Gaston & Sheehan Auctioneers (txauction.com) is holding the U.S. Marshals Service Space Collectibles and Memorabilia Auction. Bidding starts March 18th and ends April 1.
Category Archives: Events
Video: ISS Expedition 38 crew lands in Kazakhstan
Yesterday, three ISS crew members returned to earth in a Soyuz spacecraft . Here is a video of the recovery of the capsule on a snowy site in Kazakhstan and the extraction of the crew:
Expedition 38 Commander Oleg Kotov of the Russian Federal Space Agency, NASA Flight Engineer Michael Hopkins and Flight Engineer Sergey Ryazanskiy of Roscosmos landed safely in Kazakhstan on March 11, local time, after bidding farewell to the Expedition 39 crew members and returning to Earth in their Soyuz spacecraft. The trio completed 166 days in space since launching in September.
Space advocacy conferences for 2014
Here is a list of some space advocate related events this year:
* Humans to Mars Conference 2014 – April 22-24, Washington D.C.
H2M 2014 will continue the discussion started at the H2M 2013 Summit to explore how humanity can land on Mars by the 2030s. This event will feature a myriad of topics and discussions on:
– New concepts of Mars architectures
– Updates on science missions and objectives
– Planetary protection
– In Situ Resource Utilization
– Human factors
– International cooperation
This event will also pay special attention to engaging the public.
H2M 2014 will feature some of the most prominent people in space exploration as well as policy experts, business leaders, media personalities, international representatives, academic leaders, and members of the entertainment community.
2014 H2M will be a highly interactive conference. In addition to the onsite audience, we anticipate having over a thousand schools viewing H2M as well as tens of thousands of individuals from around the world viewing and participating online in the event. While H2M will be based in Washington, DC, our goal is to create a worldwide Mars exploration event.
* ISDC 2014: A Space Renaissance – May 14-18, 2014 — Los Angeles, California
The annual conference of the National Space Society:
Among our special guests are Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, Lori Garver, former Deputy Administrator of NASA, and astronaut Chris Ferguson. Tracks include: Living in Space, Mars, NASA/Exploration, Space-Based Solar Power, Space Engagement, Space Enterprise, Space Experience, Space Policy, Space & Media, Space Settlement, and Transhumanism. Other activities include: NASA Commercial Crew Program Panel, Space Tourism Panel, Science Panel, Space Arts, Students Movie Night – A Festival of Short Mars Films, Telescope Party, Student Space Settlement Design Contest Awards Ceremony, SpaceUp, and T-5 talks.
* NewSpace 2014 – July 24-26, Silicon Valley, California
Space Frontier Foundation is delighted to announce its list of panels for the NewSpace 2014 conference to be held between July 24-26 in Silicon Valley, CA. NewSpace 2014 is proud to usher in a broad spectrum of space related topics that will influence new ideas and innovation and serve as a stepping stone for the future of commercial space exploration and development.
The panelists will share their experience and expertise on a range of topics which include:
Orbital Debris – The panelists will discuss current and future opportunities for marketizing insurance against and removal of orbital debris.
Space Data – This panel will explore how and why organizations who collect this data make it available to their users as well as how the users apply the data from space to make discoveries and solve problems on Earth.
DIY Space Movement – The panelists will discuss how the DIY technologies are democratizing space exploration and how this movement will develop in the near future to both empower the citizen explorer and escalate humankind’s presence in space.
In addition to the aforementioned topics, NewSpace 2014 will host several other thought provoking panels and keynote speakers who will share their views on commercializing space. Have a glimpse at some of the programming for NewSpace 2014 and learn about what NewSpace has offered in the past by clicking here.
* International Mars Society Convention – August 7-10, 2014, League City, Texas
The four-day event will bring together key experts, scientists, policymakers and journalists to discuss the latest news on Mars exploration and efforts to promote a human mission to the Red Planet in the coming years.
* Int. Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight (ISPCS 2014) – Oct.15-16, Las Cruces, New Mexico
The International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight (ISPCS) is the most relevant, high-value commercial space conference of the year. This year, through two high-impact days of dynamic dialogue and collaboration, ISPCS will address strategies to manage the risks and reap the rewards of the rapidly evolving commercial space industry. Handcrafted panel discussions will examine key industry issues and trends in the high-risk ventures of developing new platforms for suborbital space and beyond.
* SpaceVision 2014 – Oct.30-Nov.2.14, Univ. of North Carolina, Durham, N.C.
The annual meeting of SEDS (Students for the Exploration and Development of Space)
Join hundreds of passionate SEDS members from across the country in a celebration of space! SpaceVision is the annual networking conference for the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space and is run and led entirely by students.
Update: A reader sent me the time and place for the SEDS meeting.
Anniversaries of space disasters
January 27th marked the 47 year anniversary of the Apollo 1 fire that killed astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee. Today, January 28th, is the 28 year anniversary of the deaths of seven people in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. On Saturday February 1st, it will be 9 years since seven more space travelers died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. Here is a sampling of articles and commentary about these events:
- Apollo 1 fire:
- Challenger disaster:
- Challenger was a Setback and a Lesson | U.S. Leadership in Space is an Ongoing Mission – Hugh Harris/Space.com
- ‘Obviously A Major Malfunction’: Today Is Anniversary of Challenger’s Explosion – Universe Today
- Challenger Disaster Home Video Surfaces After 28 Years (EXCLUSIVE) – Huffington Post
- Space Shuttle “Challenger”: Remembering the Crew Lost on the Spacecraft – scienceworldreport.com
- Missed Warnings: The Fatal Flaws Which Doomed Challenger – Space Safety Magazine
- NASA astronaut deaths: Remembering the crews of Apollo 1, Space Shuttle Challenger and Space Shuttle Columbia – Orlando Sentinel
- Take a moment today to remember our nation’s fallen astronauts – SciGuy/Houston Chronicle
- Anniversaries of deaths in space exploration – Phil Plait/Slate Magazine
For more resources, see HobbySpace – Space History – Part 3 – Space Disasters.
Republic of the Moon and a Brief History of Drinking in Space
The Republic of the Moon exhibition is underway in London until Feb. 2nd includes a number of special events such as A Brief History of Drinking in Space on the last day:
Sun 2 Feb 2014 – 4:30 p.m.
To date, there has been relatively little consumption of alcohol in space and on the Moon, but that could be set to change. With space tourism taking off, new lunar missions on the horizon and manned expeditions aiming further into space – with all its stresses – could a new era of zero gravity libations be next? Join Sam Bompas of Bompas & Parr and David Lane of The Gourmand for a speculative look and the past, present and future of alcohol in space. From Buzz Aldrin’s legendary Holy Communion on the Moon to sherry experiments aboard Skylab and ceremonial ‘vodka’ consumption aboard the ISS, we’ll discuss the secret history of a slightly tipsy space age and ask what role our favourite poison will play in the future colonisation of the moon.
Ticket price includes the chance to sample Bompas & Parr’s unique Parabolic Sherry, created exclusively for super/collider’s POP ROCK MOON SHOP® based on Skylab-era research about alcohol in space.
In the 70s, NASA spent about half a million dollars studying which wines would be the best accompaniment for astronauts’ space food – even commissioning Californian oenologists to recommend the ultimate orbital wine and food pairing. Their suggestion? A medium sherry. It’s high alcohol content means that that it stands up to the violence of blast off and travels well. The choice mirrors sherry’s earlier history as a wine popularised by adventurer Francis Drake and appreciated by the British for centuries due to its robustness in travel.
As bottles aren’t allowed in space for safety reasons, Bompas & Parr’s ultra limited-edition sherry is packaged in a space-worthy plastic pouch ready for extraterrestrial consumption, in moderation.)