Hands-on hobbies and activities
involving at least a modest level of technical knowledge.
Astronomy The first space hobby. Activities
range from occasional backyard stargazing to leading
edge amateur astrophysics projects.
GPS
Fun GPS navigation is both practical
and fun. Several hobbies have developed around GPS
such as geocaching in which you hunt for hidden
treasures placed all over the world.
Modeling Modeling now includes both
physical model building as well as computer graphic
modeling. Buy, build and collect scale models of rockets
and spacecraft.
Near
Space High altitude activities via
balloon and rocket are carried out by many amateur
groups.
Radio
Space You don't need a ham license
to listen to satellite broadcasts. You can turn your
PC into a weathersat ground station for as little
as a few hundred dollars.
Model rocketry is an
ideal space hobby for young people and now adults
continue the hobby with high power rockets that
can stand meters high and fly supersonic speeds
to over 1000 meters.
Some enthusiasts go to
the next level of amateur and student advanced/experimental
rocketry groups that seek to break altitude records
and to develop new technology.
You can even join teams
building manned reusable rocketships like those
that competed in the X-PRIZE.
Satellite
Building Amateur satellites, aimed especially
for use by amateur radio community, began to fly almost
as soon as the space age began. AMSAT and students
in universities and even K-12 schools have built spacecraft
that reached orbit.
Satellite
Observing Observe the Space Station using
a schedule from the web and make hi-res photographs
of the Space Station with your telescope.
SETI Participate in many projects searching for signals
of extraterrestrial intelligence. Many sophisticate
amateur and privately funded projects are taking place.
The SETI@Home project lets you analyze SETI data on
your home PC.
Simulators Space simulations include spacecraft
and space station simulations for your PC. They can
also involve elaborate joint simulations among teams.
There are also hardware simulator projects such as
a space shuttle cockpit sim.
Space
Science From analysis of spacecraft
data to spending summer vacation at a simulated Mars
base, amateurs and students can get involved in real
space science projects.
TVRO The C-Band craze led the way
to the small dish, digital direct-to-home satellite
TV revolution but it remains a hobby for thousands
of people who enjoy receiving free broadcasts from
dozens of geostationary satellites.
Space Culture
Art Admire, buy, collect, sell
and make space art.
History Join space history buffs in
exploring the development of spaceflight.
Movie
Space Watch and collect movies about
space exploration.
Music
Space Listen to, collect, and make
music inspired by the cosmos.
Solar
SciFi Get into science fiction devoted
to space exploration within our own solar system in
our own lifetimes.
TV
Space Sci-fi series, documentaries,
and other programming on the small screen that deals
with space in our solar system.
More space
activities
Activism Space activism refers to political
advocacy, public education, and development of space
projects and typically involves volunteers. Activism
allows everyone to get involved in the effort to help
move us into space faster.
Business Learn about the space industries
of today and tomorrow.
Contests From commercial promotions
to student scholarship competitions, there are lots
of contests involving space.
Games Space games range from online
asteroid shooters to complex board games.
Space
Camping Both kids and adults can train
for space.
Space
Tourism Dennis Tito transformed space
tourism from a fantasy to a reality. Less wealthy
persons can now book a ride on a suborbital rocket
that are expected to fly by 2008. In the meantime,
you can ride a plane that flies parabolic trajectories
to provide weightlessness. You can travel vicariously
by sending a token of yourself on a deep space mission.
Resources
Books Reviews, links to bookstores
and publishers, etc..
Education Lots of links to space education
programs, projects, etc.
Eyes
in the Sky Buy high resolution satellite
photos of your neighborhood, obtain beautiful remote
sensing images, and checkout the latest weather maps.
Future
Space Speculations on future space
hobbies and activities for the public like collecting
pieces of the moon, remotely roving Mars and sailing
the solar winds.
Multiple
Media Links to space photo galleries,
space DVDs, screensavers, maps of Mars, etc
Software
- Online Space related software
ranging from space postcards to satellite tracking
displays.
Software
- Offline Space related software that
run separately from the browser.
SpaceCasts Receive NASA TV and other space
related webcasts available on the Internet.
Space
Porting Tour spaceports around the
world and watch rocket launches.
Science
& Technology Links to various topics of
interest in general areas of technology and science.
Weblogs
NewSpace
Watch at NewSpace
Global HobbySpace editor and publisher
Clark S. Lindsey previously posted at the RLV &
Space Transport News blog at HobbySpace.
ITfocused on the latest developments in the area of
space transport with an emphasis on entrepreneurial
companies. In August of 2012, he moved this activitiy
to NewSpace
Watch. There are still archives
here for static log pages in the 1999 to Sept.
2, 2000 time frame.
Space
for All Postings about all matters
pertaining to public participation in space development.
Experimental
Rocketry This blog about advanced amateur,
student, and small company rocketry projects has been
discontinued.
Features
In
Space Now
Space is a busy place with fascinating events happening
all the time: solar flares, dust storms on Mars, astronauts
attaching new modules to the ISS, spacecraft visiting
comets and asteroids, rovers roving, and much, much
more. This section tries to provide a sampling of the news and real-time data from space.
Interviews Email exchanges with leaders in new approaches to
space development.
Special
Topics
Essays, articles, reviews on conferences, reports
on launches, etc.
Shopping
Guide
Guide to all sorts of space related items.
