While it may not be simple or easy, these fascinating talks make aerospace engineering a little more accessible to the average person.

In 1961, Yuri Gagarin piloted a spacecraft in humanity's first manned space flight. A week later, Bell Aerosystems debuted a gas-powered rocket pack that could fly 35 meters in 13 seconds. Unfortunately, engineers knew this short flight was all the rocket pack could muster. So why was a massive spacecraft easier to send flying than a single pilo...

As founder and CEO of Rocket Lab, Peter Beck oversees the manufacturing and launch of rockets designed to put small satellites into orbit.

A manned mission to Mars has long captivated our collective imagination. Perhaps the most significant obstacle to achieving this mission is fueling a craft to and from Mars. Erika Debenedictis offers some compelling theories on how we can make it happen.

SpaceX's Starship launch vehicle has the potential to explore the solar system in a bold, new -- and supersized -- way. Planetary scientist Jennifer Heldmann talks about how reusable, large-scale spacecraft like Starship could help humanity achieve its next galactic leaps and usher in a new era of space exploration, from investigating the solar ...

Long before we had rocket scientists, the idea of spaceflight traveled from mind to mind across generations. With great visuals, TED Fellow and NASA economist Alexander MacDonald shows how 300 years of sci-fi tales -- from Edgar Allan Poe to Jules Verne to H.G. Wells and beyond -- sparked a culture of space exploration. A fascinating look at how...

What's up at SpaceX? Engineer Gwynne Shotwell was employee number seven at Elon Musk's pioneering aerospace company and is now its president. In conversation with TED curator Chris Anderson, she discusses SpaceX's race to put people into orbit and the organization's next big project, the BFR (ask her what it stands for). The new giant rocket is ...

Entrepreneur Elon Musk is a man with many plans. The founder of PayPal, Tesla Motors and SpaceX sits down with TED curator Chris Anderson to share details about his visionary projects, which include a mass-marketed electric car, a solar energy leasing company and a fully reusable rocket.

What does it take to be a pro gamer? Esports expert William Collis charts the rise of the multibillion-dollar competitive gaming industry and breaks down three skills needed to master video games like Fortnite, League of Legends and Rocket League. And watch out, Collis says: these skills can set you up for crushing it at work, too.

Our lives depend on a world we can't see: the satellite infrastructure we use every day for information, entertainment, communication and so much more. But Earth orbit isn't a limitless resource, and the problem of space debris will get worse without a significant change to our behavior. Natalie Panek challenges us to consider the environmental ...

The answer is satellites, stars, planets, asteroids and maybe even aliens.

Josh Giegel developed the world's first autonomous, high-performance, electric mode of mass transportation.

Moneyman Steve Jurvetson takes TEDsters inside his awesome hobby -- launching model rockets –- by sharing some gorgeous photos, his infectious glee and just a whiff of danger.

Author George Dyson spins the story of Project Orion, a massive, nuclear-powered spacecraft that could have taken us to Saturn in five years. His insider’s perspective and a secret cache of documents bring an Atomic Age dream to life.

Planet Krypton's leading scientific genius, Jor-El invented a widely used hovercraft and discovered a parallel world called the Phantom Zone.

Ed Yong blogs with a mission: to ignite excitement for science in everyone, regardless of their education or background.

In this passionate talk, legendary spacecraft designer Burt Rutan lambasts the US government-funded space program for stagnating and asks entrepreneurs to pick up where NASA has left off.

We're in the dawn of a new space revolution, says engineer Peter Beck: the revolution of the small. In a talk packed with insights into the state of the space industry, Beck shares his work building rockets capable of delivering small payloads to space rapidly and reliably -- helping us search for extraterrestrial life, learn more about the sola...

Every minute, 400 pounds of hydrogen and almost 7 pounds of helium escape from Earth's atmosphere into outer space. Astrophysicist Anjali Tripathi studies the phenomenon of atmospheric escape, and in this fascinating and accessible talk, she considers how this process might one day (a few billion years from now) turn our blue planet red.

Anjali Tripathi explores planets to uncover the processes that make and destroy them.

On March 1 -- just two days after Elon Musk appeared on the TED2013 stage -- a SpaceX CRS-2 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral on a resupply mission for the International Space Station. Two days later, after the righting of a glitch, its Dragon capsule delivered a half-ton of supplies for the astronauts on board. And four days after that, ...

As manager of the Rosetta mission, Fred Jansen was responsible for the successful 2014 landing of a probe on the comet known as 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. In this fascinating and funny talk, Jansen reveals some of the intricate calculations that went into landing the Philae probe on a comet 500 million kilometers from Earth -- and shares some in...

The TED community has been very busy in the start of this new year. Below, a few TEDsters with news to share. Landing a rocket on a boat: simple enough. Putting a man on the moon and a rover on Mars are exceptional feats, but that’s in the past. Elon Musk is now attempting a goal that has not even a 50 percent chance of success. On Saturday...

Elon Musk discusses his new project digging tunnels under LA, the latest from Tesla and SpaceX and his motivation for building a future on Mars in conversation with TED's Head Curator, Chris Anderson.

Who is listening in on your phone calls? On a landline, it could be anyone, says privacy activist Christopher Soghoian, because surveillance backdoors are built into the phone system by default, to allow governments to listen in. But then again, so could a foreign intelligence service ... or a criminal. Which is why, says Soghoian, some tech com...

Joel Levine studies the atmospheres of Earth and Mars, looking at their origin, evolution, structure and chemistry and climate change. He's the principal investigator of the proposed ARES Mars Airplane Mission.

The cofounder of PayPal, Elon Musk has become one of his generation's most aggressive, not to mention successful, entrepreneurs. As CEO and product architect of Tesla Motors and CEO and CTO of SpaceX, his interests clearly lie in transforming transportation and creating an economy built on sustainable energy. Now he takes the TED stage to te...

About this event: Reigniting is a spark, a catalytic chain reaction that incites new ideas and curiosity and potential. Reigniting enlivens, invigorates, inspires. Reigniting connects people through ideas. TEDxHuntsville 2012 will feature big data, rocket science, psychology, beer brewing, UAVs, startup culture and stories by people who have reignited their lives...

About this event: What secrets are hidden beneath Jupiter’s veil of clouds and massive storms? Can exploration of Jupiter reveal the origins of water and life on Earth? Join us 6-9pm Monday 9 May 2011 at Hotel Beacon NYC, Broadway Room, 2130 Broadway (74th/ 75th Sts.), New York, NY 10023. Light refreshments, videos, speakers, discussion. Tickets: http://www...

The past week brought lots of excitement for members of the TED community. Below, some highlights. Morgan Spurlock’s latest project, “We the Economy,” has a tagline that really explains it best. Billed as “20 short films you can’t afford to miss,” this online series brings together filmmakers and economists to answer big questions about the ...