Imagine a giant vertical railway stretching 100,000 km from the equator, somewhere in the Pacific, straight up into space. Instead of expensive, polluting rockets, the space elevator offers a smooth, slow electric ascent to Earth orbit. This "bridge to the stars" connects a floating Earth platform at 36,000 km to a massive counterweight located 64,000 km farther out. It is held taut by the Earth's rotation.

The post Episode 132 Space Elevator appeared first on AstrotalkUK.

We are increasingly aware of the impact of space weather on spacecraft in space and, occasionally, on electrical power transmission on Earth, but what about its impact on the Earth's atmosphere? That is exactly the research interest of Professor Pallam Raju, Dean of the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad, India. Founded in 1947, the PRL is one of India's most prestigious scientific institutions, not least because it was founded by Dr Vikram Sarabhai.

The post Episode 131: Space Weather and the Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad in India appeared first on AstrotalkUK.

Space Power Ltd, founded in 2019, is developing a novel solution for contactless power delivery using high-intensity lasers to extend the lifespans of ageing satellites in space. I spoke with its founder, Keval Dattani, in Nicosia during Cospar2025.org.

The post Episode 130: Mobile solar powerbank for satellites in orbit appeared first on AstrotalkUK.

Professor Kai-Uwe Schrogl is a space law expert with experience in many roles, including working with the European Space Agency ESA, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and as the Director of the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) in Vienna. In this interview, recorded in Nicosia during cospar2025.org in November 2025, he discusses concerns about increasing commercialisation of space and the lunar surface—specifically, the absence of a universally accepted framework for lunar governance.

The post Episode 129: Space Law appeared first on AstrotalkUK.

Cyprus is a small country with a small population and a small economy. But it has big ambitions in space. In this episode, recorded at Cospar 2025 in Nicosia, George Danos, who has been championing this case for Cyprus for years and can be considered Cyprus's Carl Sagan, explains the rise of Cyprus's space activities in communication services, small satellites, and collaboration with ESA and more.

The post Episode 128: George Danos: Cyprus in Space appeared first on AstrotalkUK.

From centruries of weaving in the state of Kerala in India to automated AI controlled machines weaving Graphene coated fibres in Manchester. A modern day Cottonopolis.

The post Episode 127: Weaving with Graphene. Vivek Koncherry appeared first on AstrotalkUK.

rofessor James Baker, CEO of Graphene@Manchester, describes Manchester’s journey to commercialise the Nobel Prize-winning discovery of Graphene.

The post Episode 126: Graphene: From scientific discovery to commercial application appeared first on AstrotalkUK.

You may have seen the BBC documentary Britain's Greatest Pilot. Yes, he was an outstanding pilot, but there was much more to him than just that. I published extracts from an interview with Captain Eric Brown in April 2011. Much of that interview was not published .. until now.

The post Episode 125: Britian’s Greatest Pilot Captain Eric “Winkle” Brown appeared first on AstrotalkUK.

Just as the Moon was the first stepping stone for our interplanetary exploration, our nearest star, the Alpha Centauri System will inevitably become our stepping stone for our Interstellar Journey. That is in the distance. A new mission, The Toliman Space Telescope, is launching soon will target the Alpha-Centauri System from Earth orbit.

The post Episode 124: Exploring the Stellar Neighbourhood. The Toliman Space Telescope appeared first on AstrotalkUK.

It is December 2034. A spacecraft launched from Earth in July 2028, enters Titan's atmosphere at 5km/s. Around 2 hours later, it softly lands on the surface at less than 1m /s. Over the next three years, NASA's Dragonfly mission, a rotorcraft the size of a small car, will chemically analyse the Titan's atmosphere, ground and a little of its subsurface. It's called Dragonfly

The post Episode 123: Soaring over the surface of Titan: NASA’s Dragonfly Mission appeared first on AstrotalkUK.