Here is a video of recent JP Aerospace missions in which 2400 student PongSats “flew to the edge of space on six high altitude balloons. The peak altitudes ranged from 92,000 to 103,000 feet”: PongSat Mission Video – JP Aerospace Blog
Space policy roundup – May 3, 2013
Some recent space policy related items :
- Charles Bolden’s efforts to fund the many NASA projects:
- Commercial space was on the agenda (pdf) during the University of Nebraska–Lincoln space law program this week: Space travel one of many topics at Lincoln space law conference : The Lincoln Journal Star Online.
- Pat Hynes urges support for the International Space Station: The ISS – Pat Hynes Blog
New Canadian $5 banknote makes debut on ISS
On Tuesday on the International Space Station, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield display a new Canadian $5 banknote that includes an image of the Canadian-built robotic arm used on the station:
- Canadian ‘space robot’ banknote puts UK to shame – Wired UK
- Canada launches robot-themed plastic banknote from space – Crave /CNET
Caption:
In a live videostream from the International Space Station to the Bank of Canada’s Ottawa head office, CSA Astronaut Chris Hadfield revealed the new Canadian $5 bank note that proudly features Canadian space robotics achievements Canadarm2 and Dextre. Also on hand for this historic announcement were Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty, Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney and Chairman of the Board at VIA Rail Canada, Paul G. Smith, who was present for the unveiling of the new $10 note. Credit: CSA/NASA
Copenhagen Suborbitals: Wind tunnel testing of Tycho capsule
Kristian von Bengtson of Copenhagen Suborbitals gives an update on the wind tunnel testing of a model of their Tycho Deep Space II capsule and the modifications they have made to its design: More Winds – More Testing -Wired Science/Wired.com.
More about ESTCube and the electric space sail
Here’s a report on the Estonian cubesat project ESTCube, which will test the E-sail propulsion concept from Pekka Janhunen of Finland: Electric Space Sail to Get Its First Test – IEEE Spectrum.