2. Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2019; 7-8:30 pm PDT (9-10:30 pm CDT; 10-11:30 pm EDT): We welcome back both Kim Holder and John Jossy to discuss the recently held SSI Space Settlement Conference. Lots happened at this conference and Kim and John will tell us about it.
3. Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019: Pre-recorded Hotel Mars Program with John Batchelor. See Upcoming Show on The Space Show website for details.
5. Sunday, Sept. 15, 2019; 12-1:30 pm PDT (3-4:30 pm EDT, 2-3:30 pm CDT): We welcome back Wayne White, noted space attorney regarding property rights and other commercial space legal issues.
A sampling of links to recent space policy, politics, and government (US and international) related space news and resource items that I found of interest (find previous space policy roundups here):
Professor Yang Yuguang at the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation talked with CGTN’s Elaine Reyes about the latest achievements, and future prospects, of China’s space program.
A sampling of recent articles, press releases, etc. related to student and amateur CubeSat / SmallSat projects and programs (find previous smallsat roundups here):
Aerospace Engineering Assistant Professor Pauline Faure and Computer Engineering Senior Justin Nguyen traveled to Cambodia in August to visit the Liger Leadership Academy in Phnom Penh.
Students there wanted to build and launch a softball-sized CubeSat, along with a mini-ground station to communicate with it.
The Hill Space Systems Laboratory in Learned Hall features a 12-by-12-foot clean “white room” where students don protective clothing while they build nano-satellites, which weigh in at just under 10 kilograms, for a planned launch into Earth orbit. A second room in the same lab is stocked with computer equipment so students can design and test their creations.
“We’re hoping to have student satellite launches — microsatellites, nano-satellites — every other year,” said Rick Hale, Spahr Professor and chair of the Department of Aerospace Engineering. “The first launch could be as early as spring 2020.”
[Noemí Miguélez Gómez’s] current CubeSat project with Dr. Eduardo Rojas in the Embry-Riddle Wireless Devices and Electromagnetics (WiDE) Laboratory is focused on bolstering communication using deployable antennas. Small research CubeSats may offer only one-tenth of a cubic meter of space, and therefore “you don’t have a lot of power for communications,” Miguélez Gómez explained. To improve communication, she has been working on a foldable antenna that would reflect signals in space to improve transmission performance. The work involves 3D printing and testing dozens of components. This antenna is part of an academic-industry partnership.
The newly opened WiDE lab is located in the John Mica Engineering and Aerospace Innovation Complex, or MicaPlex, the cornerstone building in Embry-Riddle’s Research Park. It gives students like Miguélez Gómez access to a design room with state-of-the-art software, advanced manufacturing equipment including 3D printers, and a testing area, among other perks.
… how smallsat technology is being used in innovative ways to solve technical challenges faced by the military, science community, and industry. Find out how custom sensor, software, hardware, and thermal management solutions are making significant contributions to national defense and scientific discoveries. Hear about the programs where this technology is being applied to better understand global temperature changes in the thermosphere, identify the population of potentially hazardous near-Earth objects (NEOs) and mitigate the adverse effects of space weather.
The Flame Design investigation is studying the quantity of soot produced under different flame conditions. The results of this experiment occurring aboard the International Space Station could enable the design of flames that are more sooty or soot-free, and allow for the creation of burner designs which are more efficient and less polluting. Read more about this and other flame research aboard the International Space Station: [https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/combustion-research…]
Learn more about the research being conducted on Station: https://www.nasa.gov/iss-science
** STEMonstrations: Engineering Design – Trusses
The structure of the International Space Station relies heavily on a series of trusses engineered to withstand compression, tension, torsion and shear forces the station may encounter in low-Earth orbit. In this episode, Expedition 55/56 Flight Engineer Ricky Arnold explains the significance of these resilient structures and the forces they are up against in microgravity. Use the lesson plan that coincides with this video to emphasize the value of the engineering design process in your STEM classroom. Visit https://nasa.gov/stemonstation for more educational resources that explore the research and technology of the International Space Station.
** Expedition 60 Live Interviews with Doug Wheelock – September 12, 2019
Live Interviews with NASA Astronaut Doug Wheelock located at Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio and broadcast from the Johnson Space Center. Astronaut Doug Wheelock, who is currently working at Glenn Research Center on the Orion spacecraft, discusses life in space and NASA’s plans to put the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024 through the agency’s Artemis program. The interviews were conducted on September 12, 2019.
A sampling of links to recent space policy, politics, and government (US and international) related space news and resource items that I found of interest (find previous space policy roundups here):