If you are interested in showcasing your organisation on SpaceBoard you can now create a separate Board for it directly on the platform! You will be immediately assigned as its coordinator, allowing you to broadcast transmissions in the name of your organisation as well as edit all its information visible on SpaceBoard.

As humanity explores beyond our Earth we will need new systems to adapt to our life in space. We envisage colonies on the Moon and Mars and will need to plan new structures and what such buildings may look like. We may wish to easily transform satellites to respond to changes and build new structures in space that can easily adapt on command. Spaceoneers spoke with Pavlina Vardoulaki, who together with her team at the Design Research Laboratory at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London developed a self-assembly system that allows cubes to be reconstructed on demand. These “Hypercells” are dynamic and can respond to changes in their environment. Every cell can make its own decisions and has the ability to climb, roll and change its shape. A number of cells can come together without pre-defined instructions to form larger structures.

We are pleased to announce that from now on organisations have the possibility to have one or several official coordinators for their Board on the platform. Coordinators will be able to post updates on behalf of the organisation and directly interact with the community. They will also be able to edit the Organisation information.

The iconic launch pads, Pads 39A and 39B at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39, have been the starting point for many space flights including the first manned lunar landing. The original design for Launch Complex 39 called for three to five launch pads, designated 39A – 39E, that would have been spaced approximately 1.6 miles apart to protect them from damage if any mishaps occurred at an adjacent pad. Also part of Launch Complex 39 is the Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB. Towering more than 500 feet, it can be seen easily from miles away. The Launch Control Center, or LCC, where all the launch controllers, support personnel, and equipment required to safely launch a vehicle from either of the launch pads is also a part of the large complex.

So far, only the Russians have used balloons for planetary exploration. However, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has recently looked into designs that could be used for exploring Venus, Mars and Titan. This article covers the advantages and disadvanteges of using balloons for planetary exploration and explains some of the concepts NASA has been working on.

We're excited to announce new community features on SpaceBoard: Relays, comments and starring!

Creating a platform like SpaceBoard is obviously nothing which can be done during one night. Believe us, we tried. But every time we thought we came closer to a state which can be presented publicly, we thought of a billion additional things which were just too cool to miss out. There are endless possibilities with such a platform and we found it difficult to decide which features to include already on Day 1. People we have been talking to, especially those to whom we shown a sneak peak of our website, have been positively urging us to finally launch our service. It is now with pronounced pleasure that after our first extensive, rewarding and joyful development period we can present SpaceBoard - THE SPACE NETWORK to you.

We are thrilled to announce the public release of SpaceBoard today, coinciding with the opening of the 67th International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2016) taking place this year in Guadalajara, Mexico.

SpaceBoard is pleased to announce a new corporate partner. ATG Europe, a leading provider of specialized engineering, scientific and technical services to the aerospace and high-tech industry, has recently expressed its full support to the project.

SpaceBoard has signed memoranda of understanding (MOU) with two European students’ associations EUROAVIA and VSV.   EUROAVIA is the European Association of Aerospace Students, representing the...

In a significant development this spring, HE Space Operations, a major player in the European space sector, has extended a hand to SpaceBoard, providing us with valuable support and expertise.

The Space Study Program (SSP) of the International Space University, Strasbourg, is a month-long professional development course focussing on both technical and non-technical aspects of the space industry—something that is extremely essential in a field as interdisciplinary as space. If you’re looking for your next adventure that adds a lot of value to your student or professional career, SSP might be your answer.

SpaceBoard is pleased to announce the launch of its new closed Beta campaign starting in May 2016, in which a small initial group of users will be invited to test the functionalities already available on the platform.

We are pleased to announce that SpaceBoard will be attending the 67th International Aeronautical Congress (IAC) held by the International Aeronautical Federation, the International Academy of Astronautics and the International Institute of Space Law in Guadalajara, Mexico, from 26 to 30 September 2016.

We cannot overemphasise how important networking is throughout one’s professional career. Like many students, you might not think of the fact that having a solid network before finishing your studies can dramatically improve your knowledge about the field you are interested in, as well as increase your chances of landing the right internships and future full-time jobs. If you are pursuing space studies, here are a few ideas on how to start building your network right now.

The Space Apps Challenge, now a global event is a lesson in mass collaboration. What can we do to help nurture our own local space community? A few thoughts.

As a first in this venture of ours to help prospective space students make the best decisions about their future in the space industry, we bring to you European master’s courses, offered under European Commission’s Erasmus+ programme, that we’re sure will not only satisfy your thirst for space-tech knowledge, but also take you places, both literally and figuratively.

"Welcome back, baby!" - Those were Elon Musk's words after the successful landing of the first stage of their Falcon 9 rocket. But what do these harmless sounding words really mean? Was there an actual human baby on board the rocket?

Let's start with a disclaimer. Going for space studies is NOT about becoming an astronaut or going to Mars. That being said, going for space studies IS about rockets, satellites, the Sun, stars, planets, Mars rovers, microgravity and a whole bunch of very exciting stuff. So, if you are enthusiastic about science and technology, and currently considering your next academic move, this article is just for you.

This past year has seen the space sector take some remarkably huge leaps forward. The NewSpace companies, by their focused approach to it, have redefined reusability, and brought it within reach of our technology. If you missed all the excitement, or seem unsure what it is all about, now might be the time to get up to speed and catch an early glimpse of the future, because it’s here. What remains to be seen is where we can go from here- the universe is on our doorstep.

Connecting everyone is an important step in the right direction, of course, but internet connectivity is only a small part of the problem. To make any kind of substantial impact here, one would need technology that can actually work, a way of delivering this technology effectively and efficiently, and a means of reaching all of the end users. What will be important is how this can play out – there is enough space in the market for different solutions at different stages of the connectivity graph to coexist. In a sense, there is a need to make this about the internet of people, rather than the internet of things.

Since times immemorial, there has been a huge hue and cry over the ostensibly large sums of money we spend on research and development in space technology with no apparent benefits to mankind. This, however, can’t be further away from the truth. We have seen, in the past five decades, that not only has the space industry itself grown in leaps and bounds, but it has also led to advancements in the vastly different fields of science that are associated with it.

Over the past few years, it has been becoming more and more difficult to not notice a promising upsurge in activities in the commercial space industry. The developments in the space sector seem to be experiencing a fundamental shift from heavy dependence on government agencies towards a more independent private sector with quite a few dominant players. Case in point, Elon Musk and the ground-breaking technologies developed by SpaceX or Richard Branson and the space tourism efforts of Virgin Galactic, are the front-runners of what is already being touted as the "Second Space Age". These names, among other developments in the commercial sector of the space industry, fit under the umbrella term of "NewSpace."

SpaceBoard is on a mission to reinvent the way individuals and organisations from the space industry interact. We are convinced that the development of a professional network built from the ground up to serve all space industry players will have the ability to bring our global community closer together on one powerful online environment. Today, marking another step forward towards the platform’s public release, we introduce Radar, a new outreach channel to provide quality articles reflecting SpaceBoard's take on various space topics.