Nibbles in Space

Malcolm Macdonald || SpaceProf
  • 5.0 (1)
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
Nibbles in Space

Nibbles in Space is a series of short podcasts from SpaceProf, making space more accessible. A nibble is half a byte. A nibble is 4 bits of information, whether you listen to it as a podcast or if want a little more of a Nibble you can read it at SpaceProf.xyz/Nibbles. SpaceProf is Prof. Malcolm Macdonald, Chair of Applied Space Technology at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland.

  1. 07/12/2020

    000F: What has space ever done for me?

    Lidar technology, which uses a laser to measure the distance to a target, was first developed to help track spacecraft, and to help them autonomously rendezvous; a lot of spin-off technologies from human spaceflight, due to the challenges of trying to live in space; knowhow gained from wearable sensors developed to study astronauts has been applied to baby-monitors that can alert to the risk of sudden infant death syndrome; technology developed to land a spacecraft has been applied to the packaging of potato crisps to increase packing speed.

    6 min

  2. 30/11/2020

    000E: Do spacecraft ever collide?

    By the late 1970’s engineers were starting to grasp the risk of the ever-growing space debris population; we have best-practise guidance in place to help avoid the creation of more debris; space debris, much like pollution on Earth is a negative externality; no meaningful space debris legislation, nor enforcement.

    6 min

  3. 23/11/2020

    000D: Who governs space?

    Issues relating to the use of space have been dealt with through the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space; five UN Treaties between 1967 and 1979; the Moon and other bodies be used “exclusively for peaceful purposes” but this does not apply to space itself; as we look forward it’s likely that further agreements are required.

    6 min

  4. 16/11/2020

    000C: How do we live in space?

    Space sickness is experienced by as many as half of people as they adapt to weightlessness; just like on ground, exercise and health checks are vital; as water is the most heavily consumed item for life support it’s vital that as much be recycled as possible; to help reduce the risk of cancer, spacecraft will have areas with increased shielding against space radiation.

    6 min

  5. 09/11/2020

    000B: How do you power a spacecraft?

    The only external source of energy available to a spacecraft with reasonable flight heritage is solar radiation; the use of unfolding solar arrays is common; in a fuel cell, hydrogen and oxygen, or a similar combination, are combined to produce electricity and water; Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators, or RTGs, convert heat released from the decay of radioactive material into electricity.

    6 min

  6. 02/11/2020

    000A: How do you move around in space?

    The main way of changing the velocity of a spacecraft is to take part of the mass of the spacecraft, and eject it; anything but small plane changes require a lot of energy, which can make such manoeuvres prohibitive; the Earth’s diameter is almost 43km more at the equator than between the poles; Sun-synchronous orbits are used in Earth observation missions to maintain consistent illumination of the ground throughout the year.

    6 min

  7. 26/10/2020

    0009: Is space an empty vacuum?

    Earth’s atmosphere has an effect on all spacecraft up to at least 500km, but on occasions to over 1000km; Electric and magnetic fields exist around most bodies in space, including the Earth and the Sun; Space also contains a number of plasma environments; Trapped radiation and solar particle events are the two major natural radiation sources of concern to spacecraft engineers.

    7 min

  8. 18/10/2020

    0008: Can you make money in space?

    The most valuable service from space is communications; space enables reliable, and high-quality communications far from terrestrial infrastructure; it is estimated that over 13% of the non-financial business economy gross domestic product is supported by GNSS; (US) companies can sell images to anyone down to a spatial resolution of 25cm.

    6 min
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Nibbles in Space is a series of short podcasts from SpaceProf, making space more accessible. A nibble is half a byte. A nibble is 4 bits of information, whether you listen to it as a podcast or if want a little more of a Nibble you can read it at SpaceProf.xyz/Nibbles. SpaceProf is Prof. Malcolm Macdonald, Chair of Applied Space Technology at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland.

Information

  • Creator
    Malcolm Macdonald || SpaceProf
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    17
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 345645
  • Show Website
    Nibbles in Space

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