7:00 pm to 8:30 pm

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

There are many different types of book clubs, but they all have the same goal: To read, discuss, and learn from a book. Our book club has a theme: space. And our first book will be: The Traveler’s Guide to the Solar System

By Giles Sparrow – Collins (2007) – Paperback – 224 pages – ISBN 0061198293

So you want to go into space? Then The Traveler’s Guide to the Solar System is for you, the independent space tourist. It will take you into the most exotic reaches of the solar system, and also help you to discover everything you ever wanted to know about the more traditional and familiar destinations. Is no gravity fun? What’s it like on a spacecraft? Can I breathe on Venus? Will I need to take water? To find out, all you’ll need is a class V launch vehicle, a space suit, and your toothbrush. . . . With so many tourist attractions, you won’t know where to fly first. Book a week on the Moon and dine in lunar orbit. Have your photo taken with Neil Armstrong’s footprint before putting on your heavily shielded space suit and flying off for a walk in the heat on Venus. Discover giant volcanoes, breathtaking mountains, and frozen lava rivers. Explore the remains of Soviet space probes. Play golf in one-sixth gravity. Go ice-skating on Jupiter’s moons. The possibilities are endless!

Join us for our first group discussion of the book. Stop by the Emporium any time to pick up a discounted copy.

Please email bookclub@sandiegospace.org if you’d like to sign up.

5:30 pm to 9:00 pm

Location:
The Crowne Plaza Hotel – LAX (map)
5985 Century Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA

The AIAA LA section presents an evening dinner with Peter C. Theisinger. Peter is the Manager of the Mars Science Laboratory Project at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

His prior positions have included Director for the Engineering and Science Directorate, Deputy Director of the Mars Exploration Directorate, Manager of the Mars Exploration Rover Project, Deputy Manager of the Mars Sample Return Project, Deputy Manager of the Systems Division, Mission Support and Development Manager of the Mars Surveyor Operations Project, Project Engineer for the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft development project, and Manager of the Spacecraft Systems Engineering section.

Theisinger has been involved in the systems design and development of interplanetary spacecraft systems since he originally joined JPL in 1967 as an engineer in the Payload Integration Section. He has worked on a variety of missions, including the 1967 Mariner mission to Venus, the 1971 Mariner orbiter mission to Mars, the 1977 Voyager mission to the outer planets of the solar system, and the 1989 Galileo mission to Jupiter.

Theisinger has been awarded the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal for his work on the Mars Global Surveyor mission, and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal for his management of the Mars Exploration Rover Project.

Please register here.

Email events@sdspace.org if you’d like to join SD Space members planning to attend.

7:00 pm to 11:00 pm

Location:

Abundant Sugar (map)
618A Moulton Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90031

The LA Space Salon is a new and unique social event designed to be a reliable outlet within the space community for people to engage with one another, contribute their ideas, pose questions, hear from industry leaders, and coalesce efforts towards a cultural permeation of the values we share about space exploration.

This month, Dr. Lee Valentine, a champion of commercial space exploration for over three decades and director of the Space Studies Institute. He has helped shape policy and programs advancing the cause of permanent manned settlement.

Lee will be speaking with us about his unique and powerful perspective, about a future in space not tethered to any planet, about drinking deeply of the sun and devouring whole asteroids. He will help us plot a course forward, onward and upward. The vision, as he puts it, is to “Mine the Sky, Defend the Earth, Settle the Universe”. And to further inspire – Lee manages to do all of this while saving lives every day as an emergency room doctor.

The speaker is followed by LA Space Salon’s open forum. All attendees are encouraged to participate in this months discussion. Come with your thoughts prepared and ready to share!

Please register here.

Email events@sdspace.org if you’d like to join SD Space members planning to attend.

5:30 pm to 9:00 pm

Location:
S-Cafe, Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems (map)
1 Space Park
Redondo Beach, CA 90278

The AIAA LA section presents an evening dinner with two keynote speakers – Dezso Molnar and Dale Jensen. Dezso Molnar is the Co-founder and CTO of Molnari, Inc., a flight test crew member of Rocket Racing League, a former judge of the Ansari X Prize and a former Air Force pilot. Dale Jensen is Executive Engineer, JENTEC.

Dezso Molnar will give a summary of the work done on his project, and the staus of the aircraft as he heads toward flight testing in the spring of the new 2-seat vehicle.

Dezso Molnar is a co-founder and the CTO of Molnari, Inc., a vehicle design company specializing in street-legal aircraft.
Additionally, Dezso is on the flight test crew at Rocket Racing League, was the crew chief for “The Spirit of America” land speed racing team, a judge for the Ansari X Prize, and worked at Truax Engineering to build the first private spacecraft for manned flight.

Dezso is a pilot, flew in the US Air Force, and holds a BS degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

The JENTEC Gyrodrone is an un-manned autogyro which uses a set of auto-rotating airfoils to provide lift. The vehicle is safe for ground crews to handle because it has no power applied to the rotor, and it has a shroud enclosing its’ powered propellor which shields the crew from injury by the propellor.The shroud is also an aerodynamic surface which provides longitudinal and lateral directional stabilty. The shroud also acts to supress noise from the propellor, and quietness of operation is an asset in any situation. The vehicle is inexpensive because of its’ simplicity. The vehicle has spectacular manuever capability for operations from unprepared fields, and in manuver restricted urban areas. The vehicle can take off from unprepared fields in a relatively short distance, or even verticaslly in a twenty knot wind.The vehicle can loiter over a spot selected for observation by tilting its’ rotor to turn in a tight circle above the point under observation. The Gyrodrone can land vertically by setting the power to idle mode so it then settles to the ground with the auto-rotating rotor providing a slow descent.

The vehicle can be radio controlled by a pilot on the ground, and/or an autonomous flight control system may be installed providing flight over a pre-determined ground track.

During his fifty year engineering career, Dale has worked on three of the great engineering projects of the 20th century, the Saturn-Apollo, the Space Shuttle, and the Space Station which gives him a unique view of United States space endeavors.
Currently, Dale is doing business as JENTEC, a technology, engineering, and consulting firm.

Please register here.

Email events@sdspace.org if you’d like to join SD Space members planning to attend.

12:00 am to 3:00 pm

Location:
The Proud Bird Restaurant (map)
11022 Aviation Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90045

Presented by: John Spencer, Space Architect, Author and Founder/President of STS.

The Overview SEE seminar will provide the latest information, perspectives and forecast for the growing Space Experience Economy, space enterprise as well as discussion and networking.

The space industry worldwide is in major transition. The recent retirement of the U.S. Space Shuttle fleet, accelerating international competition, the emerging “New Space” industry with billions of dollars in contracts/investments, and the completion of the first decade of the space tourism industry has caused many to ask what is next? Where are the opportunities and jobs?

Today space hotels are being designed. Space Adventures is planning a tourist lunar flyby. Virgin Galactic will be flying sub-orbital passenger flights soon, and SpaceX is making real progress. Earth-based space themed resorts and attractions are in development.

15+ million people annually visit space attractions, museums and NASA visitor centers. Several space movies and TV shows are now in pre-production. Hundreds of millions of people from around the world want to have space experiences.

Space Tourism Society presents the Space Experience Economy (SEE) Seminar Series to address the rapid transitions taking place.

Who Should Attend
Planners, designers, investors, service providers, the media and anyone interested in business development, marketing & communications, and career advancement in the space experience industries.

STS has a wide definition of the space experience including:

• Real space flight, sub-orbit, orbit, lunar and beyond
• Visits to NASA Centers and space entertainment/simulation facilities
• Space media, movies, TV, virtual worlds and computer games

Register here as space is limited.

Email events@sdspace.org if you’d like to join SD Space members planning to attend.

12:00 pm to 3:00 pm

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

We will be discussing the SD Space spring activities, including the SpaceUp San Diego, Emporium expansion, SD Space nominations and the start of our new space programs and activities.

The Board meeting will be preceded with a Strategic Communications meeting starting

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

Location:
Ansir Innovation Center (map)

Back for a third year in San Diego, SpaceUp is a space unconference, where participants decide the topics, schedule, and structure of the event. Everyone who attends SpaceUp is encouraged to give a talk, moderate a panel, or start a discussion. Sessions are proposed and scheduled on the day they’re given, which means the usual “hallway conversations” turn into full-fledged topics.

SpaceUp San Diego 2010 was the first SpaceUp ever, and it was awesome again in 2011. It’s coming back to San Diego on February 4-5, 2012. The Ansir Innovation Center will be a great venue, but it only holds a limited number. Register today to make sure you have a spot.

You will be amazed at what comes out of SpaceUp. Based on past SpaceUps, we expect to see businesses started, problems solved, projects kicked off, plans hatched, and amazing friendships born.

Learn more about SpaceUp San Diego at the website, or follow them on Twitter or Facebook to get updates on SpaceUp plans and details.

7:00 pm to 10:00 pm

Location:

Abundant Sugar (map)
618A Moulton Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90031

The LA Space Salon is a new and unique social event designed to be a reliable outlet within the space community for people to engage with one another, contribute their ideas, pose questions, hear from industry leaders, and coalesce efforts towards a cultural permeation of the values we share about space exploration.

This month, the featured guest is Doug Jones, Co-Founder and Chief Scientist at XCOR Aerospace. Known as the Rocket Whisperer, Doug Jones will be guiding the Salon’s quest to gain insight into the current state of advanced space technology and the future of things to come. Doug will speculate on the viability of using possible technological advancements such as space tethers, beamed power, gun launches, and electromagnetic sails as a means to realize humanity’s continued reach into the cosmos.

Doug is a Co-Founder and Chief Scientist at XCOR Aerospace. He handles test design and analysis of test results for the company’s liquid rocket engine development and facilitates the development and operation of rocket engine test apparatus. Before joining XCOR, Doug was responsible for sizing the fluid injector elements in Rotary Rocket Company’s (RRC) rocket engine design. Prior to RRC, Doug designed, built, and tested a 400 lb thrust nitrous oxide/propane engine, it’s test facility, and a 300,000 cubic foot balloon system for Vela Technology. Doug also flew multiple times as flight test engineer in the X-Racer rocket powered aircraft!

The speaker is followed by LA Space Salon’s open forum. All attendees are encouraged to participate in this months discussion. Come with your thoughts prepared and ready to share!

Please register here

Email events@sdspace.org if you’d like to join SD Space members planning to attend.

7:00 pm to 9:00 pm

6:30 pm to 9:00 pm

Location:
S-Cafe, Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems (map)
1 Space Park
Redondo Beach, CA 90278

The AIAA LA section presents an evening dinner with keynote Trina L. Ray – Cassini Titan Orbiter Science Team Co-Chair and Technical Group Supervisor, Science Planning Systems, Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

The twin Voyager spacecraft flew by Jupiter and Saturn, and Voyager 2 went on to flyby Uranus and Neptune. They are considered one of the most successful NASA missions of all time. They discovered rings, moons, active volcanos, giant storms, and high-speed jet streams. They showed us just how amazing and diverse the universe is – even in our own back yard. They used the relatively new concept of gravity-propelled space travel to accomplish this “grand tour” and they are the farthest man-made objects in the solar system. Right now, they are still sending back data from the edge of the very edge of our solar system as they become the first spacecraft leaving it. Rediscover the amazing breadth of these missions and find out what they are currently up to.

Please register here.

Email events@sdspace.org if you’d like to join SD Space members planning to attend.