Space Transportation Systems

If you asked, most science fiction fans could probably name their favorite spaceships from television or cinema. Whether it’s the USS Enterprise or an Imperial Star Destroyer, they’re all pretty equal on the imaginative scale. However, when it comes to sheer speed, there are some fictional spaceships that are clearly faster than others. The Milano […] The post The Fastest Fictional Spaceships appeared first on Goliath.

By Wes Walcott

In honor of Douglas Adams and galactic hitchhikers everywhere, we submit this list of 10 spacecraft that we hopelessly pine for. Mindboggingly beautiful!

By Robert Lamb

Driving on Earth is tough enough. What happens when you throw in craters, unexpected solar events and backseat driving from your fellow astronauts while you bump over the moon?

By Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D.

The science of rocketry is extremely complex and, at times, dangerous. This collection of images highlights the tech that gets all that science off the ground.

By HowStuffWorks.com Contributors

From a distance, a space shuttle looks pretty sturdy. It's enormous and solid, and it can withstand extreme temperatures when it enters the Earth's atmosphere. But in some ways, a space shuttle is delicate.

By Tracy V. Wilson

But can a commercial spacecraft take off on its own from the ground, travel into outer space and land again on a runway? That's the goal of XCOR Aerospace, and it starts with the EZ-Rocket. In this article, we'll learn about the technology behind the EZ-Rocket and see how XCOR plans to expand on this technology in the future.

By Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D.

Traveling faster than the speed of light, you could go anywhere in minutes -- at least, in the "Star Trek" universe. Is this sci-fi device theoretically possible?

By John Fuller

The Apollo program was initiated with the goal of landing a man on the moon. What was the spacecraft that helped make this giant leap for mankind?

By Jonathan Strickland

Project Gemini played an important step in NASA's efforts to put a man on the moon. How did the Gemini spacecraft carry two astronauts into space and back safely?

By Jonathan Strickland

Virgin Galactic is trying to give the average person a chance at playing astronaut for a day -- on SpaceShipTwo, the world's first civilian passenger spaceliner.

By Ed Grabianowski

In 1984, President Ronald Reagan had a vision for a permanently inhabited space station. Today that vision is a reality we know as the International Space Station.

By Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D. & Mark Mancini

Imagine waking up in the morning, looking out your window and seeing the planet Earth below you. What would it be like to live in space? Find out all about the International Space Station.

By Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D.

In its nearly 30-year history, the space shuttle program has seen exhilarating highs and devastating lows. Learn all about the space shuttle program.

By Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D.

What is a solar sail? How can you use sunlight to move a spacecraft in outer space? In this article, HowStuffWorks will show you how solar sail technology works, take an in-depth look at the Cosmos-1 mission and find out what solar-sails mean for future space travel.

By Kevin Bonsor

What is a solar sail? How can you use sunlight to move a spacecraft in outer space? In this article, HowStuffWorks will show you how solar sail technology works, take an in-depth look at the Cosmos-1 mission and find out what solar-sails mean for future space travel.

By Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D.

I've heard that Russia's Mir station will be brought down out of orbit and crashed to Earth soon. How will they do that?

At a drag race, I once saw a rocket car that was supposedly powered by spraying hydrogen peroxide on a silver mesh. The resultant reaction produced huge amounts of pure white smoke and apparently enough thrust to propel the car rapidly down the track. Does hydrogen peroxide really react with silver that way?

In science, we are learning about the atmosphere. It protects us from meteors because it burns them up. So, why doesn't the space shuttle burn up?

Believe it or not, the hardest part of space exploration is getting a spaceship off the ground. Explore the basics of propulsion and learn about both solid-fuel and liquid-fuel rocket engines.

By Marshall Brain

It's bigger, stronger, more efficient and more precise: The Delta IV Heavy is arguably the greatest rocket built to date. It can put 13 tons of satellite payload into its intended orbit with fuel to spare, and that's just the beginning.

By Carolyn Snare

NASA has built a lightweight robotic helicopter capable of flying in the thin atmosphere of Mars.

By Patrick J. Kiger

Titan is the only moon in the solar system with much of an atmosphere, and the only one known to have liquid rivers, lakes and seas on its surface.

By Patrick J. Kiger

From the beginning, NASA has sought emblematic names for the objects it blasts into space.

By Nicholas Gerbis

Visionaries have proposed various ways to get into space without using large rockets for propulsion, such as building a space elevator or harnessing magnetic levitation.

By Patrick J. Kiger

NASA's Spot the Station feature will text or email you when the ISS is about to be overhead. And you won't even need a telescope to see it!

By Laurie L. Dove