All posts by TopSpacer

Activism, Space Policy

Space policy roundup – Oct.17.2019

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):

Webcasts:

** Hearing: “NASA’s Proposal to Advance the Next Moon Landing by Four Years”  – Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies

** The Space Show – Mon, 10/14/2019 – Robert Zimmerman of www.behindtheblack.com “covered multiple topics in this one segment 123 minute program featuring listener phone calls and email questions”.

** How millennials are impacting aerospace | Interview – TMRO.tv

Laura Seward Forczyk, author of the book, “Rise of the Space Age Millennials” joins us to talk about the new generation entering the workforce. Specifically the impact millennials are having in unexpected ways on the entire aerospace industry as well as some of the hurdles the generation is presented with.

** October 15, 2019 Zimmerman/Batchelor podcast | Behind The Black

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Fire in the Sky:
Cosmic Collisions, Killer Asteroids, and
the Race to Defend Earth

Science and Technology

Technologies of interest – Oct.16.2019

A sampling of recent items about new robotic and aviation technologies (previous tech posts):

[ Update Oct.17: Vertical Aerospace in the UK debuts the Seraph eVTOL aircraft:  World first: Vertical Aerospace flies electric air taxi capable of carrying 250kg – Vertical Aerospace

The Seraph was built to test new technologies and systems for integration into our upcoming passenger model, due to be unveiled next year. With the Seraph we became the first company in the world to release flight footage of an eVTOL aircraft capable of carrying 250kg.

The aircraft is capable of carrying loads of up to 250kg and can reach speeds of up to 80kmph. It features a unique passive cooling system, and a customisable design, meaning the aircraft can be made larger or smaller, fitted with wheels or floats to facilitate water landings.

]

** Recent Agile Robotics videos:

** Latest Boston Dynamics videos:

** Lilium is now flying its first prototype electric air taxi: Lilium’s 36-Motor Flying Taxi Takes Off for the First Time – WIRED.

** Purdue team builds robotic hummingbird:

What can fly like a bird and hover like an insect? Your friendly neighborhood hummingbird. If drones had this capability, they would be able to fly steadily through windy conditions, and get into tight spaces other drones couldn’t go. Assistant professor Xinyan Deng and her team have created a bio-inspired hummingbird robot: trained by artificial intelligence, weighing only 12 grams, and utilizing unsteady aerodynamics to hover, just like the real thing.

** The Space Show – Tue, 04/30/2019 – Bruno Mombrinie talked about “the Metro Hop concept and plan for a fixed wing eVTOL (electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing) passenger and cargo commercial plane service”.

**  The Space Show – Tue, 06/25/2019 – Dr. Anita Sengupta talked about VTOL urban aerial mobility technology market 7 craft development, technical VTOL issues, VTOL business case and much more”. See also ASX_MobiOne_Specs2019.pdf

** Urban Aero‘s large VTOL Cormorant can do crop dusting:

** Gravity Industries organizing Jet Pack racing  – Real-Life Flying Suit Inventor Richard Browning to Launch Jetpack Racing League in 2019 – The Drive – Sept.10.2018

** Using a wing with the jet pack:

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Delta-v

Activism, Space Policy, SpaceCasts

The Space Show this week – Oct.14.2019

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

1. Monday, Oct. 14 , 2019; 7-8:30 pm PDT (9-10:30 pm CDT, 10-11:30 pm EDT): We welcome Robert Zimmerman of Behind the Black for news and space info updates.

2. Tuesday, Oct. 15 , 2019; 7-8:30 pm PDT (9-10:30 pm CDT, 10-11:30 pm EDT) : We welcome back Dr. Alan Hale for astronomy news. Alan co-discovered the Hale Bopp comet.

3. Wednesday, Oct.16, 2019; Hotel Mars. See Upcoming Show Menu and the website newsletter for details. Hotel Mars is pre-recorded by John Batchelor. It is archived on The Space Show site after John posts it on his website.

4. Thursday , Oct. 17 , 2019; 7-8:30 pm PDT (9-10:30 pm CDT, 10-11:30 pm EDT) : We welcome back Dr. Eligar Sadeh and Layla Martin regarding the new Astropolitical Institute.

5. Friday, Oct. 18 , 2019; 9:30-11 am PDT (11:30 am -1 pm CDT, 12:30-2 pm EDT): We welcome back Jose Ocasio-Christian of Caelus Partners for news and updates.

6. Sunday, Oct. 20, 2019; 12 pm PDT (3 pm EDT, 2 pm CDT): We welcome Dr. Gerald Jackson to the show regarding antimatter propulsion.

Some recent shows:

** Sun, 10/13/2019 – Open-lines show with listeners discussing various space issues of the day with David Livingston.

** Tue, 10/08/2019 – Gary Oleson talked about his Space News Op-ed “The Apollo Program and the Chinese Treasure fleets” dated July 19, 2019.

**  Mon, 10/07/2019 – John Blincow  gave a “complete and thorough introduction to The Gateway Foundation Project including the Von Braun station, space hotels, commercial operations, orbital manufacturing and assembly and 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 – David Livingston

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The Case for Space:
How the Revolution in Spaceflight Opens Up
a Future of Limitless Possibility

Activism, Space Policy

Space policy roundup – Oct.14.2019

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):

Webcasts:

** Space Policy Edition: Happy Fiscal New Year! | The Planetary Society

October 1st kicked off federal fiscal year 2020—a day that should also have kicked off a new budget for NASA. But Congress has not funded the space agency yet, instead passing a temporary stopgap measure to keep the government open until November 21st. Brendan Curry, The Planetary Society’s Chief of D.C. Operations, joins the show to discuss the latest political developments in Washington, good news for planetary defense, and how the funding delay could spell trouble for the space agency’s 2024 lunar goal.

** NASA’s Commercial Crew Program VR 360 Tour: Preparing to Launch America

Get ready for an immersive, Virtual Reality tour of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program! NASA Communications Specialist Joshua Santora provides an overview of the Commercial Crew Program while relaying historical insights and reviewing CCP’s vehicles and commercial partnerships with Boeing and SpaceX. Visit nasa.gov/stem/ccp for more STEM educational resources featuring NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

** October 11, 2019 Zimmerman/Batchelor podcast | Behind The Black

** How NASA sold the American public on space, going to the moon | WGN-TV

** The Space Show – Sun, 10/13/2019 – Open lines show with listeners discussing various space issues of the day with David Livingston.

** Episode T+136: Starship to GTO, SSO from Florida – Main Engine Cut Off – “A few bits of follow-up on Starship to GTO, the Bridenstine-Musk show at SpaceX HQ, and flying to polar orbits from Florida.”

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The Case for Space:
How the Revolution in Spaceflight Opens Up
a Future of Limitless Possibility

Amateur/Student Satellite, Education, Space Systems

Student and amateur CubeSat news roundup – Oct.13.2019

A sampling of recent articles, press releases, etc. related to student and amateur CubeSat / SmallSat projects and programs (find previous smallsat roundups here):

** High school students learn spacecraft engineering in the Irvine Cubesat program in Irvine, California: IPSF CubeSat Program | Beckman Foundation

The Irvine CubeSat Program is composed of six public high schools from the Tustin and Irvine School Districts. All schools are given specific roles and functions for each CubeSat Mission, to include Avionics, Communication, Propulsion, Power, BioTech, and Prime Contractor.

Mimicking a real-world engineering firm approach to large, complex projects, each team is responsible for communicating their plans and achievements to the rest of the group to ensure that the overall mission is successful.

Irvine01 and Irvine02 Cubesats
Cubesats Irvine01 (left), launched by Rocket Labin November 2018. and Irvine02 (right), launched by SpaceX in December of 2018, were both built by high school students. Credits: Irvine CubeSat

** Polish universities to build CubeSat for Mars mission launched by Virgin Orbit:  SatRevolution, Virgin Orbit and Polish Universities Establish Mars Consortium | Virgin Orbit

Scientists and engineers from nearly a dozen Polish universities have teamed up with Poland-based satellite company SatRevolution and Sir Richard Branson’s small satellite launch company Virgin Orbit to establish a new consortium to design and carry out the world’s first dedicated commercial small satellite mission to Mars. The parties established the consortium at a formal signing ceremony during the Impact Mobility’19 rEVolution conference in Katowice, Poland.

The consortium will jointly develop the first in a series of up to three Mars missions, with the initial launch expected as early as three years from now.

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At the core of the consortium are many of the top technical universities in Poland. AGH University of Science and Technology, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Poznań University of Technology, Gdańsk University of Technology Lódz University of Technology, John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, and Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences have each signed on to take part in the collaborative program. Leadership from these universities see the consortium and the missions it will conduct as an unprecedented opportunity for growth and development across many technical disciplines, in addition to creating opportunities for commercialization.

** Rocket Lab Electron rocket to launch seven PocketQubes, including a university project, in 2019 in a cluster deployment system built by Alba Orbital.

** AMSAT news on student and amateur CubeSat/smallsat projects: ANS-286 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin

  • 2019 37th AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting
  • 2019 37th AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting Schedule
  • September/October 2019 Apogee View
  • W3ZM – 50 States in Our 50th Year
  • ITU Magazine Reports on IARU Agenda Items for WRC-19
  • Upcoming Satellite Operations
  • Satellite Shorts From All Over

General CubeSat/SmallSat info:

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Introduction to CubeSat Technology and Subsystem:
Orbit Design, Debris Impact, and Orbital Decay Prediction