Space-for-All at HobbySpace » Everyone can participate in space

May17

Space on the John Batchelor Show: Bob Zimmerman & Hotel Mars

by TopSpacer on May 17, 2013 at 2:36 pm

Posted In: General, SpaceCasts

Bob Zimmerman reports on the latest space news during regular weekly slots (usually Tuesday and Thursdays) on the John Batchelor radio program. See the iTunes free Podcast for links to the latest shows.

Tuesday 05/14/13 Batchelor Hour 3

After a successful improvised spacewalk on Saturday, 3 astronauts returned from ISS today.
SpaceX might have a customer for its Falcon Heavy, before it has ever flown once!
The first Dream Chaser prototype is on its way to California for drop tests.
Checking the cracks on Orion.

Wednesday 05/15/13 Batchelor Hour 3
- A discussion of the failure of Kepler’s second reaction wheel and the end of its primary mission.
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CBS space reporter William Harwood joined Dr. David Livingston on the weekly Hotel Mars segment to discuss the “ISS ammonia repair, Kepler Space Telescope problems, GPS, Atlas 5, Falcon 9, NASA mood”: John Batchelor Hotel Mars, Wednesday, 5-15-13 – Thespaceshow’s Blog.

May17

Update on the Square Kilometer Array + Cosmic rays as lightning triggers

by TopSpacer on May 17, 2013 at 5:50 am

Posted In: Astronomy, Science and Technology

A member of the Susquehanna Astronomical Society points me to a couple of recent news items of interest starting with an update on The Square Kilometre Array:

And the latest on cosmic rays setting off lightning bolts: Russian researchers find more evidence to support notion that lightning is caused by cosmic rays – Susquehanna Astronomical Society.

May17

The Adventures of an Armchair Astronaut and the future of journalism

by TopSpacer on May 17, 2013 at 5:37 am

Posted In: General, Space Arts

A Columbia University journalism class offers a set of stories as part of their Project Wordsworth – What’s a good story worth to you?

Project Wordsworth is a collective of 17 Columbia Journalism School graduate students who are running an experiment—and you’re already a part of it. Each of us has written a good story that transports you somewhere else, somewhere you’ve never been. That’s worth something. But how much? You decide. Your input will teach us something new about journalism’s future. All proceeds go to the authors.

In one of the stories the author tells of becoming fascinated about space and spaceflight and setting out to learn all about it: Cosmic Postcards: The Adventures of an Armchair Astronaut by Kamakshi Ayyar.

May17

Neil Armstrong and an iPhone on Apollo 11

by TopSpacer on May 17, 2013 at 3:18 am

Posted In: History, Space humor

The Dutch online telecomshop Typhone.nl has posted a fun infographic (created by Blue Mango Interactive) showing how Neil Armstrong’s Apollo 11 experience might have differed if he had had an iPhone: What if Neil Armstrong had an iPhone… – Typhone.nl Blog.

Click for full size version.

May17

Dr. Stan Rosen & Dave Dressler discuss ISDC 2013 on The Space Show

by TopSpacer on May 17, 2013 at 2:49 am

Posted In: Activism, SpaceCasts

The upcoming National Space Development Conference (ISDC 2013), May 23 – 27, 2013, San Diego, California was the subject of the Space Show on Tuesday along with “space education, commerce, human exploration, science, & more”: Dr. Stan Rosen, Dave Dressler on ISDC 2013, Tuesday, 5-14-13 | Thespaceshow’s Blog.

See the General Conference Tracks Information for the areas of presentations and discussions at the event.

May17

Project Morpheus tests – May.16.13

by TopSpacer on May 17, 2013 at 2:43 am

Posted In: Rockets, Space Systems

The Project Morpheus team at NASA JSC was out testing their new lander on a tether Thursday. See the postings at Morpheus Lander (MorpheusLander) on Twitter as in these two examples:

Morpheus Lander ‏@MorpheusLander

Thanks for watching! Not tomorrow, but NEXT WEEK for sure! Soon we should have a live video feed to the world as well!
Morpheus Lander ‏@MorpheusLander

At 3ft in the air, I just had another successful test fire! I’m feeling good… now I get to do some RCS tests before we wrap for the day!

May16

LVM Studios space model kits include Soyuz and Mercury-Atlas launch towers

by TopSpacer on May 16, 2013 at 8:58 pm

Posted In: Space Models

LVM Studios is offering an interesting collection of space model kits, including several Soviet/Russian related items -

AMK Zarya Capsule:

AMK Progress M2:

Soon to be available is the R7 Launch pad “Soyuz Baikonur” 1/144

LC14 LUT for Revell’s “Everything is GO”:

May16

JP Aerospace on American Voices satellite radio program

by TopSpacer on May 16, 2013 at 7:48 pm

Posted In: Near Space, SpaceCasts

John Powell of JP Aerospace will talk this weekend on the American Voices Sirius XM satellite radio program hosted by former Senator Bill Bradley: JP Interview this Saturday with Senator Bill Bradley – JP Aerospace Blog

This Saturday and Sunday JP will be on the radio with Senator Bill Bradley.

The Senator’s radio show “American Voices” is on Sirius Satellite network. The Senator and JP will talk about PongSat, space education and Airship to Orbit. Listen in!

American Voices airs on Sirius XM Satellite Radio Channel 124
Saturdays: 7AM, 1PM, and 7PM; Sundays: 4AM, 10AM, 4PM, and 11PM.
(All times are EST)

American Voices facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/Americanvoiceswithsenatorbillbradley?fref=ts

May16

NSS to present a roadmap to space settlement

by TopSpacer on May 16, 2013 at 5:30 pm

Posted In: Activism, Living in Space, Space Settlement

The NSS will rollout its Roadmap to Space Settlement this month in association with the International Space Development Conference (ISDC 2013) in San Diego, California, May 23-27:

National Space Society Presents
Milestones to Space Settlement: An NSS Roadmap

When:
May 24, 2013, 10:00 am (Programming follows 11:00 am to 4:50 pm)

Where:
International Space Development Conference
San Diego, California, at the Hyatt Regency La Jolla at Aventine

What:
A Press Conference featuring the National Space Society’s (NSS) Roadmap to Space Settlement will be presented to the world. A panel of space experts and NSS members will discuss the path towards humankind’s future in space. The press conference will also highlight previews of some of the afternoon’s talks, a visually stunning Luncheon Presentation, and a programming track that covers some of the exciting topics in (and evolved from) the Roadmap. Previously, only NSS members and Ad Astra magazine subscribers have been told about the Roadmap. Now, the world will know!

A space logistics base with a docking truss is assembled in Low Mars Orbit. Art: Anna Nesterova

A space logistics base with a docking truss is assembled in Low Mars Orbit. Art: Anna Nesterova

With the impending breakthroughs in launch costs, attention is once more shifting to actual operations in space. We can now begin to dream big dreams again. The Roadmap Track will cover the future diverse paths to space development and the common and practical foundations for our impending economic breakout into space. The NSS Roadmap, approved by the NSS Board of Directors, attempts to lay out many of the space goals and identify Milestones and Barriers to those goals.

Track presentations will cover some legal issues surrounding space development, how space development can improve life on Earth, how you actually can build a two kilometer space colony with essentially current level technology, progress in the development of reusable launch systems, why a cis-lunar space transportation and logistics system is vital to reaching all of our space goals and destinations, how to achieve the ability to build space colonies, and how space settlement design competitions can augment and assist planning for future space colonies.

Roadmap text and images can be found here.

In addition to the presentations directly in the Roadmap track itself, many of the other tracks at the ISDC cover material directly related to the Roadmap, such as the Lunar, Mars and the Space Based Solar Power Tracks.

Featured Speakers:

Derek Weber: Director: SpacePort Associates
Howard Bloom: Author & Member: NSS Board of Directors
Stan Rosen: Vice Chairman, NSS Board of Directors
Bruce Pittman: NSS Senior Vice President/Senior Operating Officer
Anita Gale: Member: NSS Board of Directors
Mark Hopkins: Chairman NSS Executive Committee
Jeff Liss: Member: NSS Board of Directors
John Strickland: Member: NSS Board of Directors, Track Chair
Al Globus: Member: NSS Board of Directors

Roadmap Track Sessions schedule:

10:00 am - Roadmap Rollout - MEDIA PRESS CONFERENCE with panel
11:00 am – Jeff Liss – Legal Issues of and Barriers to Roadmap Milestones
11:20 am – Stan Rosen - Applications of Space Technology on and for Earth
12:00 am – Howard Bloom – Space Visual Manifesto (LUNCH talk) invited speaker
2:00 pm - John Strickland – How Does a Jig Factory Build a Space Colony?
3:00 pm - Bruce Pittman – Economic & Technical Realities of Reusable Launch Systems
3:15 pm - Al Globus – Paths to Space Settlement
4:00 pm - Derek Webber - An Architecture for Survival
4:25 pm - Anita Gale - Design Competition Scenarios: Ambitious Future Space Roadmap

May16

Kickstarting Intergalactic Expedition by ImaginEpic

by TopSpacer on May 16, 2013 at 3:56 pm

Posted In: Contests and Games, Simulators

I recently got a heads up about a Kickstarter campaign to support development of the “Futuristic Space-Based Action Adventure Game” Intergalactic Expedition by ImaginEpic.

The main objective of the game is to travel to Titan, one of Saturn’s moons. The goal is to set up colonization to explore further into space. By utilizing renewable energy sources such as wind or hydroelectric power and utilizing water from the moon Rhea, this colony would give the resources required to travel and explore the outer most planets of our solar system. We wanted to use Titan because of its similarity to Earth in terms of landscape and composition (besides it being nitrogen-based opposed to carbon based)

See the following video for an overview and their Kickstarter page for details:

May16

The story of the Moon’s water is still a mystery

by TopSpacer on May 16, 2013 at 6:07 am

Posted In: Space Science, The Moon

The water on the earth and Moon tells a story about their creation and development that still hasn’t been read all the way to the end: Earth-Moon: A Watery “Double-Planet” – The Once and Future Moon.

May16

Sci-Tech: Helion Energy update + Tri-Alpha Energy

by TopSpacer on May 16, 2013 at 5:55 am

Posted In: Science and Technology

Helion Energy is a spinoff firm from research led by Dr. John Slough at the University of Washington that is seeking to build a practical nuclear fusion power system. Their fusion engine is based on colliding and compressing packets of plasma. They believe with about $35 in R&D funding they can reach the point where they can build a pilot plant with an additional $200M. Here are more details about the company:

The packets of plasma, which will contain ionized deuterium and tritium, are held together with magnetic fields using what is called the field-reversed configuration or FRC. Another company pursuing the FRC collision approach is the secretive Tri-Alpha Energy, which is a spinoff from fusion research at the University of California at Irvine. They have gotten significant funding from a number of sources including Paul Allen and continue to attract investors:

May16

FISO: NASA’s planetary protection policy, Part 1 – Cassie Conley

by TopSpacer on May 16, 2013 at 5:25 am

Posted In: Space Policy, Space Science

The latest presentation to the Future In-Space Operations (FISO) study group is now posted in the FISO Working Group Presentations Archive. Both slides (pdf) and audio (mp3) are available for the talk, NASA’s Planetary Protection Policy for Human and Robotic Missions – Part 1 – Cassie Conley, NASA HQ – May 15, 2013.

May16

Mars colony basics + 3-D printing a Moon base

by TopSpacer on May 16, 2013 at 5:21 am

Posted In: Space Settlement, Space Systems

A look at some of the ideas discussed at the recent Human to Mars Summit on how to create sustainable Mars colonies: How to build a Mars colony that lasts – forever – New Scientist

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One technology that looks very important for making things, both small and large, in space colonies, wherever they might be, is 3-D printing: 3-D Printing Could Build Moon Base In-Situ – Aviation Week

May15

Kepler space telescope loses reaction wheel – exoplanet searching crippled

by TopSpacer on May 15, 2013 at 9:36 pm

Posted In: Exoplanets, Space Systems

With the loss of another reaction wheel, he Kepler space telescope has lost the ability to maintain the stable orientation needed for observing stars to detect transits of exoplanets: Kepler Mission Manager Update – NASA.

The managers of the project, however, insist that the mission is not finished and they will still be able to do some interesting science with the spacecraft. There is also a lot of data left to analyze.

Nevertheless, for small planets with orbit periods like the earth or Mars, the longer the observation time the better. A earth sized planet only decreases the star’s light by about 0.01% when it transits across the face of the planet. So the more transits, the better. At least three transits are needed for confirmation of an exoplanet. Kepler began observations in 2009 so there would have been 3-4 transits at an earth size orbit but only 1-2 for a Mars orbit.

There was a NASA briefing this afternoon on the situation and some notes were posted at

Examples:

Alan Boyle : “[Principle Investigator William Borucki] bristles at suggestion that @NASAKepler‘s planet-hunting mission is over. “Reasonable possibility” of resuming data collection.”

Jeff Foust: “Bill Borucki: well on our way to determining “eta Earth”, fraction of stars with Earth-sized planets in hab zones. (key goal of mission)”

Jeff Foust: “Borucki: we’ll declare the mission over when there’s no possibility of getting critically important science.”

May15

The Skylab legacy

by TopSpacer on May 15, 2013 at 8:59 pm

Posted In: History, Space Systems

Skylab, the first US space station, was launched 40 years ago from yesterday. Here’s a NASA video about the project:

Skylab’s May 14, 1973 launch into low-Earth orbit was the nation’s first foray into significant scientific research in microgravity. The three Skylab crews proved humans could live and work effectively for long durations in space. This NASA video recounts the history of the program and showcases Skylab’s legacy as a major stepping stone to the successful construction and operation of the International Space Station and future long-duration human missions to asteroids, Mars and other destinations.

May15

90 Second Science for May 14th

by TopSpacer on May 15, 2013 at 8:54 pm

Posted In: General, SpaceCasts

Joe Latrell of Photos-to-Space starts a new series of video news reports. This episode of 90 Second Science covers the return of Chris Hadfield, UP Aerospace’s next flight, Sierra Nevada’s Dreamchaser and a look back at Skylab.

90 Second Science for May 14 from Joe Latrell on Vimeo.

May15

Video: Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Rice commencement speech

by TopSpacer on May 15, 2013 at 4:53 pm

Posted In: Activism, Space Policy, Space Science

Here’s a video of Neil deGrasse Tyson talking about America’s exploration of space at Rice’s 100th commencement:

May15

The International Space Orchestra – the documentary

by TopSpacer on May 15, 2013 at 6:30 am

Posted In: Space Arts, Space Music, Space Science

The International Space Orchestra is described as

the world’s first orchestra of space scientists. Blending space exploration and bassoons; planet-poking and bluegrass-playing spacecraft operators – the International Space Orchestra’s members are individuals drawn from NASA Ames Research Center, SETI (Search for Extra-terrestial Intelligence), Singularity University and the International Space University.

Last September 2012 they premiered their “Ground Control: An Opera in Space” in a live performance in San Jose. The opera was

written by Blur and Gorillaz frontman DAMON ALBARN with BOBBY WOMACK; MAYWA DENKI and PENGUIN CAFE’s ARTHUR JEFFES. With lyrics by BRUCE STERLING & JASMINA TESANOVIC. Musical director: Two time Grammy-Award winner EVAN PRICE.

The project and it’s goals:

In this tangential reality, your Flight Controller conducts arias and the Payload Officer works a baritone sax, while the Capsule Communicator is on the triangle. Merging science, technology, design and opera – Ground-Control: An opera in Space aims to reach the final frontier! The International Space Orchestra, is an experiential and hybrid research laboratory, where space scientists have been invited to implement, deconstruct, perform, sing, mix, modify, and design musical acts in a control room.

The project’s mission is to introduce the public to the emotional nuances of space science technologies, the people working with them and the challenges and opportunities of an exciting new era of commercial space exploration. Fuelled by Silicon Valley-based commercial space companies such as Virgin Galactic, Space X and Google – the space industry is at one of the most exciting moments in its history – and projects such as near-earth asteroid mining and sending humans to Mars orbit are being discussed as realities for the 2030s.

A documentary about the project will be shown on May 17th at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California: May 17 Event at SETI Institute – The International Space Orchestra Feature Documentary (66min) – SETI Institute

A brief clip from the film:

May15

Buzz Aldrin on The Space Show

by TopSpacer on May 15, 2013 at 6:13 am

Posted In: Space Policy, Space Settlement

Buzz Aldrin was on The Space Show on Monday and discussed his Unified Space Vision, Mars settlement and his book, Mission to Mars: My Vision for Space Exploration, which he just released: Dr. Buzz Aldrin, Monday, 5-13-13 | Thespaceshow’s Blog.

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