These porcelain cups are made from 3D printed molds:
A one of a kind porcelain Space Cup that comes in a variety of colors. It’s food safe, durable, and true to the original space design minus a small base for operating in earthly gravity. The functional design is derived from fluid physics, yielding a unique, even artistic piece.
Note: These cups require some hand preparation and finishing so expect some slight variations in appearance.
A real Flight Certified Space Coffee Cup. What does that mean? Well, it means that his is the original shape, material, and specifications that have been approved by NASA for flight aboard the International Space Station.
Keep in mind that this is not for everyday use and most definitely not dishwasher safe. Think of this as a bit of art, science, and space history all in one. The cup is 3D printed using the SLA process (UV light + a bath of special resin). So when you break it down it’s space, 3D printing, coffee, and fluid mechanics. Enjoy.
Here is an interview with Chris Lewicki, chief of the asteroid mining company Planetary Resources:
As Humans venture out far away from the Earth into the solar system, they will need material resources to keep us going. Where do we get those from? One for-profit company, Planetary Resources, wants to be the one to make it happen.
We had a chance to speak with the company’s President and CEO, Chris Lewicki about the company’s plans to survey, prospect, and exploit near-Earth asteroids. The company has a lot of financial backing and has plans to send its first satellite to an asteroid in 2020.
This interview was originally broadcast as part of our ongoing Facebook Live segment, The Convo: www.facebook.com/PCMag/videos…
====
Jason Dunn, CTO of Made In Space, talks about the role of 3d printing in space development:
NASA intern turned Silicon Valley entrepreneur, Jason Dunn, saw what was holding humans back from colonizing outer space…and decided to do something about it. With his company Made in Space’s cutting-edge 3D printer, astronauts can break their reliance on costly resupply missions from Earth and—for the first time ever—build new supplies for themselves in space. Dunn and his team believe their invention will usher in a new era of dramatic progress in space.
===
Craig Clark, CEO of Clyde Space in Scotland, talks about their smallsat projects:
The company 121C Boards converts scrap carbon fiber material used for rocket building into ultra-light and strong skateboards and longboards. The company started in 2015 with a Kickstarter aiming to raise $10k. They instead got over $44k. The money went for the shop equipment to manufacture the Aileron, their first skateboard.
A new Kickstarter campaign opened at the end of June and aimed for $15k. With 16 days left, over $69,000 has been committed to their next project: production of a new improved board called the Rover.
Here is a video about the Rover:
Here is a press release about a recent Rover promotional event:
Team lofts skateboard to space in “awesome” VR film The “Space Skateboard” is offered on Kickstarter
Los Angeles, California, July 5, 2016 — 121C has announced that it launched a carbon fiber skateboard to the edge of space above the Mojave Desert earlier this year. The event can be experienced in Virtual Reality (VR) narrated by NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría (VRs are best viewed from a mobile device):
“The space jump of ‘Fearless’ Felix Baumgartner got us thinking about riding a skateboard down from space and that was the inspiration for this VR film.” said Ryan Olliges, President of 121C and a 2016 graduate in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Southern California. Ryan continues, “It seems like a crazy stunt at first, but this was the perfect way to call attention to our ultralight carbon fiber decks.”
“The launch is even more appropriate since we build them from scrap material generated in the production of modern spacecraft.” adds Greg Autry, cofounder of 121C and an Assistant Clinical Professor with the Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of Southern California. Dr. Autry adds, “Watching this VR while listening to Mike LA narrate his experience on a Soyuz flight to the Space Station is really pretty thrilling. Engineers love this stuff and we also hope to inspire a new positive and forward looking attitude in skate that appeals to mature, upscale skaters.”
The board and camera rig were launched using a helium weather balloon and safely descended via parachute. After reaching an estimated altitude of 90,000 ft a GPS tracking system with a satellite uplink helped to locate and recover the payload. The launch and recovery are described in detail in a 121C blog post at: http://www.121cboards.com/blog.
The actual space skateboard, equipped with Shark Wheels and Randal trucks, can be acquired with a $2,500 pledge to the firm’s successful Kickstarter campaign which launched on June 16 and was fully funded by the next day. The campaign ends on July 30. Olliges remarks, “I’d kind of like to keep it, but people like having the ‘first’ of just about anything. We think somebody will look at the amazing photos and VR and really want this odd bit of history.”
About 121C: 121C designs, manufactures and occasionally launches the world’s most advanced skateboards. The company was founded in 2015 as the first phase in a major effort to upcycle scrap carbon fiber generated by the aerospace industry. For more information, visit www.121cboards.com.
The health of our home planet and the survival of our species will only be secured through the use of space resources and the expansion of Earth’s economic sphere to the Moon and beyond. Creating an off-Earth economy and multi-planet civilization will safeguard the long term prospects of humanity.
Bob Richards is Co-Founder and CEO of Moon Express, Inc. (MoonEx), a privately funded lunar transportation and space resource development company, striving to become the first commercial company to land on the Moon, a challenge only accomplished by 3 superpowers in history. Located at Cape Canaveral, Moon Express has contracted for 3 launches to the Moon with Rocket Lab between 2017 and 2020, is partnered with NASA under its Lunar CATALYST program, and is one of only two teams in the Google Lunar X PRIZE competition with a verified launch contract.
In this talk Bob Richards outlines Moon Express and it plans to develop lunar resources, and how this goal has set in motion technological, political, legal and regulatory precedents that will allow humanity to rationally and peacefully embrace and develop the Moon as the world’s eighth continent.
Success! Amazing Footage Of The First Slot Machine In Space Is Released
(San Jacinto, CA) – It was a galactic 20 years in the making but finally on the morning of Sunday, June 14th 2015, just before 10 a.m. – the team at Soboba had lift off! 25 crew members, engineers and volunteers gathered just outside Lovelock, Nevada to cheer on the first slot machine successfully launched into space.
Soboba Casino’s slot, nicknamed “Icarus,” was carried aboard a spacecraft designed by the not for profit and independent space company JP Aerospace. It ascended with the help of a super high-altitude weather balloon. Rising to an elevation of 99,000 feet (just shy of its 100,000 foot goal) aboard “Away 117”, Soboba launched the world’s first slot machine into space! Also accompanying the miniaturized three-wheel, one-armed bandit was a payload of specially produced commemorative Soboba Club cards by Ablecard of Azusa, California which will be distributed to select Soboba players and VIPs. After a five hour journey and over 16 hours of searching at the edge of a Northern Nevada mountain, “Away 117” and Icarus were successfully recovered and the spectacular footage of the “slot in space” was intact.
“This is yet another first for Soboba Casino,” declares Soboba Casino’s General Manager Scott Sirois. “Our partnership with the great people of JP Aerospace was out-of-this-world and we could not be happier with the result. This launch lets our players know that we will go to the stars and back to win them over.”
Icarus is a fully-functioning, albeit much smaller slot machine, and is operated with coins, reels, gears and springs, similar to the devices used when slot machines had their start in the 1900’s. Unlike other slot machines it contained a small, hidden compartment with messages penned by casino employees; this mechanical-celestial voyager is pulling double duty as a time capsule to be opened during Soboba’s 40th anniversary in 2035.
“In June of 2015 Soboba Casino celebrated its twentieth anniversary,” exclaimed Soboba Casino’s Director of Marketing Michael J. Broderick. “The Team at Soboba decided to honor this monumental occasion by accomplishing a monumental feat: to be the first casino in history to launch a slot machine into space, and prove that “Soboba is out of this world”. We successfully did it and with that success we have made a lasting mark on space travel as well as gaming history”.
The entire journey was filmed, and will be produced and edited by Inman Productions of Riverside, CA. From preparation, to lift-off, to the final moments of the slow decent by parachute, every step of the 12-inch tall, 2.5 pound Icarus’ flight was captured on film. “Soboba Casino’s Mission to Space” will debut at the 20th Anniversary party on June 27, 2015 along with the unveiling and display of the slot machine Icarus and a mockup of the space vehicle “Away 117”.
Celebrating 20 years Soboba Casino features approximately 2,000 of the newest, hottest slot machines, an expansive and modern non-smoking room, 20 classic gaming tables featuring all your favorite card games, and a large outdoor event arena which easily accommodates over 10,000 people. Need to recharge & refresh? Visit the cozy Soboba Café and Coffee Kiicha, or experience AC’s Lounge with full cocktail bar and three giant HD flat screens including the “Sobobatron”, the Inland Empire’s biggest HD video wall.
Soboba Casino is proudly owned and operated by the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians. Come join us for all the fun and then some! Soboba Casino. Where Everybody Goes to Play! For more information visit: soboba.com
