Space Policy

Space policy roundup – April.2.14 [Update]

A selection of space policy/politics related links:

Update:

Webcasts:

* Patrick Ritchie, Monday, 3-31-14 | Thespaceshow’s Blog – A discussion about space related presentations and sessions at the recent Southwest by Southwest (SXSW) event in Austin, Texas:

* Tues 4/1/14 Hr 4 | John Batchelor Show – Bob Zimmerman’s regular segment on space news and policy:

DIY space, Education, Near Space

JP Aerospace Kickstarter to fund 2000 student Pongsats for Sept. flight

1 Comment

John Powell of JP Aerospace tells me they had a successful sale of  MiniCubes last month (see JP Aerospace sale on flights of MiniCubes to NearSpace).

Their latest outreach effort is a Kickstarter to fund the flight of 2000 Pongsats in September: 2000 Student Projects to the Edge of Space by John Powell — Kickstarter

This time instead of one thousand PongSats we’re flying two thousand. We have just over 14,000 PongSats flown so far. I think that’s more student payloads then the rest of the world’s space programs combined! The PongSats are getting more and more complex. We now get PongSats with GPS’s and cameras in them and some even made on 3D printers.

(To be clear, Pongsat flights cost nothing to the students or their schools.)

Here’s the Kickstarter video:

Astronomy

NASA JPL: What’s Up for April 2014

NASA JPL gives a preview of the night sky for the coming month.: What’s Up For April 2014 – “Mars at opposition, a lunar eclipse and April’s Lyrid meteor shower.”

 

Contests and Games, Living in Space, Space Systems

Z-2 Spacesuit contest: Vote for best cover layer design

The NASA Z-2 EVA spacesuit development group is asking the public to vote on which of three exterior styles they like best: Z-2 Spacesuit Design Vote – NASA JSC

After the positive response to the Z-1 suit’s visual design we received, we wanted to take the opportunity to provide this new suit with an equally memorable appearance. The cover layer of a prototype suit is important as it serves to protect the suit against abrasion and snags during the rigors of testing. With the Z-2, we’re looking forward to employing cover layer design elements never used in a spacesuit before. The designs shown were produced in collaboration with ILC, the primary suit vendor and Philadelphia University. The designs were created with the intent to protect the suit and to highlight certain mobility features to aid suit testing. To take it a step further, we are leaving it up you, the public, to choose which of three candidates will be built.  

Option A: “Biomimicry”

bio_spaceCenter_scaled

—-

Option B: “Technology”

tech_nbl_scaled

—-

Option C: “Trends in Society”

trend_rocks_scaled

Everyone can participate in space