The drama of the 1960s Space Age and the journalists reporting on it in Florida might become the basis of a new TV series from the team that created the hit Mad Men program about 1960s advertising industry:
“After Earth” discussion event includes Elon Musk, Ray Kurzweil and others
In a promotion of Will Smith’s new movie After Earth, Smith participated in a Google+ Hangout moderated by Google’s Ray Kurzweil, and included guests Elon Musk, Alexandra Cousteau, and NASA Astronaut Sunita Williams: SpaceX’s Elon Musk and friends look to the far future: Engage warp drive! – Cosmic Log
The story of the X-15 suborbital spaceplane
Here’s a concise history of the X-15, the first rocketplane to reach space: Suborbital Spaceplane – Greg Kennedy/CitizensInSpace.org
Winner announced in Alpha Centauri planet naming contest
Nature has this report on the naming of exoplanets and Pluto’s moons: Moon and planet names spark battle: Company clashes with International Astronomical Union over popular labels for exoplanets – Nature News & Comment
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Meanwhile, the Uwingu contest to name a planet orbiting Alpha Centauri has a winner:
Uwingu Announces A Name for the Planet Orbiting Alpha Centauri
Space company Uwingu announced the winner of its public engagement contest to solicit and vote on a popular name for the only known planet orbiting the nearest star to the Sun, Alpha Centauri.
Apr. 24, 2013 – BOULDER, Colo. — Space company Uwingu™TM announced the winner of its public engagement contest to solicit and vote on a popular name for the only known planet orbiting the nearest star to the Sun, Alpha Centauri.
The winning name from Uwingu’s competition to select a name for the planet is “Albertus Alauda”. This nomination was entered into Uwingu’s public planet name nomination database last November by Jason Lark, in honor of his late grandfather, Albert Lark. In the citation Lark entered into Uwingu’s database, Lark said, “His name in Latin means Noble or Bright and to praise or extol. I think this is an apt description as my Grandfather was a noble man and bright of character and in this nomination I wish to honour (extol) him.”
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The second through fifth place name nominations in the competition were Rakhat, Caleo, Amara, and Tiber, with origins in science fiction literature, science, and a man’s love for his fiancée.
Over 1,240 name nominations were received in total. “This really shows that ordinary people like to engage in astronomy and space exploration this new way, and at Uwingu we’re very happy that we could help demonstrate that. We’re also ready to now give people new ways to engage in public sector exoplanet naming” said Uwingu’s CEO Dr. Alan Stern.
Uwingu’s mission is twofold: To help the public better connect to space and the sky, and to create a new kind of grant fund for space researchers and educators using proceeds from our web site. Uwingu’s name means sky in Swahili. Uwingu’s web site can be found at www.uwingu.com.
Uwingu Fund grant dollars from the Alpha Centauri planet naming competition will be used to help space educators and educator projects.
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About Uwingu: Uwingu (which means “sky” in Swahili, and is pronounced “oo-wing-oo”)
National Space Society adds four to leadership team
An announcement from the National Space Society:
National Space Society Adds to its Leadership Team
Washington, DC — April 24, 2013 — The National Space Society announces the selection of four new additions to its leadership team: Dr. Stanley G. Rosen to the newly created position of Vice Chairman of the Society’s Board of Directors, Bruce Pittman as Senior Vice President and Senior Operating Officer, Dr. Paul Werbos as Executive Vice President and Chair of the Policy Committee, and Craig Andrew Max IV as Assistant Secretary.
In announcing the appointments, Kirby Ikin, Chairman of the Board welcomed the experience these officers will bring to the Society, stating “The appointments will enable NSS to operate more efficiently and be better able to carry out its mission of providing grass roots support for space exploration, space settlement, and utilization of space resources down on Earth.”
Dr. Rosen, whose special role will be to coordinate the efforts of NSS senior leaders, is currently a Professor at the Department of Defense’s Defense Acquisition University. Formerly be was a consultant with Toffler Associates, Director of Strategic Development and Integration for Boeing Satellite Systems, and Strategic Planning Director for the Hughes Defense Systems and Hughes Space and Communications organizations. His previous work included scientific, engineering, program management, and strategy and policy development positions with the U.S. Air Force, and time on the staff of the Committee on Science and Astronautics of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Bruce Pittman currently serves as Director of Flight Projects and Chief System Engineer at the Space Portal at NASA Ames Research Center. In 2011, NASA awarded him the Exceptional Public Service Medal for “exceptional leadership in pioneering the development of commercial space for public benefit.” He was a founder and member of the startup team in a number of early growth companies including Space Hab, Kistler Aerospace, New Focus, Product Factory, Prometheus II Ltd., and Industrial Sound and Motion. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Space Investment Summit Coalition.
Dr. Werbos is the Program Director in the Office of Emerging Frontiers in Research & Innovation at the National Science Foundation (NSF). Since 1988, he has also led research in a variety of other NSF areas, including fuel cell and electric vehicles, emerging technologies, cyber systems, and the sustainability part of NSF Interdisciplinary Research. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (IEEE), and the International Neural Network Society (INNS). He is a winner of the IEEE’s Neural Networks Pioneer Award and of the INNS’s 2011 Hebb Award. He is also serving on boards of NSS, Millennium Project, Lifeboat Foundation, and IEEE Energy Policy Committee.
Craig Max is an attorney with the law firm of Vanderpool, Frostick & Nishanian, P.C., with offices in Manassas, Fredericksburg, and Woodbridge,Virginia. Specializing in tax planning, including working with nonprofits, he also is a Certified Public Accountant and Board-certified as a Trust and Estate Practitioner by the International Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. He has been designated a Fellow of the American Academy of Financial Management and named a Top Attorney by Northern Virginia magazine; a SmartCPA and a LegalElite by SmartCEO magazine; and a SmartCPA and a Legal Elite by Virginia Business magazine. He is the author of numerous legal and accounting publications and holds an appointment as an Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland.
Fuller biographies of these and other NSS officers may be found on the NSS website www.nss.org/about/leadership.html.
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About the National Space Society:
NSS is an independent, educational, membership, non-profit organization dedicated to the creation of a spacefaring civilization. NSS is widely acknowledged as the preeminent citizen’s voice on space, with over 8,000 members and supporters, and over 50 chapters in the United States and around the world. The Society publishes Ad Astra magazine, an award-winning periodical chronicling the most important developments in space. To learn more, visit www.nss.org.