Monthly Archives: April 2016

Activism, Space Policy, SpaceCasts

The Space Show this week – Apr.4.16

The guests and topics of discussion on The Space Show this week:

1. Monday, April 4, 2016: 2-3:30 PM PDT (5-6:30 PM EDT, 4-5:30 PM CDT): We welcome back TIM DOOLEY for his updates to the Early and Victorian Space Age.

SPECIAL TIME 2. Tuesday, April 5 2016: 1 PM PDT (4 PM EDT, 3PM CDT):We welcome DR. JOHN RUMMEL regarding the UN and planetary protection plus other related items and information. A broadening perspective for planetary protection.

3. Friday, April 8, 2016: 2016; 9:30-11AM PDT; (12:30-2 PM EDT; 11:30AM – 1 PM CDT. No show today as I am participating in the Chicago Society space event..

4. Sunday, 3 2016: 12-1:30 PM PDT (3-4:30 PM EDT, 2-3:30 PM CDT): No show today as I am participating in the Chicago Society space event

See also:
* The Space Show on Vimeo – webinar videos
* The Space Show’s Blog – summaries of interviews.
* The Space Show Classroom Blog – tutorial programs

The Space Show is a project of the One Giant Leap Foundation.

Astronomy, Space Science

Audio: Update on space science news + The hunt for dark matter & dark energy

Dr. David Grinspoon of the Planetary Science Institute gives an interesting update on a number of recent space science developments including the sighting of a comet or asteroid hitting Jupiter, icebergs on Pluto, seas on Charon, salt mounds on Ceres, and gravity maps of Mars: John Batchelor Show –  David Grinspoon, PSI.

And here is a talk with Evalyn Gates, author of Einstein’s Telescope: The Hunt for Dark Matter and Dark Energy in the Universe, about these mysteries of the universe: The John Batchelor Show – Evalyn Gates –

Eyes in the Sky, History

Satellite images give hints of a lost Viking settlement

On Monday the program NOVA – Vikings Unearthed will be broadcast on PBS about the possible discovery by satellite imagery of a Viking settlement site in Newfoundland: Discovery Could Rewrite History of Vikings in New World – National Geographic.

POINT ROSEE, CANADA: It’s a two-mile trudge through forested, swampy ground to reach Point Rosee, a narrow, windswept peninsula stretching from southern Newfoundland into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Last June, a team of archaeologists was drawn to this remote part of Canada by a modern-day treasure map: satellite imagery revealing ground features that could be evidence of past human activity.

The treasure they discovered here—a stone hearth used for working iron—could rewrite the early history of North America and aid the search for lost Viking settlements described in Norse sagas centuries ago.

 

Eyes in the Sky, Space Arts, Space Systems

Video: “Why Send Art Into Space?” – the Planet Labs satellite art

Planet Labs is a Silicon Valley based company that has launched over 80 smallsats into low earth orbit, many by shooting them from the Int. Space Station. Here is a video from the National Geographic Short Film Showcase about the artworks etched onto the sides of the satellites:

Planet Labs, an Earth-imaging company, paired with the Autodesk Pier 9 Workshop for an out-of-this-world art installation. Artists were selected to create a collection of work, which was then laser-etched on Planet Labs’s satellite panels. Images from these satellites provide important data on environmental changes and other issues. The “Art in Space” exhibition is either in orbit or awaiting launch from the International Space Station. “We want to inspire people to investigate science, to investigate creativity, to go do beautiful art pieces in an uncomfortable and unique manner,” says Forest Stearns, art director for Planet Labs. Hear more about the project in filmmaker Charlie Nordstrom‘s intriguing piece. 

See also Art at Planet Labs

Activism, Rockets, Space Settlement

Space Access ’16 – Phoenix, AZ – April 7-9

Hope to see you at

Space Access ’16 – next week! – three days focused on the technology, business, and politics of radically cheaper space transportation.

Thursday afternoon April 7th through Saturday night April 9th in warm springtime Phoenix, in an intensive informal atmosphere, single-track throughout so you don’t have to miss anything.

Organizations like Agile Aero, DARPA, Lasermotive, Masten Space Systems, NanoRacks, Spaceport America, United Launch Alliance, XCOR Aerospace.

People like Mitchell Burnside Clapp, Jeff Greason, Gary Hudson, Jordin Kare, Dave Masten, Rand Simberg, and Henry Spencer in a variety of presentations and panels.

Progress reports ranging from major government & industry programs through university student & high-end amateur rocket hardware projects.

Plus this year, now that a thriving low-cost space transportation industry is near, a focus on What’s Needed for The Next Thirty Years?

SA’16 is just days away – make your plans NOW. Everything you need to know to be there, at
space-access.org/updates/sa16info.html