Partnerships: Web Articles
2nd Annual NASA STEM Educators Workshop Series - AESP
"Calling all teachers in the Charlotte area. NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools are inviting educators to take part in free workshops Feb. 23-25. The second annual NASA STEM Educator Workshop Series will showcase science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education resources relating to studying the NASA mission to return to the moon."
This announcement is from a NASA-sponsored Aerospace Education Services Project (AESP) located at Penn State. STEM education for teachers flows into our classrooms and helps stimulate creation of our future workforce, that includes commercial space enterprises.
The End of Magical Climate Thinking | Foreign Policy
"The Obama administration succumbed, like many others, to a sort of magical climate thinking that promised a painless and even prosperous transition to a low-carbon future with the tools already at hand. The only official within his administration to accurately grasp the technology challenges faced, Energy Secretary Steven Chu, was sidelined at crucial moments. Here is the back story of how the Obama administration dramatically raised and then dashed America's -- and the world's -- hopes that 2009 would be a pivotal year for remaking our collective energy future." This article places blame on both government and green energy advocates for "magical thinking" about what will surely at minimum be a tough, expensive, decades-long slog. The importance of space infrastructure advancements, especially by the private sector, to developing innovative lower-cost solar power and biospheric and climate monitoring systems will be major. Earth and its environment are increasingly understood as one evolving macro-ecosystem traveling through space over eons.
Suborbital rocket test to carry Purdue experiment | PhysOrg.com
"Purdue University researchers are designing and building an experiment that will operate during a test flight of a new type of reusable rocket to be launched by aerospace company Blue Origin LLC. The experiment will be used to study how fluids behave in low gravity, providing information that could help engineers design better components for a variety of technologies used both on the Earth and in space, said Steven Collicott, a professor in Purdue's School of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
It is one of three scientific research payloads recently selected by Blue Origin to be carried to suborbital altitudes during a flight test of the company's New Shepard rocket. The rocket enables researchers to study phenomena that cannot be effectively observed on Earth or during the relatively brief low-gravity periods that can be created in aircraft flights."
Space Industry Seen Facing Delayed Econ Crisis | AVIATION WEEK
"Government customers and long-lead planning has protected the global space industry from the worst effects of the ongoing economic crisis, but industry and government representatives at the International Astronautical Congress here worry there may be a downturn in a few years." A recovery could cause governments to "begin to balance their books again" to reduce their debt that accumulated to stem the crisis. A panel "that included both industry executives from Europe and Asia" noted "it will be important for the space industry to increase efficiency to deal with flat or falling government space budgets. That can be done in two major ways - reducing duplication inside companies by trimming staff, and reducing duplication across the industry with greater international cooperation." It also could be done by "finding terrestrial applications for space technologies." [summary provided by AIAA Daily Launch]
Open Letter to NÅSA Administrator From Bigelow Aerospace | SpaceNews.com
"We appreciated the fact that you and Deputy Administrator Lori Garver took the time to meet with commercial space executives and, as we expressed during that meeting, Bigelow Aerospace remains a strong supporter of commercial crew transportation. However, in that discussion last month, and in subsequent public appearances, you have consistently voiced a concern and a question. Specifically, you have often commented on the importance of commercial space transportation providers proving themselves via cargo delivery, and have asked the question what is the definition of “commercial space.” I hope we can help you to address both of these issues (in this letter)..."
Island Britain: sleepy Isle of Man moves into the space age
"The Isle of Man, 220 square miles of hill and glen with 82,000 inhabitants, has reinvented itself. Its business now is business, not tourists or kippers. A self-governing island, which belongs to neither the United Kingdom nor the European Union, it responded to the collapse of tourism by slashing taxes and developing a financial sector.
More than a dozen space-related businesses operate from the island, including some of the world’s biggest satellite companies. It has a director of space commerce, an honorary representative to the international space community, and an International Institute of Space Commerce."
Soviet-Era Spaceships to Fly Commercial Space Missions | Space.com
"An international spaceflight company, Excalibur Almaz (EA) Limited plans to launch paying passengers on week-long orbital trips by 2013 using vehicles based on Soviet-era spacecraft built for classifed military space stations. EA Limited will use several Reusable Return Vehicles (RRVs) designed to fly cosmonauts to the "super-secret" Almaz space stations in the 1970s. "Excalibur Almaz did not reveal its anticipated price per trip in Tuesday's announcement, but did detail plans to update the RRV spacecraft design with modern technology to support independent flights to orbit." Furthermore, this is an "international endeavor with members in Russia, the United States, Europe and Japan. Former NASA astronauts - such as veteran spaceflyers Leroy Chiao and Franklin Chang-Diaz - as well as veteran space officials and cosmonauts are listed among the company's top leadership and advisors."
White House Review Committee Expresses Strong Support for Commercial Spaceflight
"During this week’s hearing of the White House Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee, members of the Committee expressed broad support for expanding the role of commercial spaceflight for delivery of cargo and crew to the International Space Station."
Satellite-based Disaster Mitigation Case Work - NASA : MilsatMagazine
"May 28th, 2009, at 2:24 a.m. local time, a deadly earthquake rocked Honduras, killing seven people and injuring several others, demolishing homes, damaging scores of other buildings, and sending terrified residents running through the streets. Fortunately for the shaken residents, disaster officials knew exactly where to send help. A state-of-the-art Earth observation system called SERVIR1 directed them to the hardest hit areas.
Meaning “to serve” in Spanish, SERVIR is a joint effort of NASA, CATHALAC2, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Regional Center for the Mapping of Resources for Development, and other partners. The system uses satellite imagery to zero in on places where a flood, fire, hurricane, or earthquake has left destruction in its wake. Team members combine satellite data with ground observations, and display a near real-time map of crisis points. At a glance, decision-makers can see the locations of most severe damage so they can send help in a hurry."
China, Brazil to offer satellite data to Africa | Xinhua, English
"BEIJING, May 20 (Xinhua) -- China and Brazil will provide satellite observation data for African countries through a joint space program, according to agreements inked here on Wednesday. The Earth receiving stations of Hartebeeshoek in South Africa, Aswan in Egypt and Maspaloms in Spain will process and distribute data from the China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite-02B (CBERS-02B) to African states. It's also for the first time China became an exporter of Earth observation data," said Guo Jianning, general director of the China Center for Resources Satellite Data and Application." Thanks to Doug Messien of Parabolic Arc http://www.parabolicarc.com for finding this.