We’re launching another issue of RocketSTEM to celebrate the start of our organization’s fifth year. While half a decade has been quite a journey for us, it is nothing compared to the 50-plus-year history of Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A. From racing the Russians to the Moon during the Apollo program, through the construction of the International Space Station during the Space Shuttle program, and now the most recent launch of the Falcon 9 rocket by SpaceX, the world-famous launch pad has quite a story to tell. Speaking of SpaceX, the private space firm is also preparing to launch its biggest ever rocket – the Falcon Heavy – from Pad 39A later this year. But the company’s founder, Elon Musk, is already laying the groundwork for an even bigger rocket – the Interplanetary Transport System – that will allow humanity to colonize Mars and explore even further out into the solar system. In the meantime, a fleet of orbiters and rovers from three space agencies are busy checking out the Red Planet, while NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has been been analyzing a dwarf planet named Ceres.
All that – and more – in this issue of RocketSTEM magazine.