The winners of the Moonbots competition, which started with 200 teams from 16 nations, have been selected:
/-- X PRIZE Foundation and LEGO Group Announce Winners in "MoonBots" Educational Contest - XPF - Sept.1.10
/-- And the Winners of the MoonBots Challenge Are..... - The Launch Pad - Sept.1.10

Watch here the impressive performance of the winning Moonbot built by the Landroids, a team of five eight graders from New Jersey:

A video of Arthur C. Clarke from the 1960s discussing future technologies: Retro Futurism - Arthur C. Clarke's Predictions from 1964 (video) - Singularity Hub.

Orbital Technologies Corporation (ORBITEC) has developed a modular system suitable for space vehicles in which artificial light, atmosphere, nutrients, etc, provide for growing vegetables and other plants: Orbital Technologies Corporation (ORBITEC) Helps NASA Grow Vegetables in Space - ORBITEC - Sept.1.10 (pdf).

Long duration space missions will require Astronauts to grow food to supplement their diet. ORBITEC's "VEGGIE" vegetable production systems will be used for this purpose during this fall's annual "Desert RATS" space analog testing.

John Powell of JP Aerospace fame has opened a second company that is dedicated to a much more down to earth product: an improved sandbag: Sand Brick Technologies. Check out the image gallery. Here is a message about the firm:

The Sandbag Reimagined

Rancho Cordova, CA., August 31, 2010 -- Flooding is one of humanities oldest scourges. The first line of defense has been the lowly sandbag.

With major deluges in Pakistani, Afghanistan, Chad, France and right here in the USA, this year is being dubbed 'The Year of the Flood'. With the increased threat has come the overhaul of the sandbag.

Emergency workers hate sandbags. Traditional sandbags are heavy, they make weak walls and are hard to fill. Sandbags haven't gotten any better in hundreds of years, till now. Sand Brick Technologies, a California company, has redesigned the sandbag.

The opening in normal sandbag is two inches smaller than a shovel blade. This makes sandbags very hard to fill. "It was one of those 'Oh Duh' moments", says John Powell, CEO of Sand Brick Technologies, LLC, "We made the opening two inches wider than a shovel, I don't know why nobody thought of it before".

Starting with the wider opening the sandbag went through a series of overdue upgrades. The ends of the bags are angled like a cornerstone. This causes all the bags to interlock forming an incredibly strong wall. However you don't need to be an architect to use them. The bags are color coded, one side blue the other yellow. All an emergency volunteer needs to remember is: "blue, yellow, blue, yellow" and the wall locks in place.

The bag is made from a solid sheet of plastic, not woven plastic like regular bags. This prevents flood water, a particularly nasty combination of sewage, industrial and farm runoff, from getting into the bags. This solves of the problem of getting rid of contaminated sand when the flood is over. The new sandbag is called a Sand Brick because of its cross section. The new bag forms a rectangle or brick shape. Tradition sandbags form a cylinder causing them to wobble. A Sand Brick sits, well, like a brick. Lastly, the surface of the bag was textured to grip the bags around it. Images of the bags are at www.sandbricktech.com

All these improvements results in a bag that only needs twenty pounds of sand vs. forty pounds of sand in a conventional bag. On top of that, fewer bags are needed to build a stronger wall.

All this results in using fewer bags and less half the amount of sand to block the same flood.

Emergency workers can put up sandbags walls up faster, with few back injuries, saving more lives and property. The new bags have been well received in the emergency community. "They make a really strong wall" says Carl Whaley, Chief of the Carrabelle, Florida Fire Department after a training exercise with Sand Bricks.

As long as there are floods there will be sandbags. This is the 21st century it's about time we had a better sandbag.

For more information, call 916-858-0184 or visit http://www.sandbricktech.com

John Powell
CEO, Sand Brick Technologies, LLC
jmpowell [at] sandbricktech.com

A message from the Science Channel:

Season Two Of Sci Fi Science: Physics Of The Impossible With Dr. Michio Kaku
-- Season Two World Premieres Wednesday, September 1, at 10 PM (ET) --

(Silver Spring, Md.) – Someday mankind will face almost unthinkable challenges. We’ll need a home other than Earth, our planet may be invaded by alien life, we’ll have to stave off an impact from an asteroid, our robots may rise up against us, we’ll look to colonize other planets and more. All are potentially scary scenarios that seem to come more from science fiction movies rather than reality. But what’s impossible today could be matter-of-fact tomorrow.

The good news? We’ll have science fiction to fall back on for potential solutions. In season two of Science Channel’s hit series SCI FI SCIENCE: PHYSICS OF THE IMPOSSIBLE, premiering Wednesday, September 1, at 10 PM (ET), world-renowned physicist and best-selling author Dr. Michio Kaku returns to tackle how mankind will deal with real-life situations from the world of science fiction.

In each episode of SCI FI SCIENCE, Dr. Kaku is consulting with the experts—science fiction fans—to determine the best solutions for each challenge. The fans are a demanding lot and inspire him to think in new, exciting ways. So Dr. Kaku turns to cutting-edge research from top scientists, engineers and physicists from around the world to ascertain how to make outrageous ideas come to life.

continue to press release (pdf).

Dr. Kaku will also be connecting with fans through a social media chat on Tuesday, September 7. For updated information on this online event and other social media activities, please keep an eye on the Sci Fi Science fansite (http://sciencechannel.com/scifisocial).

Here are two clips from the program:

A thorium reactor driven by an accelerator has a number of advantages over a conventional nuclear reactor:
/-- UK Telegraph supports new Thorium Energy Amplifier Subcritical Accelerator Driven Reactor Project - Next Big Future

/-- Obama could kill fossil fuels overnight with a nuclear dash for thorium - Telegraph - Aug.29.10.

NASA has partnered with Flickr to create the NASA on The Commons' Photostream site where visitors can

help tell the photos' story by adding tags, or keywords, to the images to identify objects and people. In addition, viewers can communicate with other visitors by sharing comments. These contributions will help make the images easier to find online and add insight about NASA's history.

More details about this project: NASA, Internet Archive And Flickr Launch Historic Image Collection - NASA - Aug.30.10

The images are shared with the vast collection of the agency's images at NASAimages.org created in partnership with the Internet Archive project.

More about DARPA's Transformer (TX) program (see earlier item): Textron and Carter Aviation or Lockheed Martin Might Build DARPAs Flying Hummer - NextBigFuture - Aug.29.10.

I've been following developments at Carter Aviation for years and it's nice to see them getting this contract. Here is a video about their rotor vehicle technologies:

A group in Florida is organizing the Space Film Festival for April 2012 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of John Glenn’s Mercury flight: Planning proceeds for space film fest - Forida Today.com - Aug.29.10

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

* It's Time to Register for the 2010 AMSAT Symposium
* Exciting Papers and Presentations Rolling In
* Symposium Poster Presentation & Demonstration Opportunity
* David Taylor W8AAS Appointed AMSAT US Delegate to ARISS-International
* AMSAT at Shelby, NC Hamfest Labor Day Weekend
* AMSAT Invited for Public Outreach at National Air & Space Museum
* New AO-51 Schedule As Satellite Enters Full Sun
* Satellite Shorts From All Over
* European Student Competition 'In The Can'

Jen Scheer, mentioned earlier on the STN blog, has created the educational program titled Project Mercury Rising. It is described as follows:

The project will entail refurbishment of the deteriorating Mercury launch complex to the way it was in the early 1960s (with some modern improvements) for use as an educational facility. The facility will be used to host programs similar to Space Camp for middle to high school students. Rather than the astronaut and flight controller training that is provided by Space Camp, they will focus on engineering and the hands-on technical skills needed to process and launch spacecraft.

Follow developments in the effort via the Project Mercury Rising Blog.

An update on the MOON CAPITAL Competition 2010, which challenges space architects, and want-to-be space architects, to design a second generation Moonbase capable of supporting 60 people: Moon Capital: A Commercial Gateway to the Moon - CommercialSpaceGateway.com - Aug.28.10.

A profile of a skywatcher involved in tracking the US military's X-37B spaceplane: International Team Tracking Experimental Space Plane - NewsOn6.com (Tulsa, OK) - Aug.28.10 (via spacetoday.net). Check out this this recent article about unexpected changes in the X-37B's orbit.

NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) is investigating an interesting technique that provides 3D television on a flat screen without the need for the viewer to wear special glasses: 3D Television without the Glasses - Next Big Future - Aug.27.10.

DARPA has apparently selected two finalists in its Transformer (TX) plan to develop a four-person vehicle that is both roadable and flyable: Flying Car News in the Army - The Pentagon's Flying Car - Popular Mechanics - Aug.27.10.
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Transonic Combustion claims a big boost in mileage with their "Ultra-high Efficiency Fuel Injection Systems": AutoblogGreen Q&A with Transonic Combustion: Can supercritical fluids give a 30% mpg boost? - Autoblog Green - Aug.26.10 (via Transterrestrial).

Another chance for airships to take a big step towards practical application in both military and civil applications: Airship Industry Prepares for Liftoff - WSJ.com - Aug.26.10

Artist Stanley Von Medvey is creating "a hard science fiction dramatic miniseries for online distribution" that is titled L5.

The plot involves a crew coming out of suspended animation after the return from the first manned mission to Barnard's Star. They hear no signals from an apparently devastated and lifeless Earth and come upon a giant O'neill cylinder-colony at the L5 Lagrange point that is empty and airless.

The project will use the social networking model for funding via the Kickstarter site. They "are seeking to raise $10,000 for the pilot episode".

More info and a video:
/-- L5 Launched on Kickstarter! - Stanley Von Medvey's Art Blog - Aug.16.10
/-- L5 - A Hard Science Fiction Miniseries by Stanley Von Medvey - Kickstarter - Aug.16.10

This sort of energy density for a Tesla Roadster would mean almost a 500 mile (800 km) range, which is a good 7-8 hour drive on US freeways: NEI Corporation and UC San Diego Expect 1000 Watt-hour Per Kilogram Energy Density Lithium Batteries by Mid-2011 - nextbigfuture.com - Aug.26.10.
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I expect that more drivers would prefer that their cars sound like this one, but a space ship does have its appeal: Toyota mulls space-ship sound for Prius hybrid to warn walkers - Drive On/SATODAY.com - Aug.26.10

The previous item reminded me about radio astronomy as a hobby. Radio Astronomy was in fact invented when Grote Reber built the first dedicated radio telescope dish in his backyard in the 1930s. Observing the cosmos in the radio bands expanded over the subsequent decades into a major tool for astronomy and cosmology. However, it also remained an active field for amateurs.

The Radio Astronomy section here provides lots of information and links to web resources on the subject. For example, there is the Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers, whose website provides the tutorial: Getting Started in Radio Astronomy.

See also this intro: Poor Man's Radio Telescope.

Equipment is available from Radio Astronomy Supplies.

Some books on the subject:
/-- Listen Up!: Laboratory Exercises for Introductory Radio Astronomy with a Small Radio Telescope by Kiley Pulliam, Laura A. Whitlock (2008)
/-- RadioScience Observing by Joseph Carr - focuses on information for the amateur who is interested in radio from space and the atmosphere.
/-- An Introduction to Radio Astronomy, by Bernard F. Burke , Francis Graham-Smith (2009)

Note that collecting space sounds generated via space radio signals is a popular activity. See the section on Natural Space Music.

As explained here, home reception with big antennas of satellite C-Band TV was one space hobby that actually generated a multi-billion dollar industry that continues to grow today. However, TVRO (TV Reception Only)), as it's called, is a hobby that has been fading from view. The widespread popularity of high resolution digital TV service via small antennas provided by Direct-to-Home (DTH) broadcasters removed most of the hobby and educational aspect of home satellite reception.

This article in Slashdot today and the response it generated show that many people, though, are still using big antennas at home to pick up TV and other types of satellite transmissions: Fun To Be Had With a 10 Foot Satellite Dish? - Slashdot Hardware Story - Aug.26.10.

See the HobbySpace TVRO section for more resources concerning this hobby.