Category Archives: Events

Asteroids & Comets, Events, Space participation

Video: B612 press conference at Seattle’s Museum of Flight

Here is the complete briefing event held recently by the B612 Foundation on the latest findings for asteroid impacts on earth: Video GalleryB612 Foundation – B612 Foundation. (See also the asteroid impacts video in the earlier post here.)

From the caption: 

In a special Earth Day program on April 22, Seattle’s Museum of Flight hosted three prominent US Astronauts supporting the B612 Foundation for a press conference which unveiled a new video showing the surprising number of asteroid impacts on Earth during the last decade, and the even more surprising fact that we can prevent future asteroid impacts.

“The visualization shows data from the nuclear weapons test warning network supplied by Peter Brown, Western University of Canada. This network has detected 26 multi-kiloton explosions since 2001, all of which are due to asteroid impacts. This shows that asteroid impacts are NOT rare — but actually 3-10 times more common than we previously thought.” stated Dr. Lu “The fact that none of these asteroid impacts shown in the video was detected in advance shows that the only thing preventing a catastrophe from a “city-killer” sized asteroid is blind luck. The goal of the B612 Sentinel Mission is to find and track asteroids decades before they hit Earth, allowing us to easily deflect them.”

The B612 Foundation is partnered with Ball Aerospace to build the Sentinel Infrared Space Telescope Mission. From a Venus-like orbit around the Sun, Sentinel will be the most capable system for finding and tracking asteroids ever built.

During the Press Conference, Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders unveiled a new mural that highlights the importance of the Sentinel Mission. His EARTHRISE photo shows the Earth rising above the crater-strewn surface of the Moon, and will remain on display at the Seattle Museum of Flight. “We began Apollo 8 thinking we were going to learn about the Moon, instead, we began a new understanding of our Earth.” The EARTHRISE photo will serve as the backdrop for the morning Press Conference.

Tom Jones, four-time US Shuttle Astronaut and President of the Association of Space Explorers, explained the recent UN resolution calling for international cooperation for detection of dangerous asteroids.

Events, History, Space Collecting

Auction of Soviet space capsule and space suits

The Kunsthaus Lempertz auction house is having a Spacesale in Brussels of a Soviet era [twice flown] space capsule and two space suits currently owned by the company Excalibur Almaz, based in Isle of Man: About — Spacesale

On 7 May the Space Capsule of the type Vozvrashchayemyi Apparat (VA) will be auctioned at an estimated value of $1-2 million, together with two historic Sokol KV2 spacesuits (estimated value $80,000) at the newly opened Lempertz branch in Brussels. From the 26 April the VA can be viewed at the historic building on Rue du Grand Cerf.

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More about the auction at Used spacecraft for sale: Soviet-era space capsule up for auction in Belgium – collectSPACE.

Here’s a video of a reception at the auction site:

Events, Space Arts, Space Radio

Video: GAM AstroArt/OPTICKS event touched the Moon with art

On Thursday the OPTICKS project bounced off the Moon radio transmissions of images of art from the Humans in Space student art contest.  While this was happening, the participants in the Google+ hangout GAM AstroArt: Touching the Moon with Art & Footsteps discussed the project and other aspects of the intersection of science, space and art. Here is a video of the event:

The guests included:

  • Andrew Chaikin is the author of Man on the Moon and From Earth to the Moon.
  • Wendell Mendell is a retired NASA lunar and planetary exploration scientist.
  • Sarah Nobel is a current NASA lunar scientist and artist.
  • Frank Shiner is a winner of both the 2010 and 2012 Humans in Space Youth Art Competitions.
  • Jan van Muijlwijk, OPTICKS collaborator, radio operator, CAMRAS/Dwingeloo radio telescope.
  • Daniela De Paulis is the visual artist and researcher who developed the OPTICKS live performance technology in collaboration with the Dwingeloo radio telescope.
  • Jancy McPhee is the director of the Humans in Space Art Program, which includes the Youth Art Competition Project in its portfolio.
  • Mike Simmons, host, and director of Astronomers without Borders
  • Pamela Gay, producer, and Principle Investigator of CosmoQuest
Activism, Events

NSS International Space Development Conference, Los Angeles, May 14-18

Still time to register for the National Space Society‘s annual conference, this year in LA:

Buzz Aldrin, Elon Musk Lead List of Luminaries at the
NSS International Space Development Conference in Los Angeles

May 14-18 Event is Open to the Public with Paid Registration

Los Angeles, California (May 1, 2014) – The 33rd Annual International Space Development Conference (ISDC 2014) kicks off on Wednesday, May 14, for five days of presentations, panels, exhibits, lunches and dinners celebrating this year’s theme, “A Space Renaissance.”

ISDC is the yearly conference of the National Space Society (NSS), a nonprofit organization that has hosted the gathering since 1982. This year’s venue is the Sheraton Gateway Los Angeles Hotel, 6101 West Century Boulevard, conveniently located near Los Angeles International Airport.

Among the notable VIPs at ISDC 2014 is the Honorable Eric Garcetti, Mayor of Los Angeles, who will open Thursday morning’s plenary session, and Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla Motors, who will accept the Robert A. Heinlein Memorial Award during Friday evening’s Governor’s Dinner.

Apollo 11 astronaut and author Buzz Aldrin, the second man to set foot on the Moon, will speak at a noontime luncheon on Saturday. A total of six astronauts will be attending the conference.

“I’ve participated in the ISDC since the very first one in 1982, and it remains the preeminent meeting of its kind anywhere in the country,” said Aldrin. “I am looking forward to speaking at the conference again this year and I encourage anyone with an interest in space exploration and innovation to join me at ISDC 2014.”

Throughout the event, a stellar cast of experts and dignitaries, including astronauts, scientists, engineers, educators, aerospace industry leaders, and government officials will share their knowledge and opinions on contemporary space exploration topics. Exhibitors from many leading companies will also be on hand to showcase the latest space-related products, projects and technologies.

Additional distinguished speakers include Geoff Notkin, meteorite expert and star of TV’s Meteorite Men; former NASA Astronaut Rick Searfoss, Director of Flight Test Operations and Chief Test Pilot for XCOR Aerospace; Gwynne Shotwell, President and COO of SpaceX; Taber McCallum, Cofounder of Paragon Space Development Corporation; and over 200 additional presenters and panelists. Three members of the Mercury MESSENGER team will also be participating.

ISDC covers a number of broad topic areas organized into Program Tracks and sub-tracks. One track garnering considerable interest is Space and Media, focusing on the effects of media on the public’s perception of space exploration. Conference attendees will hear from some of the creative minds behind movies like Gravity, Oblivion, and Star Trek: Into Darkness, and the current hit television series COSMOS: A Spacetime Odyssey. Other major tracks include Space Experience, Living in Space, NASA/Exploration, Mars, and Space Solar Power.

“ISDC 2014 is shaping up to be an amazing conference with an extraordinary group of talented speakers and panelists,” said Mark Hopkins, Chairman of the Executive Committee for the National Space Society. “Some event seating is limited, so anyone interested in registering should act quickly.”

Online registration is currently open with a variety of options, from single day registration passes to full conference registration with meals. To do secondary registration for meals and events, click here. Discounts are provided for youth, full-time students, seniors, and members of the National Space Society and its affiliates.

Visit http://isdc.nss.org/2014 for complete registration details and discount requirements. For registration assistance, call 408-736-2363. For information on exhibiting or participating, call 949-727-1211.

Events, Living in Space, Space Music

May 2nd concert includes ISS astronaut and Texas music students

A message from NASA:

Texas Music Students to Perform Live
with Space Station Astronaut

Expedition 39 commander Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, currently aboard the International Space Station, will make space-to-Earth musical connections with students in Texas this week to share and explore the relationship between the arts and space exploration.

Students from Pearl Hall Elementary in Pasadena, Texas, will perform songs with NASA astronaut Cady Coleman, Houston Symphony violinist Sergei Galperin and violinist Kenji Williams at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. From the space station, Wakata will perform a piece of the ancient Gagaku music with a Japanese reed instrument called a sho.

The live “Music in Space” program will be broadcast on NASA Television and webcasted on the DLiNfo Channel at 12:30 p.m. EDT Friday, May 2.

To attend the event at Johnson, media should contact Megan Sumner at 281-483-5111 or megan.c.sumner@nasa.gov.  Johnson Space Center is located at 2101 NASA Parkway, Houston.

This is the second “Music in Space” event. The first featured astronaut Chris Hadfield formerly of the Canadian Space Agency in March 2013. This event is a part of the Building Cultural Bridges program, which links Pearl Hall Elementary with Johnson Space Center and several arts organizations, providing opportunities for students to discover that they are an integral part of society at the local, state, national and international levels.

Linking students directly to space station astronauts provides them with an innovative experience of space exploration, scientific studies and the possibilities for future human space exploration.

These in-flight education events are part of a series with educational organizations in the United States to improve science, technology, engineering and mathematics teaching and learning. It is a component of NASA’s Digital Learning Network education program, which is designed to deliver interactive instruction in support of long-term retention of knowledge as only NASA can.

For NASA TV streaming video, schedules and downlink information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

To watch the Digital Learning Network webcast, visit: https://dln.nasa.gov

For information about NASA’s education programs, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/education

For information about the International Space Station, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/station

To follow Twitter updates from Wakata, visit: https://twitter.com/Astro_Wakata

To follow Twitter updates from Coleman, visit: https://twitter.com/Astro_Cady