Category Archives: Space Development

RLV Markets VII: Four Models for Commercializing Reusable Launch

Posted on July 25, 2026 by Jonathan Goff

It’s been almost a decade since the most recent post in this series, but I’ve had a lot of different things pushing me to want to do a writeup on potential business models for RLV developers. I think that fully-reusable … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Commercial Crew, Commercial Space, Economics, Entrepreneurship, Launch Vehicles, MSS, RLV Markets, Space Development, Space Transportation, SpaceX, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Lunar Space Elevator Design

Posted on April 23, 2026 by Kirk Sorensen

The previous posts in this series described what the lunar space elevator can do. This one works through the structural mechanics that determine how much ribbon material you actually need to build it. The central engineering question for any space … Continue reading →

Posted in Lunar Commerce, Lunar Exploration and Development, Space Development, Space Tethers, Space Transportation | 3 Comments

Gateway is gone, do we need a lunar station?

Posted on April 15, 2026 by Kirk Sorensen

NASA just canceled the Lunar Gateway — the first space station ever planned for EML2. That’s worth reflecting on, because the case for a station at that location has never been stronger. In my previous post I laid out the … Continue reading →

Posted in ESAS, Lunar Commerce, Lunar Exploration and Development, Orbital Dynamics, Propellant Depots, Reusable Lunar Landers, Space Development | Leave a comment

2006, a lunar architecture

Posted on April 13, 2026 by Kirk Sorensen

The astrodynamic case for Earth-Moon L2 rendezvous was made in 1972 and again in 2006. The math hasn’t changed. Neither has the conclusion. Back in January 2006, I opened a thread on the NASASpaceFlight forum with a bit of a … Continue reading →

Posted in ESAS, Lunar Exploration and Development, Space Development, Space Exploration | 3 Comments

A City on Mars: A Quick Review

Posted on January 3, 2025 by Jonathan Goff

After sitting on my shelf for over a year, I finally had a chance to read through Zack and Kelly Weinersmith’s book on space settlement, A City on Mars, and I wanted to share a few of my thoughts. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Lunar Exploration and Development, Space Development, Space Law, Space Policy, Space Settlement | 11 Comments

Independent Perspectives on Cislunar Depotization

Posted on August 26, 2022 by Jonathan Goff

I was invited to participate in a workshop this week in Chantilly, VA focused on cislunar propellant depots. As part of the preparation for the workshop, they asked for stakeholder to provide their perspectives on depot architectures, the benefits of … Continue reading →

Posted in Lunar Exploration and Development, Propellant Depots, Space Development, Space Transportation | Leave a comment

An Updated Propellant Depot Taxonomy Part VI: Roving Depots

Posted on February 22, 2021 by Jonathan Goff

In the last post in this series, I discussed the idea of large-scale depots for human spaceflight applications, which operate in fixed, low-orbits. While the final post in this series will investigate human spaceflight depots that operate in fixed higher … Continue reading →

Posted in Commercial Space, ISRU, Launch Vehicles, Lunar Exploration and Development, Mars, NASA, NEOs, Orbital Dynamics, Propellant Depots, Space Development, Space Exploration, Space Transportation, ULA, Venus | 10 Comments

An Updated Propellant Depot Taxonomy Part V: Human Spaceflight Fixed Depots (Low-Orbit)

Posted on February 16, 2021 by Jonathan Goff

For this next depot taxonomy post, we’ll finally be talking about what people usually think about when they hear the term orbital propellant depot — larger, cryogenic refueling facilities, focused on enabling large-scale human spaceflight missions, performed by a diverse … Continue reading →

Posted in Blue Origin, Commercial Space, Launch Vehicles, Lunar Commerce, Lunar Exploration and Development, Mars, NEOs, Orbital Dynamics, Propellant Depots, RLV Markets, Space Development, Space Exploration, Space Transportation, SpaceX, ULA, Venus | Tagged , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

An Updated Propellant Depot Taxonomy

Posted on September 15, 2020 by Jonathan Goff

After way too many years in the wilderness, the concept of orbital propellant depots and in-space refueling in general, are finally beginning to be taken seriously again in public circles. A couple of examples include: Elon’s announcement that he is … Continue reading →

Posted in Commercial Space, ISRU, Lunar Commerce, Lunar Exploration and Development, Mars, NASA, Orbital Dynamics, Propellant Depots, Space Development, Space Exploration, Space Transportation, Venus | Leave a comment

On Avoiding Some of the Mistakes of Apollo

Posted on July 21, 2019 by Jonathan Goff

Today is the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. With a blog named Selenian Boondocks, I figured it probably made sense for me to say something. Earlier this year, thanks to some good advice from several friends, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Commercial Space, COTS, Lunar Commerce, Lunar Exploration and Development, Propellant Depots, Space Development, Space Exploration, Space Policy, Space Settlement | 21 Comments