General, Space Policy, SpaceCasts

Space on the John Batchelor Show this week: Bob Zimmerman & Hotel Mars

During his two visits on the John Batchelor radio program this week, Bob Zimmerman spoke about the following topics:

Tues 8/13/13 Hr 2 Batchelor

  • Air Force to shut part of its orbital space tracking system.
  • ATK joins Stratolaunch.
  • Serious problems with SpaceShipTwo?

Thurs 8/15/13 Hr 4 Batchelor:

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And on the weekly Hotel Mars segment, David Livingston and Batchelor talked with Dr. David Brain about the  NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission (MAVEN), which will launch to the Red Planet in November:  John Batchelor Hotel Mars, Wednesday, 8-14-13 | Thespaceshow’s Blog

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Here are videos of the recent Grasshopper test that Bob mentioned:

 

 

Astronomy, Exoplanets

Kepler must switch to other missions – no reaction wheel fix found

Efforts to resurrect the broken reaction wheels on the Kepler space observatory have failed. The spacecraft can still do useful science but not exoplanet transit searches, which requires the extremely stable and precise pointing capabilities provided by 3 working reaction wheels.

Space Policy

Space policy roundup – Aug.16.13

A selection of recent space policy related links:

Mars, Multiple media, Space Science

Curiosity films Phobos moon passing in front of Deimos

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Using its Mast camera, the Curiosity rover observes the Martian moon Phobos eclipse the other moon Deimos: NASA Rover Gets Movie as a Mars Moon Passes Another – NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Contests and Games, Simulators, Software

The Kerbal Space Program conquers JPL

I previously posted on the Kerbal Space Program, a game which has a whimsical interface but uses realistic physics for its rockets and orbital mechanics: Kerbal Space Program – a game to create your own space program – Space-for-All.

This article describes the game and why it “is getting more and more attention recently from the space geek community”, including places like JPL and SpaceX:  Kerbal Space Program: The Spaceflight Simulator that Conquered JPL:  Program is Praised for its Orbital Mechanics and Newtonian Dynamics – Moonandback

Here’s a video tutorial on the game:

Everyone can participate in space