circle, but as we all know, nature doesn’t deal … Read More

An elliptical orbit is defined by its size: the semi-major axis. This are the average distance of a satellite to the body around which it … Read More