The San Diego Space Society works toward creating a spacefaring civilization within our lifetimes by raising awareness and educating the general public to the benefits of space exploration and San Diego's role in it. More about us…
Posted by Adrian Clausell in Projects on January 10, 2010
[Editor's note: Adrian did an amazing job constructing our new AstroLynx rover, a Lynxmotion robotics platform donated to The Mars Society - San Diego by Project ASTRO. The rover, a telepresence rig intended for outreach presentations, was presented to SD Space at the December program meeting.]
This is the final development update for the AstroLynx rover. The rover is now fully operational. With a temporally very cheap 2.4 GHz 9V battery wireless camera wire tie-clip attached, it has now finished its first remote-controlled “exploration” of my back patio. Some video:
The camera platform, as you can see from the video, tracks the Y axis of the gripper and also has an independent ~140° left-right panning angle. The system has a set of redundant double batteries for the motor drive, one main 2800 mAh @ 12V (2 x 6V 2800 mAh’s in series) and a backup 12V 1800 mAh battery. With these it should be good for more than 2-3 hours steady run time. The RC receiver, gripper, and camera pan/tilt servos are run with the remaining third 6V 2800 mAh battery. A second battery position at this site is available for a future 6V backup placement. Charging is pretty quick (less than 2 hours) and takes place when both circuits are off and dual SmartChargers are plugged into the charging plugs on the main deck.
This current configuration now leaves free an available 12V 1800 mAh battery to run a decent future camera and transmitter to be placed externally on board at a later date.
Posted by Chris Radcliff in Calendar on January 8, 2010
February 20, 2010 to February 21, 2010
Location: San Diego Convention Center Exhibit Hall (map) 111 West Harbor Drive, San Diego
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is offering free Family Science Days during their annual meeting in San Diego.
Browse interactive tabletop exhibits, learn about cool science jobs, and have your questions answered by experts convened by AAAS. This free event is open to all, but organized especially for middle- and high-school students.
The San Diego Air & Space Museum and the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center will both have hands-on exhibits.
Posted by Chris Radcliff in Calendar on January 8, 2010
May 27, 2010 to May 31, 2010
Location: Intercontinental Chicago O’Hare (details) Chicago, IL
The International Space Development Conference (ISDC) is the annual conference for the National Space Society and has grown into the largest public space conference of the year. It is a national gathering for space-interested leaders and citizens to connect, re-energize and make plans for the future.
San Diego Space Society members will attend this year’s conference. If you’d like to join us, register soon and email events@sdspace.org to let us know.
Posted by Chris Radcliff in Chapter Updates on January 7, 2010
It’s that time again, time to meet the candidates for the San Diego Space Society Board of Directors. Elections have been moved up to January this year, to align the SD Space planning year with the calendar year. You can cast your ballot at the program meeting on Sunday, January 10th or file an absentee ballot before Friday, January 15th. (See details below.)
Location: Balboa Park (map) El Prado & Village Pl, San Diego, CA
At dusk on the first Wednesday of each month, following the monthly “Sky Tonight” planetarium show in the Reuben H. Fleet Space Theater, members of the SDAA set up telescopes west of the Fleet on The Prado, for free public sky viewing.
The Mars Society San Diego and the San Diego Space Society set up displays near the telescopes. Stop by and say hello, or contact events@sdspace.org if you’re interested in volunteering.
[Editor's note: Adrian did an amazing job constructing our new AstroLynx rover, a Lynxmotion robotics platform donated to The Mars Society - San Diego by Project ASTRO. The rover, a telepresence rig intended for outreach presentations, was presented to SD Space at the December program meeting.]
At dusk on the first Wednesday of each month, following the monthly “Sky Tonight” planetarium show in the 
