Space Policy

Space policy roundup – May.18.14 [Update]

Rand Simberg lays out a plan for independent US access to space for American astronauts : Declare space independence from Russia: But Congress doesn’t seem to think the space program is important enough. – USA Today –

Astronauts are paid to risk their lives. They accept it as part of the job. We have invested decades and many tens of billions of dollars in a space station that we cannot currently get to without buying rides from an adversary in a renewed Cold War with temperature rising. If it were really important to end our dependence on them, you can bet that NASA would figure out a way to do it and quickly, by rapidly modifying a SpaceX Dragon like that currently at the ISS. And in fact, on the same day that Rogozin tweeted his threat, Elon Musk of SpaceX responded with his own: “Sounds like this might be a good time to unveil the new Dragon Mk 2 spaceship that @SpaceX has been working on w @NASA. No trampoline needed.” He announced that he will do so at the end of May.

But in its actions, Congress sends a clear message that it is not important. They could fix that, though, with a simple amendment to that bill when it gets to the House floor. Replace the word “safety” in that absurd phrase, and make it “having multiple means of getting Americans to orbit on American launch systems is the highest priority.” And tell Rogozin to get his own trampoline.

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More space policy/politics related links:

Update:

Amateur/Student Satellite, Space participation, Space Radio

AMSAT, student satellites, and space radio news – May.18.14

AMSAT News posts the latest on  developments in amateur and student satellites and for updates about amateur radio on the ISS.

ANS 138 Weekly AMSAT Bulletin – May 17, 2014:
* ARISS to the MAX
* The LituanicaSAT-1 team operational during the weekend of May 17-18
* Island of Miquelon Activation on Satellites: July 5-15 FP/KV1J
* From Holiday Inn to Outer Space
* FUNcube-1 AO-73 satellite SSB signal test
* BBC: ‘Pocket spacecrafts’ to become a reality
* 2015 NASA Aeronautics Scholarships
* NASA History Program Office Fall 2014 Internships
* ARISS News
* Satellite Shorts From All Over

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More links:

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Unfortunately, the KickSat nanosat reentered the atmosphere before it was able to release its 104 tiny Sprites chipsats.  The clock reset event reported earlier could not be undone. Project leader Zach Manchester says KickSat-2 will incorporate the lessons learned: KickSat — Your personal spacecraft in space! by Zachary Manchester » Updates — Kickstarter –

KickSat reentered the atmosphere and burned up last night some time around 9:30 PM EDT (01:30 UTC). Unfortunately, we were not able to command the Sprite deployment in time. While we are certainly disappointed that things did not go as planned, I think we still have a lot to be proud of.

Over 300 people from all over the world came together to make KickSat happen. We built a spacecraft, tested it, and launched it. Hundreds of people had their names flown in space, more than a dozen radio amateurs were able to receive signals from KickSat’s beacon radio, and volunteers collected and processed telemetry data and predicted KickSat’s orbit and reentry. This kind of participation is exactly what KickSat is all about and I’m glad we all got to share in this experience.

We’ve learned a lot from KickSat, and I plan to take those lessons and build an even better KickSat-2. This is only the beginning! Thank you all for your amazing support over the past two years. I hope you’ll stick with us as we continue to try to make space something everyone can take part in.

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Here is the audio of a BBC program about nano and pico satellites (recorded before the KickSat had its clock problem): ▶ BBC Radio 4 – Today, 15/05/2014, ‘Pocket spacecrafts’ to become a reality

Contests and Games, DIY space

The Hackaday Prize – A trip to space for best electronic device

Create a great electronic networked gadget and possibly win a trip to space: The Hackaday Prize – Hackaday Projects

WIN A TRIP TO SPACE

That’s right, one hardware hacker will get a trip into space as the grand prize.

There are incredible top prizes for the other four finalists, and hundreds of other rewards for the most interesting submissions.

And

This is about doing, not about about waiting for something to happen.

The Hackaday Prize will send one person into space for building the next evolution of hardware.

Here are the requirements:

    • You must actually build something
    • It must involve some type of electronics that are connected to something
    • Our main requirements have to do with documentation. This includes lists of parts, schematics, images, and videos. Remember, Openness is a Virtue.

 

Living in Space, Space Settlement, Space Systems

Space settlement – enabled by commercial drive and in-situ resources

The Guardian has an article and a gallery of illustrations on the theme of space settlement:

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Space settlement will require living off whatever land is at hand: In-Situ Resources A Key To Deep Space Exploration – Aviation Week.

Everyone can participate in space