Category Archives: Activism

The Space Show this week – Dec.21.2020

The Space Show Asks For Your Support:

The Space Show wishes all of you a very Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, a healthy holiday season and 2021. Here at The Space Show we are winding down 2020, a year that has been challenging for us and each of you. Despite the year’s challenges we have managed to continue bringing you great guests, lots of listener participation with phone calls, emails and blog commentary. The Space Show has continued our strong advocacy for commercial space development, a lunar return and eventual humans to Mars mission plans. We have supported having a strong national security space policy plus we love our planetary science program which is the best in the world. Many of you have promoted your books, websites, blogs, ideas and work on The Space Show this year as well as in previous years. Students have been on The Space Show gaining valuable experience related to their future skills and career choices. The list of Space Show accomplishments is a lengthy one but I think you get the picture.

Production of The Space Show is expensive, so we ask for your support to continue working hard advocating for the space industry we all want, especially in these uncertain times for our industry and country. Fulfilling The Space Show mission is why we ask for your financial support. Thee Space Show, as a live broadcast internet radio talk show with multiple phone lines for the guests and listener discussions, is not just another podcast. Our unique format featuring live broadcasts, real time callers and listener emails helps The Space Show stand out bringing you in-depth information about all aspects of our industry. Each year we engage in our end of the year fundraising campaign to help continue our work into the coming year. We are now in our annual end of year campaign and we are asking you to please support The Space Show with a gift today. Don’t forget that as a nonprofit 501c3 with the One Giant Leap Foundation as our parent, your contribution entitles you to an IRS tax deduction along with a California tax deduction if you are a California tax payer (check with your tax advisor for details applicability). But tax deductions are not a reason to contribute to us. You contribute to us because of our programming, because we fight and advocate for what you want in space, because we educate with facts and solid information and because we offer everyone the opportunity for civil discussions on all space related topics. You contribute to us because you have a voice with our guests, with each other and in future programming. That is why you contribute and why we are asking you to contribute once again this year. We believe The Space Show delivers the value you deserve and that we have earned your respect which you show us by helping to financially support us.

The guests and topics of discussion on The Space Show this week:

1. Monday, Dec. 21, 2020; 7 pm PDT (9 pm CDT, 10 pm EDT: No special programming.

2. Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020; 7 pm PDT (9 pm CDT, 10 pm EDT): We welcome back Dr. Ajay Kothari of The ASTROX Corp.

3. Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020: Hotel Mars TBA pre-recorded. See upcoming show menu on the home page for program details.

4. Thursday, Dec. 24, 2020; 7-8:30 pm PDT (9-10:30 pm CDT, 10-11:30 pm EDT): No program today.

5. Friday, Dec.25, 2020; 9:30-11 am PDT (11:30 am-1 pm CDT, 12:30-2 pm EDT): No show today. Merry Christmas to all.

6. Sunday, Dec.27, 2020; 12-1:30 pm PDT (3-4:30 pm EDT, 2-3:30 pm CDT): Open Lines. All callers welcome.

Some recent shows:

** Tuesday, Dec.15.2020Robert Zimmerman responded to “Many callers” and discussed “multiple topics, a few 2021 predictions”.

** Friday, Dec.18.2020Dr. James A. Vedda and Karen Jones discussed their paper on space based solar power, Space-Based Solar Power: A Near-Term Investment Decision (pdf), for the Center For Space Policy and Strategy at The Aerospace Corp.

** Sunday, Dec. 20.2020  – David Livingston and and co-host John Jossy  talked with Kim Holder about the newest version of Moonwards, which is an open source virtual moon town, and a new demo.  “Kim talked about Moonwards, its purpose, the why of Moonwards and much more.”

** See also:
* The Space Show Archives
* The Space Show Newsletter
* The Space Show Shop

The Space Show is a project of the One Giant Leap Foundation.

The Space Show - David Livingston
The Space Show – Dr. David Livingston

Space policy roundup – Dec.21.2020

A sampling of links to recent space policy, politics, and government (US and international) related space news and resource items that I found of interest (find previous space policy roundups here):

International space

Webcasts:

** China Aero & Space Weekly News Round-Up – Episode 12 (14th -20th Dec. 2020)Dongfang Hour – YouTube

Topics discussed include:

1) Long March 8 Launch on Sunday 20/12
2) Chang’e-5 Return to Earth
3) New JV between China Eastern, Juneyao Group, and China Telecom
4) Baidu is Considering Making its own Electric Vehicle

** David Buehler – How Is CHPS [Cislunar Highway Patrol System] Going To Benefit Space Force?Cold Star Technologies – YouTube

Captain David Buehler of the Air Force Research Lab’s Space Vehicles Directorate is on the Cold Star Project to talk about the CHPS program. The CHPS program will monitor cislunar space, extending to 272,000 and beyond: a 10X reach in range and 1000X increase in volume. With host Jason Kanigan, Capt. Buehler discusses:
– Why is cislunar space of interest to the AFRL?
– What is CHPS?
– Why has the AFRL chosen to develop CHPS?
– What are some of the technical challenges with Space Domain Awareness in cislunar space?
– Why don’t TLEs work in cislunar space?
– What are some long term benefits to the Space Force for develping CHPS?

** The Space Show – Tuesday, Dec.15.2020Robert Zimmerman responded to “Many callers” and discussed “multiple topics, a few 2021 predictions”.

** The Space Show – Friday, Dec.18.2020Dr. James A. Vedda and Karen Jones discussed their paper on space based solar power,  Space-Based Solar Power: A Near-Term Investment Decision (pdf), for the Center For Space Policy and Strategy at The Aerospace Corp.

** E45 – NASA’s Artemis Roadshow (with Jim Vedda and Mike Gold)Aerospace Corp – Center for Space Policy & Strategy (CSPS)

** Why Do We Need “A Robotic Space Station for the 2020s”? – Gordon RoeslerCold Star Technologies – YouTube

Past DARPA program manager and Robots In Space founder Dr. Gordon Roesler is on the Make Space Boring News show to share some details about his new paper, A Robotic Space Station for the 2020s. Why do we need this space infrastructure, and why now? Dr. Roesler’s paper: https://coldstartech.com/rssroesler

** Space Café WebTalk – Prof. Steven Freeland – 24. November 2020spacewatch. global – News Room – YouTube

In this week’s Space Cafè WebTalk, Prof. Steven Freeland, Professor of International Law, Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia talked about the Multifaceted Nature of Space and the Role / Rule of Law. Prof. Steven Freeland talked about:

Australia’s initiatives on the commercial space side,
National law – what are the important issues to consider for each country and why?,
International law – how the initiatives of one or several countries can be an input to broader discussions and why we need broad ‘buy in’ on the really big issues,
Civil Society – how industry, academia and broader civil society have important voices on space in many ways?
Prof. Freeland also answered relevant questions from the audience.

This Space Cafè WebTalk, held on 24 November 2020, was hosted by Torsten Kriening, publisher of SpaceWatch.Global.

** Flocks of Satellites, Virtualized Constellations and the Tenet of Interoperability Constellations Podcast

Listen to Jeff Guido talk about Planet, a company founded by three NASA scientists in a garage. Learn about a “flock” of small satellites imaging the entire Earth’s land mass every day, delivery data images almost instantaneously over the Internet. How is that possible? Jeff discusses vertically integrating a cloud-based imaging platform and the digital transformation of the industry. They are both key to getting remote sensing data immediately out to the market, helping everyone from small farmers to governments optimize their resources. Jeff talks about managing large numbers of satellites by getting them to work in concert through automation and interoperability. Learn about the difference between CMOS and push broom cameras and how the imagery obtained from those cameras can be analyzed to detect change. Finally, what is a virtual constellation and why is it important?

** December 15, 2020 Zimmerman/Batchelor podcast

** December 18, 2020 Zimmerman/Batchelor podcast

====

Saturn as seen by Hubble Space Telescope’s Wide Field Camera
Saturn as seen by Hubble Space Telescope’s Wide Field Camera.

=== Amazon Ads ===

America’s New Destiny in Space

====

Space Is Open for Business:
The Industry That Can Transform Humanity

The Space Show this week – Dec.14.2020

The guests and topics of discussion on The Space Show this week:

1. Monday, Dec.14, 2020; 7 pm PDT (9 pm CDT, 10 pm EDT: No program today.

2. Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020; 7 pm PDT (9 pm CDT, 10 pm EDT): We welcome back Bob Zimmerman for a 2020 space roundup, a look at 2021 and more. See his website, www.behindtheblack.com.

3. Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020: Hotel Mars TBA pre-recorded. See upcoming show menu on the home page for program details.

4. Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020; 7-8:30 pm PDT (9-10:30 pm CDT, 10-11:30 pm EDT): No program today.

5. Friday, Dec.18, 2020; 9:30-11 am PDT (11:30 am-1 pm CDT, 12:30-2 pm EDT): We welcome back Dr. James A. Vedda and Karen Jones to discuss their space solar power paper, Space-Based Solar Power: A Near-Term Investment Decision (pdf), for the Center For Space Policy and Strategy at The Aerospace Corp.

6. Sunday, Dec.20, 2020; 12-1:30 pm PDT (3-4:30 pm EDT, 2-3:30 pm CDT): We welcome back Kim Holder to debut the new MOONWARDS game. John Jossy is co-hosting this program. Visit and play the Moonwards demo posted on our blog. Give it a try. Call us and share your experience with us. The demo will be posted on our blog in advance of this program. Visit Moonwards at www.moonwards.com. [See also Moonwards juuuust about has a demo – Moonwards.]

Some recent shows:

** Sunday, Dec.13.2020 – Dr. David Livingston led an Open Lines program with discussion on a wide range of topics with callers.

** Friday, Dec. 11, 2020Laura Montgomery reviewed “space law and policy in 2020 plus we looked ahead to space law and policy for 2021”.

** Tuesday, Dec.8.2020Dr. Haym Benaroya and Dr. William Belfer “discussed the book, The Spaceships of Ezekiel [pdf], by now deceased NASA engineer Josef F. Blumrich”.

** See also:
* The Space Show Archives
* The Space Show Newsletter
* The Space Show Shop

The Space Show is a project of the One Giant Leap Foundation.

The Space Show - David Livingston
The Space Show – Dr. David Livingston

=== Amazon Ads ===

2008-2018: A NewSpace Primer

====

America’s New Destiny in Space

Space policy roundup – Dec.14.2020

A sampling of links to recent space policy, politics, and government (US and international) related space news and resource items that I found of interest (find previous space policy roundups here):

International space

Webcasts:

** Casey Dreier: Are Changes Coming to NASA/US Space Policy – Weekly Space Hangout: December 9, 2020

We are pleased to once again welcome Casey Dreier from the Planetary Society to the WSH. Casey will update us (as much as possible) about Space Policy changes that may occur once the new American Presidential administration takes office on January 20, 2021. As Chief Advocate, Casey is the public face of The Planetary Society’s efforts to advance planetary exploration, planetary defense, and the search for life. He educates and empowers the organization’s members to take political action. He writes, teaches, and speaks to The Society’s members, the public, and policymakers to impress upon them the importance, relevancy, and excitement of space exploration. Casey is committed to demystifying the politics and policy process behind space exploration for all audiences. He is a trusted source for journalists and has been featured in many publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Scientific American, Vox, and The Verge, to name a few. He also has appeared as an expert on BBC News and both seasons of National Geographic’s MARS series as a “MARS Big Thinker”. As Senior Space Policy Adviser Casey helps lead the strategic planning of The Society’s policy and advocacy efforts. He works closely with The Society’s leadership, its Board of Directors, and other policy experts to craft the organizational positions and goals regarding the future of space exploration. He provides trusted analysis of the budgetary, political, and policy decisions relating to space, pursues original research, and works collaboratively to generate policy ideas and guidance for the U.S. space program.

** The Space Show – Friday, Dec. 11, 2020Laura Montgomery reviewed “space law and policy in 2020 plus we looked ahead to space law and policy for 2021“.

** The Space Show – Sunday, Dec.13.2020Open Lines program with Dr. David Livingston leading a discussion on a wide range of topics with callers.

** EMSTA Seminar on space debris 2020#SpaceWatchGL opinion: Space Debris – 2020 Vision? Are we really looking after space? – SpaceWatch.Global

** China Aero & Space Weekly News Round-Up – Episode 11 (7th -13th Dec. 2020) –  Roundup 6 – Dec – 13 Dec 2020 – SpaceWatch.Global

Topics discussed:

  1. iSpace making progress in the development of Hyperbola 2
  2. Launch of Long March 11 with 2 CAS satellites
  3. Great article on C919 Suppliers
  4. National Radio and Television Administration Announcement
  5. Dongfang Hour reaches 100+ subscribers!

** Innovative Space ShowcaseAerospace Corp – Center for Space Policy & Strategy (CSPS)

** Ben Kaebe – How Are Australian Space Robotics Startups Being Helped by SpAARC?Cold Star Technologies – YouTube

The Australian Space Automation, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Control Complex (SpAARC) in Perth is opening, and Dr. Ben Kaebe is its Technical Interface Manager. What will SpAARC do, and how will it help space startups? Join host Jason Kanigan on the Cold Star Project to find out. Jason asks Dr. Kaebe:
-how he ended up in Australia, having been born in Germany
-the vision for the complex and its user base
-the process and partners of developing SpAARC
-what Earth-based and space applications the facility will assist with
-what capabilities will be available first, and how the complex plans to grow.

** Space Café WebTalk – Mari Eldholm – 17. November 2020 – spacewatch. global – News Room – YouTube

In this week’s Space Cafè WebTalk, Mari Eldholm, the Director of NIFRO, Oslo, Norway, talked about Norway’s space ambitions from oil to orbit.

** December 8, 2020 Zimmerman/Batchelor podcast

** December 10, 2020 Zimmerman/Batchelor podcast

====

=== Amazon Ads ===

America’s New Destiny in Space

====

Space Is Open for Business:
The Industry That Can Transform Humanity

DreamUp sent 35 student experiments to the ISS via Cargo Dragon

An announcement in my email from the DreamUp education program:

Thirty-Five DreamUp Student Experiments Launch on SpaceX-21

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida – December 6, 2020 – DreamUp, the leader in space-based educational offerings, is proud to announce the launch of thirty-five student-designed experiments to the International Space Station on today’s SpaceX Falcon 9 CRS-21 rocket launch. These educational payloads, built by students from middle school to university around the world, represent their unprecedented perseverance as they continued to prepare their experiments for flight in unusually challenging circumstances due to COVID-19.

The student payloads launched in SpaceX’s Cargo Dragon alongside thousands of pounds of NASA cargo, supplies, more than 250 science and research investigations, as well as the Nanoracks Bishop Airlock, the first permanent, commercial addition to the International Space Station infrastructure. The Cargo Dragon is scheduled to dock to the Space Station tomorrow, Monday, December 7, 2020.

Specifically, the investigations on board are designed and built by a diverse range of students hailing from several countries and participating in programs led by the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education (NCESSE), Orbital Space, The Ramon Foundation, and the Tulsa Regional STEM Alliance (TRSA).

Notably, “E. Coli Consuming Carbon Dioxide to Combat Climate Change (E. coli C5)” will be the first payload launched to the International Space Station from Kuwait. Designed by a team of students from the American School of Kuwait who won Orbital Space’s “Experiments in Space” competition, this Mixstix experiment will investigate how a genetically modified strain of E. Coli bacteria that uses atmospheric carbon dioxide as a food source will behave in the microgravity environment of the Space Station.

The Tulsa Regional STEM Alliance, supported by Flight Night, solicited Mixstix experiment proposals from students throughout Oklahoma in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing. After participating in a two-phased selection process, six students from three teams were selected as winners. The three teams come from Jenks Southeast Elementary and Summit Christian Academy.

Twenty-eight Mixstix experiments from NCESSE’s Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) Mission 14 and three Mixstix from the Ramon Foundation’s Spacelab program represent long-enduring partnerships that reach students in a broad range of schools across Brazil, Canada, Israel, and the United States and inspire countless more.

“It is fitting that this notable launch for commercial space will be carrying such a large and diverse array of student investigations, and I am particularly excited to for the launch of the very first Kuwaiti experiment on the International Space Station!” said Allen Herbert, Interim CEO of DreamUp. “Student-designed microgravity research has the power to excite and engage not only young learners, but their parents, schools, and broader communities, and to equip them to pursue the challenges that humanity will face in the future. DreamUp is proud to support students as they pursue cutting-edge research on the most advanced commercial space platforms, and we congratulate them all on their persistence and tenacity in a challenging time.”

These launch opportunities were made possible via our partnership with Nanoracks and its Space Act Agreement with NASA.

For additional media inquiries, please email us at info@dreamup.org, and for continued updates, be sure to follow @DreamUp_Space on Twitter and Instagram.

About DreamUp: Based in Washington, DC, DreamUp is the first company bringing space into the classroom and the classroom into space. Uniquely positioned to inspire kids globally and engage them through scientific discoveries in space, DreamUp aims to foster an educational community where space-based research and projects will be available to all learners of all ages. DreamUp has a proven track record with more than 400 student research payloads from around the world launched on SpaceX and Northrop Grumman rockets to the International Space Station via a partnership with Nanoracks and its Space Act Agreement with NASA. For more information, visit https://www.dreamup.org/.

=== Amazon Ads ===

Amateur Radio Satellite for Beginners

====

Nooelec GOES Weather Satellite RTL-SDR Bundle
Includes NESDR SMArTee XTR Software Defined Radio, &
Everything Else Needed to Receive
LRIT, HRIT & HRPT Satellite Weather Images
Directly from Space!