Dr. Don Yeomans of the NASA JPL Near-Earth Object Program joined David Livingston on the Hotel Mars segment this week of the John Batchelor show to talk about Near Earth Objects and Asteroid 2012 DA14: The John Batchelor Show Hotel Mars, Wednesday, 2-6-13 « Thespaceshow’s Blog.
Debut of Chris Hadfield/Ed Robertson’s “I.S.S.” song
Here’s the debut of the song “I.S.S. (Is Somebody Singing)”, co-written and co-performed by Chris Hadfield on the International Space Station and Ed Robertson of Barenaked Ladies fame: Astronaut And Rocker Pen First Earth-Space Duet : The Two-Way – NPR.
NASA budget/authorization + Wayne White and space law
A couple of space policy and budget items:
- NASA reauthorization not likely to make major policy changes – Space Politics
- Sequestration for the Perplexed and Minor Corrections – Future Planetary Exploration – Feb.5.13
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Moonandback has posted videos of an interview with space advocate and lawyer Wayne White. In part one he “talks about the new area of space law and space policy; how he is involved in writing a set of statutes to serve the promotion of commercial activity and facilitation of human settlement, to specify real property and mining rights and the authority of private operators in outer space; and goes into detail regarding how salvage law might work”: Wayne White – Space Law and Policy – Moonandback
In part two he “goes into specifics on how salvage could work, discusses the philosophy behind real property rights in space and dissects the U.S. relationship with international space treaties.” : Wayne White – Salvage, Property Rights and Treaties -Moonandback
Video: “New Visions for Space”
Here is a video of the “New Visions for Space” Google hangout event (see earlier post) held earlier this week on Feb. 6th. The goal was to
feature young voices from NASA Academy, Yuri’s Night, AIAA Young Professionals Committee, The Moon Society and others to talk about how exciting all of the new developments in space are, and how all of us are making a real difference in our space future.
Participants included:
The BIL Conference – Carter Gibson (Moderator)
The Moon Society – Ken Murphy (Organizer)
Liftport – Michael Laine (Co-Organizer)
Yuri’s Night – Brice Russ
Starstryder – Pamela Gay
SEDS – Michael Zwach
NASA Academy – Will Pomerantz
ISU-USA – Laura Burns
AIAA YPC – Alison Lauderbach
Two new “Citizen-astronaut” candidates announced
An announcement from Citizens in Space:
New Citizen Astronaut Candidates Announced
Two from Texas will fly as payload operators on XCOR Lynx spaceplane
(Space Center Houston, Feb. 8, 2010) – Citizens in Space, a project of the United States Rocket Academy, announced two astronaut candidates at the Space Exploration Educators Conference, which took place here today.
Citizen-astronaut candidate Maureen Adams, who has been in training for three years, announced the new additions.
“As a citizen of Texas, I take special pride in making this announcement,” Adams said. “Today we are expanding our astronaut corps to four, as Michael Johnson and Edward Wright, both from Texas, join our training program.”
Michael Johnson is a founding member and executive director of the North American Aerotech Academy, a non-profit organization that provides aviation-based STEM education to schools in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, including four-year aviation academies at Irving High School and DeSoto High School. Johnson is a single- and multi-engine commercial pilot, instrument ground instructor, and type-rated captain on the Cessna Citation jet aircraft.
Johnson also provides STEM-based afterschool programs and summer camps, most recently teaching the Hot Roc STEM camp at Cedar Valley College in Lancaster, Texas that included a on-site mission-control room and the construction and launch of over 300 rockets. He is currently pursuing an Executive MBA degree at the University of Texas at Dallas and serves in the Texas Wing of the Civil Air Patrol as a Aerospace Officer with the rank of 2nd Lieutenant.
Edward Wright is the chairman of the United States Rocket Academy and project manager for Citizens in Space. He brings almost 30 years of experience in the computer, aviation, and space industries. In the past, he developed the first Space Enterprise Symposium and founded X-Rocket, LLC.
“This is an important step in the development of our program,” said Lt. Col. Steve Heck (USAF-ret.), training director for Citizens in Space and another citizen-astronaut candidate. “Citizens in Space has purchased 10 flights on the XCOR Lynx spaceplane, which is expected to enter operational service in 2014. We will be flying over 100 citizen-science experiments and training 10 citizen astronauts to fly as payload operators.
“The individuals named today provide the right mix of skills to help us develop our training program, which will ensure that our current and future astronauts are able to fly safely and perform effectively as payload operators.
As a veteran military aviator and future astronaut, I am well aware of the risks involved in this sort of undertaking and the tragedies that can occur when things go wrong. The United States Rocket Academy is dedicated to providing the highest standard of training to minimize those risks.”
“Spaceflight is an inherently risky activity,” Wright said. “Safety is an ethical matter. I have seen too many friends die in aircraft accidents. I did not feel that I could ask people to participate in this program and accept the risks unless I was willing to do so myself.”
“Citizen astronauts will fly as payload operators, not just space tourists,” Johnson said. “This means that a higher standard of training is necessary.”
Adams, Heck, Johnson, and Wright are pathfinders for a larger training program. The “first four” will participate in training activities at several locations this summer. Training will expand next year as Citizens in Space seeks to fill out all ten astronaut slots.