The ZeroG Team at the University of Wisconsin carried out some interesting micro-gravity research aboard NASA's" Weightless Wonder" aircraft: Zero-gravity team finds spray cooling works in space - Univ. Wisconsin - July 8, 2008

Five artists will experiment with various creative endeavors during periods of weightlessness on a Russian aircraft flying parabolas : Painter prepares for art in space - BBC - July.7.08

Good to remember that very item you see in an Apollo photo has a story behind it that involves real people : Resident's handiwork extends all the way into space - Houston Chronicle - July.7.08

The Space Show this week:

1. Monday, July 7, 2008, 2-3:30 PM Pacific: Dr. Patricia Hynes of Space Grant New Mexico will be with us to talk about the upcoming Personal Spaceflight Conference in Las Cruces, NM in October 2008.

2. Tuesday, July 8, 2008, 7-8:30 PM Pacific: We welcome both William Simon and Matt Everingham of the California Space Authority to discuss the upcoming 2008 NASA Regolith Excavation Challenge.

3. Wednesday, July 9, 2008, 9:30-10:30 AM Pacific Time, we welcome back Will Watson, Executive Director of SFF to discuss new information regarding the upcoming New Space 2008 Conference. Several of the speakers and participants will be calling in to discuss their role in this important conference.

4. Friday, July 11, 2008, 9:30-11:30 AM Pacific: We welcome Ms. Eva-Jane Lark to the program. We will be discussing [her paper] Investment Financing of Exploration, closely examining how historical journeys of exploration had been funded, and discussing a number of parallels facing the space exploration community today. We will also be discussing her contribution to the SSP study from the fall of 2007 and much more.

5. Sunday, July 13, 12-1:30 PM Pacific: Dr. William Gaubatz will be with us to discuss the upcoming DCX Reunion in New Mexico, August 17 - 19, 2008.

Go to AMSAT News for the latest headlines about developments in amateur and student satellites and for updates about amateur radio on the ISS :

* P3E Update From Friedrichshafen Ham Radio 2008
* AMSAT Field Day Logs Are Due by July 14
* New Earth Photos Received From Cute-1.7
* AMSAT 2008 Space Symposium Call For Papers
* ARISS Status Report for the Week of June 30, 2008
1. School Contacts
2. Successful Russian Contact
3. Robinson Elementary School Contact Successful
4. Astronaut Training Status
5. Under the Hood Posts SuitSat Article and Video
6. ARISS International Team Meeting Held
7. ARISS Delegate Recognized at Ham Fair
8. Amateur Radio Video Posted

Even though the cost is off the scale, I'm still impressed that the technology seems to work quite well in a real world situation: Inside the Solar-Hydrogen House: No More Power Bills--Ever: A New Jersey resident generates and stores all the power he needs with solar panels and hydrogen - Scientific American - June.19.08. (via Space Guy). He even uses the hydrogen for his fuel cell car.

Commercialization of the technology is being commercialized by Renewable Energy International.

A "very light jet" (VLJ) built by Cirrus has made its maiden flight.
/-- Cirrus Jet Takes Off - www.wdio.com - July.4.08
/-- Cirrus Prototype Jet Makes Successful Test Flight - wcco.com - July.4.08

Cirrus has 460 orders for the-jet, including $100,000 deposits for each. The five- or six-seat aircraft is expected to sell for about $1 million each.

As with the company's propeller planes, the jet will have an airframe parachute.

Note that the articles say that production of The-Jet (hope they come up with a better name) could be several years away.

More info:
/-- The-Jet by Cirrus
/-- News & video

The Eclipse VLJ originally was also expected to retail for $1M but is now above $2M. However, the company has started taking orders for the single engine Eclipse 400, which is currently priced at $1.35M range.

Airships are finding niche markets beyond advertising and event broadcasting: Why Fly When You Can Float? - NYTimes.com - July.5.08.

In Germany, Deutsche Zeppelin-Reederei, the successor to the operator of the Hindenburg, has had success with a new generation of airship it uses to transport sightseers and scientific payloads.

The trend is not entirely new. Zeppelin-Reederei carried 12,000 passengers on sightseeing tours over southern Germany last year.

The company's airship will soon start carrying tourists in California:

The company manufactures a zeppelin that costs about $15 million; it just delivered its fourth model, to Airship Ventures, at Moffett Field, near Stanford, Calif. Tickets will cost about $500 for sightseeing trips over the Monterey Bay area.

Space VidVision Contest to Judge Best YouTube Space Video Essays
This Fall, enter your short video online - top prize is $2000 cash!

Nyack, NY - July 3, 2008 What's your opinion on the future of U.S. human spaceflight? Should astronauts be going back to the moon, or on to Mars? Can robots do everything that people can? Will the growing NewSpace industry dominate human space activities? Should we be exploring space at all?

Your short video response, posted on YouTube.com, could win you $2,000.

The creators of the 2008 Space VidVision Contest are awarding that top prize, as well as $1000 and $500 for second and third place, for the best videos that answer the question, "What should the future of American human spaceflight be?"

Tom Davie and Chris Ingham Brooke have assembled a great collection of beautiful satellite images :
/-- 30 Most Incredible Abstract Satellite Images of Earth - Environmental Graffiti - July.2.08 - Set 1
/-- Set 2
/-- Set 3

I've been enjoying tracks from The Icarus Foray, an ambient space music CD from Immersion Theory, which is the "musical persona" of John-Mark Austin. The album is intended as a "transcendent auditory journey through the universe and into the heavens".
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Craig Murphy points me to his new ambient music work called the Alien Genome Project. It's recorded under the name ch.pm. Downloads are available at Ambidextrous Records. Check out also his videos.
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Hear the interesting interview on the Space Show with Graham Smith about his album Eleven, which is a "musical tribute to Apollo 11". They play several samples from the CD and discuss the inspiration and background behind the various tracks.
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The Star Chronicles is a series of audio and visual "journeys" in which animation artist Charlie Case collaborates with several musical artists including Jonn Serrie. They are now releasing Star Chronicles IV "One World".

I noticed there has been a lot of space camping related articles in the past month. Here is a selection (note that not all of the camps involve the Space Camp in Huntsville) :
/-- Space Camp 'radical' trip for 29 kids- al.com - July.3.08
/-- Kids get chance to 'go into space': Local author, kids vie to become 'space tourists' Camp facts - Peterborough Examiner [Ca] - June.28.08
/-- New Space Camp Barbie Debuts July 4th - Wired.com - June.27.08
/-- Shuttle Camp Enrollment Soars, Extra Weeks Added - New Mexico Museum of Space History - June.23.08
/-- Kids Flying High in Space Camp - WTVM News [Columbus, GA] - June.19.08
/-- Getting trained at Space Camp - CNET.com - June.17.08
/-- Forbes magazine names Space Camp a top fantasy- al.com - June.13.08

Low cost simulators of ISS docking and of the SpaceShipOne have been developed at the Department of Space Studies at the University of North Dakota: UND unveils new space flight simulator - Grand Forks Herald

Glenn Reynolds points to the development of a Space Law Wiki.

ESA is sponsoring a lunar rover competition for university student groups:
/-- Eight teams taking up ESA's Lunar Robotics Challenge - ESA - July.2.08
/--Announcement of Opportunity for the ESA Lunar Robotics Challenge - ESA - Mar.28.08