Posted by Chris Radcliff in Chapter Updates on November 28, 2010
It’s that time of year again… time to elect the 2011 Board of Directors of the San Diego Space Society!
This year we have an outstanding slate of candidates. You can see the entire list, including photos and short biographies, on the elections page. So sayeth the page:
SD Space members can vote at the December general meeting, held December 12th, 2010 from 2:30pm to 4:30pm at the Serra Mesa Library. For more information or to request an absentee ballot, contact Chris Radcliff at elections@sdspace.org or 619-512-3592.
If you aren’t a member yet, you can become one in about 14.7 seconds. Just join SD Space here on the website or in person at the general meeting, and your membership will be valid until the end of 2011!
Posted by Jesse Clark in Chapter Updates on November 22, 2010
SD Space and the Space Activities Lab hosted the third monthly build session workshop on Saturday, November 20th. This month the workshop enabled different robotic build activities for youth and adults.
Several youth worked hard to build their own “Tin Can Robot” – which I have to say, were not as easy as they might look. But in the end, they were able to take home their walking (well, wobbling) creations.
Several adult participants worked on one of the BOE-BOTs from Parallax. With this more advanced robotic explorer, constructing the robot was a layered activity, alternating between physical construction and programming the controller. Much time was put into programming the robot just so that it would travel forward in a straight line. Later on, more sensors will be added and the programming updated to respond to the new input. We’ll return for more work on the BOE-BOTs and even more advanced autonomous robotic explorers in the coming weeks and months.
What’s next month? We’ll be taking a page from the latest Make Magazine edition on DIY Space. So be sure to join us for the December & January Saturday build sessions where we’re sure to be building something ‘out of this world’!
Posted by Jesse Clark in Chapter Updates on November 22, 2010
SD Space traveled to Chula Vista the evening of November 16th to present “Space Telescopes – Astronomy In Orbit” at an outreach for Boy Scout Troop 853. The presentation was well received and the Scouts and parents had lots of astronomy and space questions. After the presentation, the scouts were able to view the display table, ask more questions and pick up Hubble IMAX posters and pins donated by the RHFleet Science Center.
SD Space collaborated with SDAA members to provided four telescopes for the scouts and their parents to view objects in the night sky, primarily Jupiter and the Moon, before and after the presentation.
SD Space thanks to everyone who helped make this outreach a successful event.
Posted by Chris Radcliff in Space News on November 18, 2010
Molly McCormick, newspace biomechanical engineer and friend of SD Space, was recently given the task of reviewing NASA’s latest requirements for the Commercial Crew & Cargo Program. She posted her initial thoughts on Twitter, and I just had to share them here:
Having grokked NASA’s ISS Crew Transportation and Services Requirements document, CCT-REQ-1130, for several days, I now have some thoughts:
(This might be a good time to state that all opinions are my own and do not reflect anybody else’s in any way.)
1. It may actually make writing CCDev2 proposals easier; proposals=”what you’ll do/how you’ll do it” & they’re detailing “what you’ll do.”
Corollary: It will therefore have a homogenizing effect on all CCDev2 proposals, so NASA can’t distinguish btw diverse approaches as well.
2. Many of the performance requirements are actually quite reasonable, and even provide great experiential knowledge to leverage. BUT…
3. The testing requirements for verifying performance range from “nitpicky” to “onerous,” and even, in a couple instances, “offensive.”
I can respect nitpicky; that’s another word for thorough and I’m nitpicky myself. It will inflate cost, though. Substantially.
It’s not like NewSpace can’t/won’t meet the req’s; it just costs more/takes longer this way.
Cost more/take longer than it has to, but still cheaper/faster than NASA. :)
What are your thoughts?
Posted by Jesse Clark in Chapter Updates, Events on November 10, 2010
SD Space and the Mars Society – San Diego hosted a presentation on Mars exploration for the Mystery Group at the Space Travelers Emporium on November 6th. Our Mars guru Gerry Williams presented “A Close Look at Mars: What We Know About The Red Planet And How We Are Exploring it” to a crowd of more than 30 adults. Everyone enjoyed the presentation, which was the end of a string of “space related” events planned for the day. Many asked questions about the rovers on Mars and the recent announcement about one-way trips to Mars designed to begin colonization of the Red Planet.
Coffee and cupcakes were enjoyed by all as the evening wound down.
