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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.
January 2012
Space for All Blog Space Transport News Blog
Special Features
NewSpace Log 2011
The NewSpace Log 2012
This section holds links to blog posts, articles, pictures, etc. about events and developments this year in NewSpace. See also NewSpace Log 2011.
NewSpace 2011 Conference
NewSpace 2011 Conference Review
A report on the annual Space Frontier Foundation's conference held at NASA Ames in Mountain View, California. Topics of discussion ranged from entrepreneurial space businesses to lunar miing to fully reusable suborbital space vehicles.
Space Access 2011
Space Access 11 Conference Review
A report on the annual Space Access Society's annual conference in Phoenix, Arizona. The focus, as always, was on efforts by entrepreneurial companies to achieve dramatically lower costs for getting to space..


More Interviews, Articles, and Special Topics.
Space Art Spotlight

Citizens in Space cover - Bruce Pennington
Cover - "Citizens of Space"

The Worlds of Robert Heinlein cover - Bruce Pennington
Cover "The Worlds of Robert Heinlein"

Black Legions of Callisto cover - Bruce Pennington
Cover for - "Black Legions of Callisto"
3 to the Highest Power cover - Bruce Pennington
Cover - "Citizens of Space"
Whipping Star cover - Bruce Pennington
Cover - "Whipping Star"


Bruce Pennington
More space art...
Space News from Virtual Amanda Bush

Here is the latest Virtual SpaceTV 3D show, which was created by BINARY SPACE with story content from HobbySpace. Virtual presenter Amanda Bush reports on a student competition involving robots aboard the International Space Station, on the British Skylon single-stage-to-orbit spaceship, and on a documentary film about Richard Garriott's trip to space. Space weather man James C. Birk reports on a recent upsurge in solar storms. New spaceweather-man James C. Birk talks about the surge in solar storms in the past month.

..

Previous Virtual SpaceTV 3D shows are available on the HobbySpace Youtube Channel.

These videos are intended as demonstrations of an experimental technique for generating animated presentations. The show was generated autonomously by software and without human interaction. The project is described in the Virtual Producer whitepaper (pdf). For further information contact info@binary-space.com.

Space Music Video of the Month
Space Hobbies & Activities in the Spotlight
Planet Hunting

The BBC's Stargazing Live program has encourage viewers to participate in the the Planet Hunters public participation project. Participants examine data from the Kepler orbital observatory to find indications of a planet passing in front of a distant star.

One viewer of the BBC show joined Planet Hunters and his work led to a discovery of a new exoplanet: Stargazing viewer in planet coup - BBC - Jan.18.12.

This video describes the Planet Hunters project:

.

Welcome to Planet Hunters from The Zooniverse on Vimeo.

It's a Whole New Outer Space Out There

Armadillo Aerospace Launch STIG Rockets Towards Space

Armadillo Aerospace has been best known for developing rockets that take off and land vertically (see, for example, this video) and for providing engines for the rocketplanes of the Rocket Racing League. In the past year, however, they have been using more conventional tube rockets to test their technology for supersonic and high alititude flight. Since last June they have flow their STIG rocket design three times.

Below are three pictures from a launch of the STIG-A vehicle on January 28th from Spaceport America near Las Cruces, New Mexico. The vehicle reached an estimated altitude of 82 kilometers (about 50 miles). Find more details in Armadillo Aerospace launches their third “STIG-A” rocket from Spaceport America.

The vehicles are intended to be reused after returning to earth via parachute. However, STIG-A suffered some damage due to problems with the ballute, an inflatable form used to slow the rocket as it falls in the near airless environment at high altitude before deploying the parachute. That sort of problem, however, is exactly what the STIG vehicles are meant to investigate and solve.

A new, larger STIG-B rocket is expected to launch in early spring and take a science payload across the 100 km border to space.

STIG-A III ballute
"View of parachute ballute deployment at apogee during Armadillo Aerospace’s
STIG-A III rocket launched from Spaceport America, taken January 28, 2012".
Credits: Armadillo Aerospace and Ben Brockert.

 

STIG-A III view
"View of the Rio Grande River valley from 239,000 ft (~50 mi) aboard
Armadillo Aerospace’s STIG-A III rocket launched from
Spaceport America, taken January 28, 2012."
Credits: Armadillo Aerospace and Ben Brockert

STIG-A III view
"Armadillo Aerospace's STIG-A III Rocket Launches Successfully
from Spaceport America".
Credits: Armadillo Aerospace and Ben Brockert

 

A video for the January 28th flight is not yet available. However, here is a video from the STIG-A rocket when it flew on December 4, 2011:

..



Check for the latest in leading edge rocket and space travel projects on the
Space Transport News Blog
Satellite Tracking at HobbySpace

Tutorial videos
Satellite tracks
Satellite track display

3-D viewing option
Run the Satellite Tracking Tool from BINARY SPACE right here at HobbySpace in your browser. The program allows you to track a large set of satellites in both low earth and geostationary orbits. (Note: the program requires Microsoft Silverlight, Version 5 or higher, as well as the latest version of your browser. Currently the program works on the Microsoft® Windows® platform only.) The Satellite Observing section provides additional information and web resources about the hobby of satellite tracking and watching.
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 ...
December 11 - February 12

HobbySpace has been providing thousands of space links, news and information daily since

January 1999.

The Art of C. Sergent Lindsey

 
 
 
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