Posted by Jesse Clark in Calendar, Events on June 29, 2010
Sat, Aug 21, 2010
11:30 am to 6:00 pm
Location:
Mt. Wilson Observatory
Mission, CA 91203
Our August SD Space Summer Field Trip will be held in cooperation with SoCal Science Cafe. We’ll be visiting the Mt. Wilson Observatory and the historic Hooker 100″ telescope. We’ll meet the Science Cafe folks at Black Cow Restaurant in Montrose at 9:15 am for brunch and then caravan to the Mount Wilson Observatory at 10:30 am. Carpooling for this event is HIGHLY ENCOURAGED.
The Mt. Wilson Observatory is an astronomical research facility located in the San Gabriel Mountains of Southern California. Located on the summit of Mount Wilson above Pasadena at an altitude of 5,715 feet. Visitors can view the historic Hooker 100-inch telescope from inside the dome.
The docent-led tour will emphasize particular subjects of interest, such as history, current projects, telescope construction, major discoveries, etc. Tours typically last about two hours, and involve about a mile of walking and some stairs. Our tour start time is 11:30 am. The main gate closes at 4:00 p.m.
There is a minimum charge of $50 which covers up to ten visitors. The fee for additional members of the group is $5 each. Children under 12 years old are admitted free of charge.
Look for our final SDSpace summer trips/tours in September.
Please RSVP on the SoCal Science Cafe Meetup site and then email SDSpace to coordinate carpooling.
Posted by Jesse Clark in Chapter Updates on June 22, 2010
For Immediate Release
June 22, 2010
SAN DIEGO PREMIERE OF MOON BEAT SET FOR JULY 17, 2010
San Diego, CA – On July 16th, 1969, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins lifted off aboard Apollo 11 and soared into history as millions around the world watched. Their story has been told hundreds of times, but not so the tales of the NASA media officials and top news journalists who reported on that flight and every other NASA mission during the heyday of the 1960s Space Race. Moon Beat, a new award-winning documentary, rectifies that oversight, and will receive its San Diego premiere on Saturday, July 17th at 7:00 PM at the Space Traveler’s Emporium, 1947 30th Street. Sponsored by the San Diego Space Society, the screening is open to the public. Admission is free, although donations to the San Diego Space Society are welcome.
“These amazing journalists covered every mission, up close and behind the scenes. They and their NASA colleagues had a front-row seat to history and thanks to their coverage, so did the public,” says Kevin Stirling, director/producer of Moon Beat, who will also be present at the screening. “The San Diego Space Society is a tremendous organization dedicated to advancing the benefits of manned space exploration and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to bring Moon Beat to San Diego, a city famous for its role in space exploration and development.”
Moon Beat (the title pays homage to the famous journalistic phrase “beat,” which refers to the subject a reporter regularly covers) explores the epic July 1969 flight of Apollo 11 and showcases the news reporters who were assigned to cover NASA both in the run-up to and during the first manned lunar landing. Journalists past and present, along with senior NASA officials of the era, share their memories of President Kennedy’s call to action and the Mercury and Gemini programs through Apollo 11, along with their views about the significance of those flights and the current state of the U.S. Space program.
“It’s a great honor for the San Diego Space Society to present the local debut of Moon Beat,” says Jesse Clark, president of the San Diego Space Society (a chapter of the National Space Society). “It’s also a privilege to have the director, Kevin Stirling, join us at this screening to share his unique perspective on such an important part of both American and space-exploration history.”
Additional information about Moon Beat can be found at moonbeatthemovie.com.
Further details about the San Diego Space Society screening are available at sdspace.org.
Posted by Chris Radcliff in Calendar, Mars Society on June 22, 2010
Thu, Jul 22, 2010
11:30 am to 12:30 pm
Location:
Comic-Con International, Room 24ABC (details)
San Diego Convention Center
SD Space members will participate in a panel at Comic-Con, the largest convention in the Western hemisphere. From the official program:
Iron Man & Rocket Men: Is Stark Industries an appropriate model for private-industry space exploration?
Leading New Space entrepreneurs Mark Street (XCOR Aerospace) and John Hunter (Quicklaunch) discuss realistic options for future outer-space exploration. Presented by the San Diego Space Society (SD Space), the panel also includes Chris Radcliff (SD Space) and Dave Rankin (The Mars Society—San Diego cofounder). Jeff Berkwits (former Amazing Stories editor and two-time Hugo Award nominee) moderates. Room 24ABC
The convention is already sold out, but the panel is open to anyone who already has Comic-Con tickets. We may be able to share video of the panel after the event.
Posted by Jesse Clark in Calendar, Events on June 22, 2010
Sun, Jul 11, 2010
2:30 pm to 4:30 pm
Location:
Serra Mesa Branch Library (map)
9005 Aero Dr, San Diego, CA
After RocketFest, join us for the July program meeting of the San Diego Space Society. This month’s topic is Tom Swift in Space.
Of the five Tom Swift series about young inventors comprising 105 volumes begun a century ago this year, the first series didn’t have its Tom Swift go to space at all. However, his son, Tom Swift Jr., soon remedied this in his fairly conventional rocket, the Star Spear. Later volumes had more exotic forms of space travel and the theme becomes prevalent in the series. The third series, set in the far future, is almost completely set in space. Each of the final two series have at least some volumes in at least Earth’s orbit.
This presentation is a prequel to the Tom Swift Centennial being held in San Diego on July 16-18.
James Keeline began reading the first Tom Swift series when he was eight. As he was building his collection he worked as manager of the largest antiquarian store specializing in children’s books in San
Diego, the Prince and the Pauper, from 1988-2000. Now he is a full-time open-source web developer with emphasis on PHP and Drupal. However, he is still active in researching and collecting Stratemeyer
Syndicate series books. He is w riting a biography of its founder, Edward Stratemeyer, along with a Series Book Encyclopedia. He is also host of the 100th Anniversary Tom Swift Convention with his wife Kim.
Contact info@sdspace.org to RSVP or if you have any questions.
Posted by Jesse Clark in Calendar on June 22, 2010
Sat, Jun 26, 2010
1:00 pm to 3:00 pm
Location:
Space Travelers Emporium (map)
1947 30th St. San Diego, CA 92102
The board of directors of the San Diego Space Society meets monthly to discuss chapter business and plan future activities. This month’s meeting will focus on summer events & field trips and the SDSpace fundraising Gala.
SD Space members and the public are welcome to attend. Please RSVP to events@sdspace.org if you’d like to participate.
