In this interview, NASA astronaut Donald Pettit talks about how he and his “fellow Expedition 30/31 crew members captured more than a half a million photographs of Earth from aboard the International Space Station.”
The Space Show this week
The list of programs on The Space Show this week:
1. Monday, April 22, 2013, 2-3:30 PM PST (5-6:30 PM EST, 4-5:30 PM CST): No show today as I am teaching my UND Space Studies class.
2. Tuesday, April 23 2013 2013, 7-8:30 PM PST (10-11:30 PM EST, 9-10:30 PM CST): No program as I am still in Los Angeles. The Open Line show planned for tonight will be rescheduled as soon as possible.
3. Friday, April 26, 2013, 9:30-11 AM PST (11:30- 1 PM CST, 12:30PM-2:00 PM EST): We welcome CHUCK KILLIAN to discuss the The Mars Society‘s MDRS [Mars Desert Research Station] Mission Support & Planning project.
4. Sunday, April 27, 2013, 12-1:30 PM PST (3-4:30 PM EST, 2-3:30 PM CST). We welcome MARC FUSCO to discuss his graduate space thesis regarding the JFK – Nixon space policies, commercial space and more.
See also:
/– The Space Show on Vimeo – webinar videos
/– The Space Show’s Blog – summaries of interviews.
/– The Space Show Classroom Blog – tutorial programs
The Space Show is a project of the One Giant Leap Foundation.
Space policy roundup: JWST cost/schedule realities + Asteroid return strategy + Space at DC forum
John Kelly is very skeptical that the James Webb Space Telescope will meet its cost and and schedule goals: Space telescope cost, schedule unrealistic – Florida Today
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Marcia S. Smith posts a report on comments in the past week by Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA’s Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations, on the rationale behind the NASA interest in an asteroid capture program: Gerstenmaier Elucidates Asteroid Return Strategy – SpacePolicyOnline.com.
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Robert Walker, former chair of a House science committee, and Scott Pace, director of George Washington University’s Space Policy Institute, recently spoke on space issues at a forum at the Washington Council on Foreign Relations
AMSAT & ISS amateur radio news
Go to AMSAT News for the latest headlines about developments in amateur and student satellites and for updates about amateur radio on the ISS.
ANS 111 Weekly AMSAT Bulletin – April 20, 2013:
* April 19 Soyuz-2-1B Launch Plans Cubesat Deployment on April 21
* April 21 Antares Launch to Orbit Three PhoneSat Cubesats
* April 25 China CZ-2D to Launch TURKSAT-3USAT Linear Transponder
* May 3 Vega Launch from Kourou to Orbit ESTCube-1 CubeSat
* AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Nominations Solicited
* ARISS School Contacts
* Order AMSAT/TAPR Dayton Banquet Tickets in the AMSAT Store
* Registration for the SA AMSAT Space Symposium is Now Open
* Inspiration and Success: The Story Behind N1LF’s 1st Satellite QSO
* RockOn 2013 University Rocket Science Workshop
* Satellite Shorts From All Over
Int. Space Apps Challenge + Robonaut 2 Challenge + A need for big challenges too
The International Space Apps Challenge is underway this weekend.
The International Space Apps Challenge is an international mass collaboration focused on space exploration that takes place over 48-hours in cities around the world. The event embraces collaborative problem solving with a goal of producing relevant open-source solutions to address global needs applicable to both life on Earth and life in space. NASA is leading this global collaboration along with a number of additional government collaborators and 100+ local partner organizations.
See the 50 challenges here. And the locations around the world where the teams are competing.
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NASA Robonaut Challenge is also happening this month. It challenges programmers to code a couple of particularly useful tasks for the humanoid-like Robonaut 2 on the ISS.
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Ed Wright endorses the modest sized challenge competitions like those above but says NASA should also continue to support important major challenges with big prizes as they did with the Lunar Lander Challenge competition: Robonaut Programming Challenge – CitizensInSpace.org