Join us on Sunday, July 20th for a movie and picnic launch!

We’ve been given free passes to an advance screening of Fly Me To The Moon, an animated IMAX 3D film about Apollo 11 told from the perspective of a fly on the wall. (Literally.)

What: Fly Me To The Moon screening
When: Sunday, July 20th at 10:00 AM
Where: Edwards IMAX Mira Mesa

Email events@sdspace.org if you’d like to attend, and I’ll send you details on where and when we’ll meet.

After the movie, join us for our first Junior Explorers event, a picnic launch! We’re celebrating the 39th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing. Bring your own picnic lunch and blanket; we’ll provide a launch pad and help you turn a soda bottle into an awesome water rocket.

What: Jr. Explorers Picnic and Water Rocket Launch
When: Sunday, July 20th at 1:00 PM
Where: Mira Mesa Community Park (map and directions)

Stop by to see Phil Blanco’s famous M&M tube rockets, plus other rocketry demonstrations. Fabulous Prizes will be awarded for excellence in rocketry. Email events@sdspace.org if you have any questions, or if you have empty 2-liter soda bottles to donate to the event.

Hope to see you there!

[UPDATE: The deadline for this contest has been pushed back to November. We're still going to submit an entry, but now we have a 5-month head start on the other participants.]

SD Space and The Mars Society - San Diego are teaming up to enter the 2008 Space VidVision Contest. Filmmaker Gerry Williams (a member of both organizations) has offered to be the producer and production company to create these videos.

The first step we need to take is to “pitch” some ideas for short (under 3 minute) video essays that:

… Must present a viewpoint on the future of U.S. Spaceflight.

“We’re looking for the best arguments for or against sending people into space, or for changing our current plans,” said contest organizer Greg Zsidisin. “This is a way of trying to stimulate public discussion at a time when American human spaceflight is at a real crossroads.”

“A video entry can be just someone speaking into a camera, or it can be laden with special effects,” he added. “Mainly, it has to be compelling, and make a particularly good case for its viewpoint.”

Writers and idea people are needed right now. We’re looking to put together a small crew to do one or more of these videos.

Anyone wishing to participate should contact Gerry. Entries must be produced, edited and posted online no later than Sunday, November 2, 2008 to qualify.

[photo "Are you ready???" courtesy Shazeen Samad]

The next general meeting of the San Diego Space Society is this Sunday from 3:00 to 4:30. On the agenda:

• a presentation on the Phoenix Mars Lander by Gerry Williams
• a presentation by Maria Catalina on her Zero G weightless flight
• choosing teams for chapter projects

The meeting will once again be held at the Serra Mesa Branch Library. [map and directions] We hope to see you there!

According to an email from the NSS, C-SPAN is broadcasting ISDC 2008 sessions live today from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm ET (8am to 3pm in San Diego). I just checked the C-SPAN site, and it looks like they’ve switched to a White House briefing, but the morning sessions are still available for viewing online. Live coverage of the afternoon sessions is supposed to resume at 2:00 pm ET (11am in San Diego).

Francis French, SDASM Director of Education and SD Space member, received San Diego’s “Outstanding Contribution to Aerospace Education” award from the AIAA in a special ceremony on 22 May, 2008. From the museum’s press release:

French is being honored for his work heading the Museum’s education efforts to interest and engage a new generation of audiences in science, technology and engineering, as well as his prior work in science education at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, Sally Ride Science, and his popular science books “Into That Silent Sea” and “In the Shadow of the Moon.”

Congratulations, Francis!

I’m getting caught up with these, I promise! :)

The San Diego Space Society display table made its second appearance at the San Diego Air & Space Museum’s Space Day Celebration on May 10th. We set up right next to the always-crowd-pleasing Mars Society booth, and Gerry Williams and John Stone kindly helped me by watching things while I dashed off for a quick lunch. Thanks, guys!

The crowd was great. All ages were present, with kids, parents, and the young-at-heart all showing their excitement for space topics past, present, and future. Visitors also got to see displays by OCSS (our neighbors to the North), Goldstone, Virgin Galactic, NASA/JPL, a local SETI group, and more. Special guest Bill Shepherd signed autographs and gave a talk as well, then stopped by to say hello to the presenting groups.

More photos after the jump (courtesy Shalene Baxter of SDASM and Michelle Evans of OCSS). Thanks again to the SDASM for hosting such a fun event; we’ll definitely be back next year.

On Tuesday evening, April 29th, members of the San Diego Space Society, Mars Society San Diego, and UCSD SEDS enjoyed meeting Anousheh Ansari and hearing the exciting details of her time on the International Space Station at a lecture sponsored by the UCSD Students for the Exploration and Development of Space.

The SD Space display table made its debut before the event, joining a SEDS table and the always-impressive Mars Society display. The lecture was well-attended by space enthusiasts of all ages, and we made some new friends. (Hello, new friends!)

More photos (by kind permission of Carol Stone) after the jump. Thanks again to James Pura for putting this amazing event together.

Come join us on May 10th from 10am to 2pm at the San Diego Air & Space Museum for the 5th Annual Space Day Celebration! Space Day will feature demonstrations, giveaways, and hands-on activities with local and national space experts.

SD Space will show off our new display table; other presenters include Travel Dynamics SpaceTeam, representing Virgin Galactic, NASA, SDAA (San Diego Astronomy Association), DSN (the Deep Space Network), JPL, The Mars Society, Rockwell Collins, SETI, ,UCSD EarthKAM, and The Planetary Society.

Bill Shepherd, former NASA astronaut and the first commander of the International Space Station, will give a dramatic multimedia presentation about his journey into space and experiences living and working there.

If you plan to go, sign up for a special discount coupon to Space Day and the museum.

The next general meeting of the San Diego Space Society is this Sunday from 3:00 to 4:30. On the agenda:

• Board of Directors elections
• a presentation on crowdsourcing and participatory exploration
• choosing chapter projects and assigning teams

The meeting will once again be held at the Serra Mesa Branch Library. [map and directions] We hope to see you there!

April 29th seemed like such a long time away, but now it’s almost here. Tomorrow night at 6:00pm is the lecture by Anousheh Ansari, the first female private citizen to travel to the International Space Station, at Atkinson Hall at UCSD.

Parking for the event will be available at the Hopkins parking structure on campus; day permits are $6. The event itself is free and open to the public.

Questions? Email events@sandiegospace.org. Hope to see you there!