Jan.30.03
News briefs...
Texas
Rocketeers...
The Amateur Spaceflight
Association, based in Houston, will launch its advanced solid
rocket powered A1/2
on Saturday, February 8th "from the Gulf Coast Regional Spaceport
in Brazoria County." The ~550kg vehicle should reach 4.5km
(15000ft).
The A1/2 is
a half scale version of the LOX/Kerosene powered A1,
which they hope to launch in the fall of this year. They aim for
this ~900kg vehicle to reach an altitude of 120km (75mile) and thus
set a new record for amateur rocketry.
Satellite
TV & Internet in the Air...Delta Airlines' new low-cost
spinoff company Song
Airlines will provide each seat with
a monitor to show satellite TV delivered by Echostar: DISH
Takes to the Skies with Song - SkyREPORT.com - Jan.30.03.
This follows
the success of the low cost carrier JetBlue,
which provides each passenger with 24 channels from DirecTV.
Meanwhile, Boeing's
Connexion
service has begun tests of airline internet service - A
New Era Begins: Lufthansa Passengers First To Experience Connexion
By Boeingsm Inflight Internet Connectivity - Connexion - Jan.15.03.
New
space forum... Check out the space news posting and discussion
forum at Frontier
Files Online that just opened at the Space
Frontier Foundation. (My way of thanking them for a link to
the Dennis
Wingo interview as one of their first postings.)
See also the
list of space
weblogs and news posting sites and newsgroups
& forums.
Jan.29.03
News briefs...
Big
bucks for planet hunter...
A rich and now happy amateur astronomer has won the auction for
the opportunity to spend an evening hunting extrasolar
planets with Geoff
Marcy. (See previous article - Rent
a Famous Planet Finding Scientist-Jan.15.03)
ASP
Fundraising Auction Ends Successfully - Astronomical Society of
the Pacific - J an.28.03 * Amateur
wins out-of-this-world auction: S.F.-based stargazers' society sells
night at world's biggest telescope for $16,000 - Alameda Times-Star
- Jan.28.03
Cosmic
Valentine...Send
your free Valentine's Day message to the Stars via Cosmic Call -
Team Encounter - Jan.29.03
Jan.28.03
News briefs...
ISS
flasher...
The Starshine
3 student satellite came back to earth on January 21 (see Capture
the Fiery Death of Starshine 3). The innovative educational
Starshine project
has two
more satellites ready for when they can get a ride to space
(they got bumped from a shuttle mission.)
An exciting
new project called Starshine
on Station involves "attaching a lightweight, controllable
mirror to an unused handrail on the outside of the International
Space Station (ISS) and using the mirror to send brief, daylight-visible
Morse Code messages to students around the world in the various
languages of the countries that are building the the ISS."
The half meter
mirror would produce "flashes will be bright enough to be visible
to the average observer in broad daylight, under reasonably clear
sky conditions."
Volunteers would
build the system and send it up on a shuttle flight for installation
during an EVA. NASA is now considering the proposal.
Sky
shows...You might catch a view of the shuttle Columbia
this week. See the viewing instructions at Look
at that Spaceship: The space shuttle Columbia (STS-107) will make
a lovely series of morning passes over the United States this week.
- Science@NASA - Jan.27.03. See also the Satellite
Watching section for links to sites with instructions
on viewing the shuttle this week as well as the frequent opportunities
to see the ISS....
... While
over the net you can view a comet via the SOHO satellite - Internet
Astronomy: Watch on Web as Comet Kudo Zips around the Sun - Space.com
- Jan.27.03 * The
very latest SOHO images.
Space
building designs... I've opened at Space
Architecture section with links to various sites and
articles about designing structures in space. This compliments the
Space
Lodging sub-section in Space
Tourism.
Campaign
for Space Day...
There is an effort to have July 20th declared as a US official Day
of Commemoration. See the web site July
20th - National Space Day campaign. This Sunday the guests on
the the Spaceshow
webcast will be Jim McDade and Tom McKeever who are leading this
campaign.
Online
space books... the Questia
site provides a large number of online books, many of which are
quite useful for reference study. The library includes a number
of space related books (search under space or astronomy
) such as the Space
Law books section.
Jan.26.03
News briefs...
Teachers
Flood Astronaut Recruitment - In just the first two
days of its Educator
in Space program, NASA received over 600 nominations of teachers
for up to six astronaut openings: NASA's
Call for Teachers Generates 'Phenomenal' Response - Space.com -
Jan.23.03 * Educator
Astronaut Report Card - NASA - Jan.4.03.
Amateur
Astronomers Spend Big Bucks
- It's not uncommon for people who started their astronomy hobby
with a low cost basic telescope to gradually upgrade to a scope
in the one or two thousand dollar range. However, some don't stop
there. For example, this article - Star
Man: How to Spend $60k on Home Astronomy - Wired - Feb.03 issue
- describes one amateur's escalating ambitions. He uses his high
end system to search for highly variable stars (see AAVSO).
Bill
Yeung uses his advanced scopes for searching for asteroids.
See the Amateur
Astronomy Projects section for resources about advanced
amateur astronomy.
Jan.25.03
Sci-Tech News: Flying Car for sale
Moller
International has announced that it will offer its first working
Skycar for sale on eBay starting January 31st - Press
Release. The M400P prototype has repeatedly flown short hovering
flights on tethers in tests since 2001 (see videos).
The vehicle
has not been FAA certified. The company
warns that although "[a]ll systems are operational. Potential
buyers are cautioned that this is a prototype model and considered
an experimental aircraft." and also "the Skycar has not yet been
approved as a road vehicle." Shoot! It would be great to pull up
to the take-out window at the local McDonalds!!
The offering
was probably prompted by the recent eBay auction
of SoloTrek's first prototype. Initially, the bids went to several
million dollars but all were later withdrawn. Last I saw, there
were no bids above the $50k minimum. Hope Moller gets a better response.
I think
it will since even if it never flys again, it is so beautiful and
futuristic looking, it would be a super crowd pleaser at an aerospace
museum or other exhibition site.
A more powerful
2nd gen production version is currently under construction for longer
untethered test
flights this year.
I've been following
the progress of the Skycar for over decade. Sure glad to see it
finally flying. I've been surprised by the lack of publicity about
the test flights over the past year. The longer untethered flights,
though, should really get peoples' attention.
Jan.23.03
Space Musical Interview
Check out my
latest interview: A
Conversation with Megan Halpern & Max Evjen,
the creators of the rock music production Galileo:
The Emotional Life of a Spacecraft.
Jan.21.03
NASA Educator Astronaut Online
NASA has created
a new Educator Astronaut
program in which it will recruit people for astronaut positions
who also have high qualifications for teaching in grades Kindergarten
through 12th grade (K-12 as it's called). This grows out of the
Teacher-in-Space
program.
This would follow
the role model of Barbara Morgan, a teacher and backup to Christa
McAuliffe who died in the Challenger accident. Morgan has since
then become a fully qualified mission specialist astronaut.
Note that by
creating a special category of astronauts who are teachers, rather
than vice versa, NASA avoids the issue of "civilians"
riding the shuttle.
Space
Potty Training Video - And since astronaut trainees of
all ages usually ask first about going to the restroom in space,
the Educator Astronaut site includes a page about When
You Gotta Go, and even offers a video demo.
Jan.19.03
Cosmic Africa is a Winner
Jeff Foust gives
a thumbs up to Cosmic
Africa, the new documentary from Cosmos
Studios mentioned below - "Cosmic
Africa": a film well worth seeing - spacetoday.net weblog -
Jan.18.03 . More about the background of the film at Young
SA Astronomer introduces African Starlore to the World - SAAO -
Jan.14.03
Jan.16.03
Space news briefs...
Herding
Space Junk - Eventually, something will need to be done
about the growing accumulation of debris
in earth orbit. Joseph
Carroll, a leader in the field of space
tethers (such as the successful TiPS
project with the Navy), has recently developed the concept of
a tether based spacecraft that would gather up orbital junk. 'Space
sheepdogs' could round up space junk - New Scientist - Jan.15.03
.
An African Astronomer's Story
- The documentary Cosmic
Africa will be shown tonight in a sneak preview at the Carnegie
Institution in Washington. The work was produced by
Cosmos Studios, headed by Ann Druyan, widow of the astronomer
and educator Carl Sagan.
On Thursday
evening, January 16, the Carnegie Institution of Washington will
host a sneak preview of the highly acclaimed documentary film,
Cosmic Africa. This special, high-definition screening comes from
South Africa's Åland Pictures and Cosmos Studios of New York for
its U.S. debut.
Cosmic Africa
is a true story of one extraordinary man's journey into the rich
and surprising history of African astronomy. Thebe Medupe, narrator,
astronomer, and central figure, built his first telescope at age
13 in a remote African village. As an astrophysicist today, Thebe
leads the audience through the breathtaking landscapes of the
Sahara, Namibia, and Mali as he explores the deep connections
the indigenous cultures have with the cosmos.
"Scientifically
based Western people feel that their world-view is more relevant
than these African mythologies," reflected filmmakers Craig and
Damon Foster. "We really believe that both world-views have equal
relevance." With the High-Definition format developed by George
Lucas for Star Wars, and the Dolby digital soundtrack recorded
by the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, Cosmic Africa will change
the way you look at the sky.
Special guests
for this screening will include Thebe Medupe, Ann Druyan, CEO
of Cosmos Studios and co-writer with Carl Sagan of TV's Cosmos
series, and Dr. Mamphela Ramphele, managing director at The World
Bank, former vice-chancellor of the University of Cape Town, and
widow of Stephen Biko. Renowned Carnegie astronomer, Vera Rubin,
will host the evening.
Space
Business Looking Up? -
It's far too early to say that the crisis that space business has
been in since the Iridium/Globalstar failures is over, but recently
things have gotten a bit more positive. Here are some recent developments:
- Globalstar
Buyout - yesterday it was announced that an investment
group had offered to buy a majority stake in Globalstar for $55
million. If accepted by the bankruptcy judge, the company would
leave its default status.
The company currently has over 80,000 subscribers. It has lowered
the calling charges to near cell phone levels and this apparently
is helping to attract more business. It also is developing cargo
tracking applications with AeroAstro
and aviation communication systems.
Note that if the company can get an average of $50 per month from
100k subscribers, it would produce $60 million per year. Since
it no longer has to pay off its multi-billion dollar development
debt, that's a pretty good return and should also help to pay
for replacement satellites.
- XM
& Sirius Stocks Leap Up
- both satellite radio companies got positive news this week that
led to significant stock price increases. In addition to the recent
news that XM had exceeded its subscriber goals, GM announced that
it would include XM ready radios in 75% of its cars. Sirius made
progress in its re-capitalization plan and also got an upgrade
from Salomon Smith Barney. With its stock now above $1.00, the
threat of delisting from Nasdaq is eliminated.
- DirecTV
& PanAmSat Profits - Hughes DirecTV and PanAmSat
divisions reported profits for the fourth quarter of 2002. PanAmSat,
in particular, had a strong quarter while DirecTV was helped by
a payout from Echostar after its merger bid failed.
Jan.15.03
Space news briefs...
More
About the Galileo Music Project - I communicated with
Max Evjen of Redshift
Productions and the musical group Terra Incognita about
their musical Galileo: The Emotional Life of a Spacecraft
mentioned below
. He says that the event on January 30th
"features
the music and projections of images from the Galileo mission.
The full production will be the live band (Terra Incognita), dancers,
and projections in a collaborative storytelling experience. We
will be recording the music from the show, and will release a
CD of the music, most likely in tandem with the full production.
We will be taking pictures at the event on the 30th and they will
be posted on our site after the event. In addition, we have plans
to develop a DVD of the music and images that will tell the story
of the Galileo mission."
Max and Megan
Halpern run Redshift Productions. They created, wrote, and are now
producing the Galileo concert.
I'll have more
about this project later.
Capture
the Fiery Death of Starshine 3
- The Starshine project wants students around the world to try to
observe, and perhaps photograph, their Starshine 3 satellite when
it enters the atmosphere sometime around January 20th or 21st (see
predictions).
Here is the press release:
"The
Starshine project needs your help. Our Starshine 3 satellite is
expected to come to the end of its orbital life in mid to late
January 2003. By then, it will have descended far enough into
the earth's atmosphere that its 1500 student-polished aluminum
mirrors and structural shell will experience intense aerodynamic
heating. At about 50 kilometers (30 miles) above the earth, it
will flare up and vaporize, like a slow-moving meteor. If this
visually spectacular event occurs in your vicinity, under reasonably
clear skies, and if you are outside, looking up at the right time,
you might be able to see it and even photograph it. If so, we
need to know from you when it flamed out and where it was in your
local sky at that time.
"Please
go to our web site at http://www.azinet.com/starshine
and read the information about this forthcoming Starshine special
event.
"Your
school or club might even win a scale model kit of the International
Space Station for taking the best photograph or digital image
or videotape of the Starshine 3 fireball."
Rent
a Famous Planet Finding Scientist - The Astronomical
Society of the Pacific is currently running a fundraising auction
for a luxury trip to the Big Island of Hawaii to hunt planets with
astronomer Geoff
Marcy. Marcy is famous as one of the originators of the primary
techniques for finding extrasolar
planets.
"This special
fundraising auction will help support the ASP's nationwide education
efforts. As Dr. Marcy observes, "the auction is a great way to contribute
to the programs that build science literacy, inspire kids and nurture
the next generation of scientists and astronomers."
"This 4
day/5 night, once-in-a-lifetime vacation for two people includes:
* luxury ocean view room at the Four Seasons Hualalai resort * round-trip
air to Kona, Hawaii, meals and car rental * exclusive, VIP tour
of W.M. Keck Observatory * dinner and one night of observation with
Dr. Geoff Marcy and his team in Keck control room with * overnight
room at Keck's private Visiting Scientists' Quarters (VSQ)."
The auction
began January 13 9am PST, and runs to January 23 9am PST. To place
a bid, go to http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3000554792.
Night
of Observing with World's Leading Planet Hunter Being Auctioned
on eBay - Space.com - Jan.14.03
Teacher
Space Trip Set - It was announced
recently that Barbara Morgan's shuttle trip to the ISS has been
set this November. I'll maintain info and resources about her trip
in the Education
section.
Name
the Rovers Soon - The "Name
the Mars Rovers" contest , organized by NASA, Lego
and the Planetary
Society, will be closing on January 31, 2003. So don't wait
any longer to send in your suggestions for names for the two
little guys who will be launched this summer for a January landing
on the Red Planet. Homestretch
For NASA & LEGO "Name the Rovers Contest" - NASA - Jan.14.03
Jan.13.03
Space news briefs
Spacedev's
CHIPSat In Orbit - congratulations to Jim Benson and
his Spacedev
team on the successful launch of the CHIPSat
science spacecraft, which they built for the University of Californiat
at Berkeley. Their COTS approach included the first use of Internet
protocols on a science mission as the lone means of communication.
Data can be grabbed simply with FTP! See the Spacedev
press release for more details about the satellite.
As noted before,
Benson was inspired to found the company by a desire to do prospecting
of near earth asteroids and eventually to mine them. They still
hope to launch their NEAP
probe someday if they can convince NASA to use a data purchase approach,
that is, Spacedev will fund the satellite if NASA promises to buy
the data when they obtain it.
A
Spacecraft Musical - On January 30th there will
be a performance of Galileo: The Emotional Life of a Spacecraft
in New York City by the musical group Terra Incognita. According
to the press release from Redshift Productions - New
Rock Experience: Galileo: The Emotional Life of a Spacecraft - Redshift
Productions/Yahoo - Jan.4.03, the
musical
"chronicles
the journey and discoveries made by the Galileo Orbiter, a spacecraft
that traveled to Jupiter in the early 1990's and has remained
there, gathering information about the planet and its satellites.
Beginning with Follow Me, the spacecraft's creation and launch
from within the Shuttle Atlantis, this production traces the path
of Galileo as it travels to Jupiter and remains there to fulfill
its mission."
Redshift Productions'
performances are inspired by science and created in an environment
in which artists and scientists can realize new ways of entertaining
and enlightening the public. Galileo is a prime example of this
type of collaboration. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, (the creators
of the Galileo Orbiter) and The Planetary Society are supplying
vital information and images for this production. Neil de Grasse
Tyson, the director of the Hayden Planetarium, an advisor to Redshift
Productions, and the scientific advisor for Galileo, wrote: "I'd
bet that the theories and discoveries of modern science have a
limitless capacity to awaken human emotion and trigger unbridled
wonder." At the heart of Galileo is the understanding that the
more we learn about the universe, the better we understand ourselves.
Terra Incognita
layers Aubree Mazzola's harmonies, Max Evjen's arrangements and
Megan Halpern's lyrics into a journey that spans musical genres
from rock to ballad to experimental. Like Pink Floyd's Dark Side
of the Moon, Galileo incorporates structural variations on recurring
musical themes that serve as both character and plot development
in the same way a script serves a play. Galileo is sung in the
first person, as if the craft itself were telling the listener
its story. Projections of stunning images captured during the
mission add to the final production to create an evening of insightful
drama wrapped in a spectacular rock concert.
The performance
will be held January 30 at 8:00 pm at the Elbow Room, 144 Bleeker
Street between Thompson and LaGuardia. Tickets are $10 and can
be purchased at the door or at www.elbowroomnyc.com.
Running Time is approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes." - Press
Release
I found this
this item via Jeff
Foust's new weblog - spacetoday.net
weblog: Galileo: the rock opera - Jan.4.03.
Jan.12.03
Mars Society Activities
The Mars
Society remains very busy as usual. The 11th crew to occupy
the Mars Desert Research Station (MRDS)
in Utah took over the habitat on January 5th. The
previous crew got the Musk
Mars Desert Observatory (see previous
note) up and running. See the "first
light" image.
The Society
just announced that it will sponsor an annual contest to design
spaceships that would be involved in Mars missions. The Kepler
Design Contest this year will be aimed at the
"design
of an Earth Return Vehicle (ERV) for use in piloted Mars missions.
In the contest, participants will propose their design for the
ERV and have it judged based on set criteria and mission requirements."
For its first
year's contest, the Kepler Prize will be given to the team that
presents the best design of an Earth Return Vehicle (ERV) for
use in piloted Mars missions. In the contest, participants will
propose their design for the ERV and have it judged based on set
criteria and mission requirements.
The ERV is
a critical piece of the Mars Direct mission plan, (for details
see, The Case for Mars, by Zubrin and Wagner, and/or http://www.nw.net/mars/
) The ERV flies to Mars autonomously, landing on the surface and
using an on-board supply of hydrogen to create fuel, oxygen, and
water for extended operations when the crew arrives later. The
same fuel and oxygen are used to propel the crew (and the ERV)
back to Earth when their mission is complete. [Mars
Society Announces Kepler Design Contest- The Mars Society - Jan.11.03]
The winning
team will receive a trophy and two slots on the MRDS. Aimed particularly
at school projects, the program will start formally at the next
Mars Society conference in Eugene Oregon in August 2003 and last
through the year to the next meeting in 2004 where the winning team
will present its design. Details of the contest requirements will
be developed over the coming months.
Jan.9.03
Space news briefs...
SORAC
Back On line - the S.O.R.A.C.
(Sub-Orbital Rocket Amateur Class) project has
its site back up. I lost track of this group, which had been a competitor
in the CATS
contest, when its web site went down for a long period. Recently
leader Bill Colburn informed me that the site was back up and the
group (10 core staff and 20 volunteers) has several projects in
the works. For example,
"SORAC,
in conjunction with Micro Aerospace Solutions, has gotten a contract
for studying Gelled Propellants from NASA. This is our fourth
contract, the other three being from Stanford Research Institute
for Gas Generators and research on Thermitic Materials....
... We will
be testing at M K Ballistic Systems and Rocket Ranch."
The group focuses
on hybrid rockets. I look forward to following their progress.
Find more about
SORAC and other such projects in the Advanced
Rocketry section.
More
Sat Radio Progress - XM
Radio reports that it beat its subscriber goal for the end of
2002 - XM
Reaches 360,000 Subscribers - XM Radio PR - Jan.8.03. It expects
to easily reach its goal of 1 million subscribers by the end of
this year.
Meantime, Sirius
announces that it can supplement its radio with video broadcasts
- Sirius
Conducts First-Ever Live Broadcast of Video Over Satellite Radio
System - Sirius PR - Jan.9.03.
Making
Stuff in Space - Even when RLVs
are flying daily and launch costs drop significantly from today's
outrageous prices, it will still be relatively expensive to ship
anything to orbit or to a lunar or Mars colony.
Robert Zubrin
has long advocated that living off local resources is the key to
lowering the costs of Mars missions and to developing sustainable
settlements there. But its one thing to extract, say, oxygen and
hydrogen from ice deposits, its quite another to make an extra radio
transceiver or some other complex device.
Rapid
prototyping techniques have been proposed for making
spare parts in space. These systems build up an object in a thin
layer by layer manner using, for example, a laser to hardened a
liquid or powder base material. Such a part, created from a 3D computer
model, might be used directly or as a mold for a casting.
Now it appears
that even active electronic components could be created with such
an approach. This article - Gadget
printer' promises industrial revolution - New Scientist - Jan.9.03
- discusses research into making electronics devices in a layer
by layer manner. This is intended for lowering costs of such devices
here but they could really benefit those living in space. Of course,
the base materials must still be located and mined, but this is
still a shorter step than building an electronics industry there.
Robot
Progress - Robot helpers also will provide essential
help for the space communities. They will help in everything from
mining to building habitats. However, we are still far away from
anything like the intelligent and adaptable robots in science fiction.
It looks to
me, though, that robotics
is entering one of those self-reinforcing development paths that
will lead to very sophisticated systems in a relatively short time,
say five to ten years. Semiconductor electronics and PCs followed
similar paths. They began with very simple devices but then made
steady progress with innumerable small, incremental improvements,
all paid for by markets that opened up along the way.
Seems like every
other day or so, some company announces a new robot for consumer
applications. Sony's robot dogs get smarter all the time. Robot
lawn mowers and household vacuum cleaners have become increasingly
practical. These products are selling and the profits made from
them will in turn lead to more sophisticated systems in each product
cycle.
For example,
yesterday I was sent a set of press releases from Evolution
Robotics, which makes consumer oriented robot kits. They have
developed a navigation system that they claim will drastically lower
the cost of autonomous robots - Evolution
Robotics™ Introduces Breakthrough Solution for Robot Navigation
- Evolution Robotics PR - Jan.8.03. They also announced
a second robot kit called the ER2.
More about the
Evolution announcement and other robotics developments can be found
in - Robots
for the masses - CNET.com - Jan.9.03.
This kind of
gradual development path means that there will not be a sudden dramatic
announcement of the creation of a HAL or a R2D2 type robot. Instead,
we will take for granted each new improvement and probably not notice
just how much progress has been made. You might look around, though,
one day and say, "Gee, I just realized that we've gone from
a robot dog to a robot walking the dog and playing catch with it."
Jan.8.03
Space news briefs...
Frequent
Space Miles - Space Adventures has teamed with
another airline to allow their frequent flyer miles to apply towards
a trip on a sub-orbital vehicle when one becomes available: Lufthansa
Airlines and Space Adventures Partner on Miles and More Sweepstakes
- Space Adventures PR/Spaceref - Jan.7.03 .
This follows
an earlier arrangement with US
Airways: US
Airways and Space Adventures To Offer The Ultimate Destination --
Space - Space Adventures PR - Mar.11.02
Filkadelic
Chris Conway - Chris
Conway has released a new album entitled Alien
Salad Abduction. He describes the work as a " huge
filk (sci-fi folk music) album. An album of excesses, theremins,
harmonies, instruments galore, electronics, and strange interludes.
FILKADELIC!!!! A twin release with My
Mind's Island - each follow the journey begun on the Earth
Rising CD - Alien Salad Abduction follows the journey outwards
- the other twin , the inward journey."
Also check out
other Filk Music.
Sat
TV for the Road - if satellite
radio doesn't keep the kids quiet in the back seat on
those long trips, try satellite TV. The company KVH
announces a small antenna system suitable for use in cars and vans
that will receive satellite TV for $10 per month: Company
unveils satellite TV for cars - CNN.com - Jan.8.03 * KVH
to unveil satellite TV for cars; stock surges - Reuters/Yahoo -
Jan.06.03
There have been
larger systems available for large recreational vehicles and boats
to receive satellite TV (e.g. ASA
Electronics) but apparently this one uses a much more compact
antenna.
More
Amateur Sats in Orbit - the recent Russian Dnepr
rocket launch carried not only the TransOrbital
test module, but also 5 other spacecraft. Three of these
were student built satellites and AMSATs.
The German
SAFIR-M -- Der AATiS-Sat
has now become OSCAR-49 (AO-49). It was designed by the Amateur
Radio and Telecommunications in Schools and a university group
to provide an orbital Store-and-Forward service for German students
to experiment with: German
Amateur Radio payload reaches orbit - ARRLWeb - Dec.24.02 .
SaudiSat
1C has become SO-50. Built by the Space Research Institute of
the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, the spacecraft
is the third in a line of AMSAT satellites from Saudi Arabia: New
SaudiSat Gets OSCAR Designation - ARRLWeb - Jan.7.03
UniSat-2
is a project from the University of Rome Astro-dynamics department.
Jan.5.03
Opportunties & Challenges
for the Space Entrepreneur
Check out the
latest HobbySpace interview
: A
Conversation with Dennis Wingo. Mr. Wingo is the
founder of SkyCorp
and cofounder with Walt
Anderson of Orbital
Recovery. He discusses these companies, which lead the development
of in space commercial services, and the tough challenges
that the space entrepreneur faces, especially with regard to raising
money.
Jan.5.03
Amateurs Make Big Contributions
HobbySpace
seeks to show that the public, and especially dedicated amateurs,
can particpate in space exploration and development and, in some
cases, even make crucial contributions.
To illustrate
this I will maintain and develop a list
of amateur contributions to space.
Jan.4.03
A Big Space Year Ahead
Looks like there
will be lots of exciting happenings in space and launcher development
in the coming year ranging from X
Prize test flights to Chinese astronauts heading to space.
See the RLV
News section for speculations on the coming year in development
of low cost launchers.
The ISS construction
will heat up with perhaps its busiest year yet. Over 40 tons
of solar panels, truss, and other materials will be delivered in
up to 6 shuttle flights. The installations will require up to 24
space walks.
NASA will also
launch two rovers
to Mars that will land in early 2004. The European Beagle
2 rover will also head for Mars this summer.
China may join
the exclusive club of nations (currently just the US and Russian)
with manned space flight capability - China
Plans to Launch Manned Space Flight in 2003 - Space.com - Jan.02.03.
Jan.4.03
HobbySpace Progress - With over
60k page views in December, the total number of page views since
opening HobbySpace in January
1999 has surpased the one million mark.
I hope to continue
the steady increase in traffic by offering more features, interviews,
and other resources. I hope also that HobbySpace
will play a part in expanding public participation in space exploration
and development.
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