The SpaceX Falcon 9 launched precisely on time at 3:44am EDT and the Dragon capsule is in now orbit with the solar arrays deployed!  

Congratulations to everyone at SpaceX on a great job and Thank You for all the hard work. Now it’s time to go get the ISS!

SD Space Directors and key members will attend the annual Strategic Planning Retreat in the beautiful countryside outside of Warner Springs. The Retreat will continue to lay the framework for a 10 year development plan starting with a review of last year’s goals and plans then focusing on the year ahead and the interim five year goals.

We continue to be excited about the future of SD Space and we endeavor to bring new and exciting opportunities to our members and the community at large.

To find out how you can contribute to the future of SD Space, contact info@sdspace.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 1, 2012

Contact:
Jesse Clark
San Diego Space Society
(619) 512-3592
info@sdspace.com

The San Diego Space Society is proud to announce the addition of Kyle Stock as the new Bussard Scoop Newsletter Editor. Kyle will be focusing on bringing the news of SD Space activities, events and programs to your email inbox each month.

Kyle brings his excitement for space and astronomy along with his passion for educating minds to SD Space. Look for more news updates on what’s coming as well as more in-depth articles covering our activities. We look forward to what Kyle will bring to the newsletter with more articles.

“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.” My hero and inspiration Carl Sagan spoke these words and I attempt to live that ethic and share it with my students. My name is Kyle Stock. I am a science teacher at a Solana Beach elementary school, passionate surfer, backyard scientist (astronomy, geology, botany etc), backpacker, runner, learner and educator.

I am consumed by the Cosmos! I devour all available media about the history and future of spaceflight. My favorite book is The Right Stuff. On any clear night, I can be found either in my Cardiff backyard or the dark skies of Anza-Borrego with my 12” dobsonian telescope (The Carl Sagan Telescope- all cool telescopes are named after dead astronomers).

We look forward to Kyle adding his enthusiasm for space to the Bussard Scoop monthly newsletter. Look for his first publication in June.

About the SD Space

The San Diego Space Society (“SD Space”) was founded in 2008 with the purpose of raising awareness and educating the general public to the benefits of human exploration of space and San Diego’s role in space development, as well as to the idea of creating a spacefaring civilization within our lifetimes.

SD Space is headquartered at the Space Travelers Emporium, a storefront and workshop in the South Park neighborhood.

The Space Travelers Emporium is changing. The interior will undergo a complete renovation later this year. Everything will be improved – a dedicated library area, new computer workstations, new storage and display areas. The redesign is intended to showcase space travel and exploration and give us a more re-configurable space for our programs, workshops and educational offerings.

Please contribute to our renovation fund. We are raising money to pay for these renovations. All donations are tax deductible and will go directly toward the renovations.

You can make a donation online by clicking the button below or send a donation by mail to:

San Diego Space Society, 8690 Aero Drive Ste 115, #77, San Diego, CA 92123.

Make checks payable to San Diego Space Society.

Update: We have had an initial pledge of $1000 to kick off the campaign. Please consider donating as generously as you can.

1:00 pm to 3:00 pm

Location:
Space Travelers Emporium (map)
1947 30th St. San Diego, CA 92102

Project PoGo kicks off with our first planning meeting to build our very own reusable suborbital payload based on the CanSat / CubeSat format.

The suborbital payload will be flown to the edge of space on a reusable rocket. This will allow data sample collection to be taken repeatedly and as well as adjustments and improvements to be made to the payload instrumentation. Our goal is to fly twice before the end of 2012.

PoGo’s payload could study a wide variety of phenomenon besides atmosphere and climate monitoring including cosmic radiation monitoring, ozone monitoring, EM field monitoring, etc.

PoGo will consist of at least two teams. One team will focus on payload development and another team will focus on launch provider selection and ground support, aka Mission Control.

Join the Team! We need people to help in the following areas:

• team leaders (x2)
• fundraisers
• promotional and media specialists
• people good with their hands
• people knowledgeable in electronics
• software programmers
• ground support specialists
• and many others.

Update: Team Leaders will be offered a free registration for a cubesat development workshop hosted by the Silicon Valley Space Center.

SD Space members and the public are invited to participate. Please email projects@sandiegospace.org if you’d like to attend.

1:00 pm to 3:00 pm

Location:
Space Travelers Emporium (map)
1947 30th St. San Diego, CA 92102

We will be discussing SD Space, continuing Emporium as a Destination development, the summer Space Art Show and other fundraising efforts along with progress work on our space programs and activities.

SD Space members and the public are welcome to attend. Please email events@sdspace.org if you’d like to attend.

6:30 pm to 8:00 pm

Location:

Space Travelers Emporium (map)
1947 30th St. San Diego, CA 92102

SD Space officers meet to discuss the day-to-day operations of the organization.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 1, 2012

Contact:
Jesse Clark
San Diego Space Society
(619) 512-3592
info@sdspace.com

The San Diego Space Society is proud to announce the addition the addition of Nate McIntyre as the new Social Media Manager. Nate will be focusing on keeping SD Space and the Space Travelers Emporium active in social media circles discussing current space topics and promoting important SD Space and Emporium activities and events.

Nate is a San Diego State alum with a BA in Political Science and a former Marine Corps reservist. Space exploration and new technologies have always been and area of interest for him, going back to when he launched model rockets and watched sci-fi with his family as a child. Nate is currently employed at a law firm in the downtown area and is in the process of applying to grad school. His ultimate goal is to begin a career on the business and policy side of space exploration.

Nate brings a high degree of interest and enthusiasm for space and wants to share that with members and supports near and far. Look for more activity with our current social media connections and well as new ones in the near future.

SD Space Twitter
SD Space Facebook
SD Space Google+
Emporium Google+

About the SD Space

The San Diego Space Society (“SD Space”) was founded in 2008 with the purpose of raising awareness and educating the general public to the benefits of human exploration of space and San Diego’s role in space development, as well as to the idea of creating a spacefaring civilization within our lifetimes.

SD Space is headquartered at the Space Travelers Emporium, a storefront and workshop in the South Park neighborhood.

1:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Location:
Space Travelers Emporium (map)
1947 30th St. San Diego, CA 92102

The San Diego Space Society is excited to announce our March Program Meeting. We will host a Space Town Hall conversation with guest speakers Mat Kaplan, host of Planetary Radio, and Bill Nye, Executive Director of the Planetary Society and discuss NASA’s 2013 budget proposal and the resulting implications to planetary science.

The priorities reflected in this budget would take us down the wrong path,” said Bill Nye, CEO of the Planetary Society. “Science is the part of NASA that’s actually conducting interesting and scientifically important missions. Spacecraft sent to Mars, Saturn, Mercury, the Moon, comets, and asteroids have been making incredible discoveries, with more to come from recent launches to Jupiter, the Moon, and Mars. The country needs more of these robotic space exploration missions, not less.”

Background

NASA’s planetary science efforts would suffer a 20 percent cut next year, with the president allocating just $1.2 billion for unmanned missions to Mars and other solar system bodies. Meanwhile, funding for human exploration and commercial spaceflight would rise nearly 6 percent, to $3.93 billion, and space technology would get a 22 percent bump, to $699 million.

Astronomical observatories and robotic solar system explorers, including the James Webb Space Telescope — successor to the Hubble telescope — and a mission to return samples from an asteroid are funded in the proposed budget.

The budget retains funding for the development of a new heavy-lift rocket and crew capsule for human space exploration.

Read more about the Planetary Society response to the proposed 2013 budget. Then do more of your own research on the implications for reduced space science funding. Come prepared to share and debate.

Decide after the program whether or not you will take action in support of planetary space exploration. Maybe we should advocate astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson’s call for doubling NASA’s budget.

Come Early

The event starts at 1pm with food and beer/wine. Come early to mix and mingle, talk with others about this and other current space topics. At 2pm, we begin our formal Space Town Hall program with Mat Kaplan and Bill Nye, live via Skype webcast. After the formal program, stay around and continue your conversations about NASA, the Planetary Society, Space Exploration or whatever else you want to talk about.

Space is limited, so please email events@sdspace.org to RSVP. No registration fee is required for this event, although donations to cover expenses will be accepted.

6:30 pm to 9:00 pm

Location:
South Park Abbey (map)
1946 Fern St., San Diego, CA 92102

Breathable atmosphere? Check. SD Space t-shirts? Check. Beer? Check. Good Conversation? Well, we need your help with that last one. Join members of SD Space and fellow space enthusiasts/advocates at South Park Abbey for a night of relaxed fun talking about space exploration news, our future in space, and anything else that comes to mind.

Don’t worry if you can’t make it this time; there will be another one next month. No need to RSVP, either; just stop on by and look for the space geeks table. SD Space members will be wearing their t-shirts for easy identification. See you there!