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Welcome to HobbySpace. the site that will prove to you that everyone can participate in space exploration and development in one way or another.
August 2006
Recent Blog Postings
HobbySpace Log:
RLV & Space Transport News:
Recent Features
Prof. Glenn Harlan Reynolds
Interview: Glenn Reynolds
An exchange with the Instapundit, Professor of Law, author, and long time space activist about issues of space law and space politics, and about space development using armies of Davids.
NewSpace 2006 + Bigelow Aerospace Tour
Reports, articles, and more about the NewSpace 2006 Conference in Las Vegas, July 19-23. Also, photos and info from a press conference and tour of the Bigelow Aerospace facility in Las Vegas.
An analog lunar explorer
Interview: Peter Kokh
Discussion with the editor of the Moon Miners's Manifesto about lunar base simulations, living on the Moon, and other lunar development topics.

More Interviews, Articles, and Special Topics.

Space Artist Spotlight
Moon Base by Slawek Wojtowicz
Moon Base
Mare Imbrium Express  by Slawek Wojtowicz
Mare Imbrium Express
Green Moon Y3K by Slawek Wojtowicz
Green Moon Y3K

Slawek Wojtowicz

More space art...
Space Music of the Month

Beyond the Moon
by m0
From Yuri's Night Music Resources
Previous space music in spotlight

Space Hobbies & Activities in the Spotlight
Space Simulators
Nothing like going there but a space simulation will prepare you for the trip. The Space Simulations section lists hundreds of programs that provide a wide range of simulated space activities. Below is a sampling of programs in various categories of space vehicles, spacecraft, etc.

Spaceflight
Orbiter simulator
* Orbiter - "a realistic space simulation using proper physics for the modelling of planetary motion, gravitational fields, free space and atmospheric flight etc." Supported by a large community of users. Lots of add-on modules for all sorts of rocket and spacecraft designs, see SpaceShipOne add-on above.
* The Space Shuttle Simulator

Lunar Landing and Exploring
Eagle Lander 3D
* Eagle Lander 3D
* SpaceDev Lunar Lander Sim
* VirtuePlay Lunar Explorer is a realistic interactive visual representation of the moon using actual data collected by NASA spacecraft and earthbound telescopes.

Apollo/Space Race
A-OK! The Wings of Mercury
* A-OK - Mercury
* Apollo Simulator 2006

Space Station
SpaceStationSim
* SpaceStationSim
* Space Station Simulator
* ShortHike Space Station Game

Mars
* Mars Simulation Project
* Drive On Mars with 3D environments
* GeoPlayer Mars Choice - Fly through high resolution Mars imagery and terrain.

Planetarium Style
* Celestia - "travel throughout the solar system, to any of over 100,000 stars, or even beyond the galaxy"
* MPL 3D - Solar System is 3D interactive simulation of the close universe in real time.

It's a Whole New Outer Space Out There

Sending Personal Items and Student Science Experiments into Space

For about twenty million dollars you can send yourself to the International Space Station. Soon for about 200 hundred thousand dollars you can send yourself into space via a brief suborbital flight. If you can't afford those prices but want to experience the vicarious thrill of sending a photo or some other small personal item into space, there are now several options as shown below. Also, if you are a student with a great space science project but can't get a ride for your payload on a NASA rocket, there are options opening up for you as well..

Bigelow Aerospace
View from inside the Genesis 1


Some items can be see floating inside the Bigelow Aerospace Genesis 1 inflatable prototype
habitat module currently in orbit. For the next module that will be launched in the autumn of 2006, the public is invited to place photos and small items in the module for a fee. Once in orbit, a close-up photo of your photo or item as it floats weightless will be obtained and sent to you. See their Fly Your Stuff section for more details.

UP Aerospace
UP Aerospace Spaceloft rocket on its launch rail

(Photo credits: UP Aerospace & KRQE 13)
UP Aerospace plans to launch up to four of its SpaceLoft rockets to greater than 100 km this fall from the New Mexico spaceport. With its partner firm ZG Aerospace, they will carry items from the public as well as research projects from schools, collleges, researcher labs, etc.

Beyond Earth Enterprises
Beyond Earth rocket launch
Beyond Earth Enterprises, now based in Roswell, New Mexico, has launched several high altitude rockets carrying items from schools and the general public. See their store for a range of payload options.

.Masten Space Systems
Masten Space  XA-1.0 suborbital rocket
Masten Space Systems is developing a vertical takeoff and landing vehicle called the XA-1.0. It will be capable of flying to altitudes greater than 100km and do so more than once per day. They plan to focus on the K-12 and college educational markets, carrying small science payloads at low cost to over 100km. For example, to put your experiment in a CanSat, a soda-can sized container, will cost $99.

JP Aerospace
Pongsats on a JP Aerospace gondola
JP Aerospace launches high altitude balloons, airships, and sounding rockets. One of their most popular programs is called PongSats. A PongSat is a ping pong ball split open and filled with a small science experiment by a student.

Several thousand Pongsats have now flown to near space and higher. The above picture shows a box full of these fun picosats on the gondola of a high altitude balloon.

Real-Time Space Viewers
Earth Viewer
Earth
Weather maps, remote sensing
and spysat images.
Space Weather Viewer
Space Weather
Sun, solar wind, aurora images
and the latest data

Space Explorer Viewer
Space Explorers
Images and data from
deep space probes.

See the archive of previous HobbySpace homepage Spotlight items ...
July - September

HobbySpace provides over 15,000 space links and
has delivered over
9, 425,000 page views since
January 1999.

The Art of C. Sergent Lindsey

 

 
 
 
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