Posted by Chris Radcliff in News, Projects on October 27, 2008
I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the NSS has donated telescopes to students in over 20 countries as part of the Permission to Dream project. The project page posted photos of a recent star party in Nepal, featuring one of the donated telescopes:
Click through to the Permission to Dream project page for more photos from the star party. Well done, NSS! If you’d like to donate to the Permission to Dream project, become an NSS member today (and be sure to tell them the San Diego chapter sent you).
[via the NSS on Twitter]
Posted by Chris Radcliff in News on October 16, 2008
The world lost San Diegan entrepreneur and space enthusiast James Benson last week. Benson was the founder of Poway-based SpaceDev, which developed the hybrid rocket motor used by SpaceShipOne, and Benson Space Company, which focused on commercial space tourism.
From the SpaceDev release:
Benson was diagnosed in 2007 with a glioblastoma multiforme brain tumor, the cause of his death early this morning. Mr. Benson had resigned from an operational role in SpaceDev in September 2006. He retained a seat on the Board of Directors of SpaceDev where he had continued to support the Company that he founded in 1997.
Prior to founding SpaceDev, Mr. Benson spent thirty years associated with the computer field, spanning the era from the introduction of modern mainframe computers, to the dominance of the computer industry by microcomputers. Mr. Benson invented modern full text computer indexing and searching in 1984, and exploited the new field through companies he founded; Compusearch and ImageFast of McLean, Virginia.
After his successful career as a computer industry entrepreneur, Mr. Benson decided to take on the challenge of starting an innovative space commercialization venture because it combined his lifelong interests in science, technology and astronomy with his successful business experience. SpaceDev was the result.
In addition to his roles in SpaceDev and Benson Space, Benson had been a member of the Board of Directors of the California Space Authority. He founded the non-profit Space Development Institute, and introduced the Benson Prize for Amateur Discovery of Near Earth Objects.
We offer our condolences to Mr. Benson’s family, friends, and colleagues.
Posted by Chris Radcliff in Calendar on October 1, 2008
You are invited to the World Space Week kick-off event on October 5th at the San Diego Air & Space Museum. Join us for snacks, refreshments, and great conversation with local space enthusiasts, plus a special presentation on the Hubble Space Telescope.
World Space Week San Diego is organized by the San Diego Space Development Alliance (SDSDA), led by the San Diego Space Society. To see the full list of activities planned, visit the World Space Week page on our calendar or email events@sdspace.org for more information.
Posted by Chris Radcliff in News on October 1, 2008
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration was born fifty years ago today. Despite its ups and downs, the agency has had some extraordinary achievements. From the NASA History in Brief page:
Formed as a result of the Sputnik crisis of confidence, NASA inherited the earlier National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), and other government organizations, and almost immediately began working on options for human space flight. NASA’s first high profile program was Project Mercury, an effort to learn if humans could survive in space, followed by Project Gemini, which built upon Mercury’s successes and used spacecraft built for two astronauts. NASA’s human space flight efforts then extended to the Moon with Project Apollo, culminating in 1969 when the Apollo 11 mission first put humans on the lunar surface. After the Skylab and Apollo-Soyuz Test Projects of the early and mid-1970s, NASA’s human space flight efforts again resumed in 1981, with the Space Shuttle program that continues today to help build the International Space Station.
Here’s to another 50 years of progress. Happy Birthday, NASA!
