Posted by Brent Bernasconi in News on August 18, 2010
The San Diego Air & Space Museum is looking to bring one of the soon-to-be retired NASA Space Shuttles (Atlantis or Endeavour) to San Diego. In a recent interview with the Voice of San Diego, the Museum’s President, James Kidrick, provided some reasons on why San Diego is great place for a space shuttle:
Kidrick said San Diego has plenty of advantages, including a prime location with more than 30 million people within 150-200 miles and a role as a major player in the history of aviation. Among other things, the Spirit of St. Louis — which Charles Lindbergh flew non-stop across the Atlantic — was built here, and San Diego has been home to a number of aerospace firms. He said the museum’s attendance in the last fiscal year was about 270,000, ranking it among the top five aviation museums in the country.
A space shuttle in San Diego would be a great way to promote the region’s numerous contributions to the aerospace industry and space exploration. Plus, how cool would it be to see one up close without having to take the four/five hour flight back east!
To read the rest of the article, click here.
Posted by Brent Bernasconi in Calendar on March 4, 2010
Sat, May 8, 2010
10:00 am to 2:00 pm
San Diego Air & Space Museum (map)
2001 Pan American Plaza, San Diego, CA
The San Diego Air & Space Museum (SDASM) is preparing to host its 7th Annual Space Day celebration. Space Day is a great family event, and will feature demonstrations, give-aways, and hands-on activities with local and national space experts. The San Diego Space Society and Mars Society will be in attendance as some of the local experts. In addition to SD Space, other presenter’s invited this year include: NASA, SDAA (San Diego Astronomy Association), DSN (the Deep Space Network), JPL, SETI, UCSD EarthKAM, The Planetary Society, Lockheed Martin, Virgin Galactic, InterPlanetary Adventures, The Astronaut Teacher Alliance, Team Synergy Moon, and many others.
As a bonus, local astronaut Jim Newman, whose ambitious spacewalks from the space shuttle helped repair the Hubble Space Telescope, is planning to attend and share stories of his dynamic space career.
As an extra bonus, the museum’s space gallery is open for viewing throughout the event, which includes a flown Apollo spacecraft, moon rocks and space suits.
Kids 17 and under are free with paid adult admission (does not include special exhibitions). For a special adult discount admission coupon, click here.
For more information, call (619) 234-8291 ext 119 or click here.
Posted by Brent Bernasconi in Calendar on December 17, 2009
Mon, Dec 21, 2009
7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Location:
Killer Pizza from Mars B (map)
3772 Mission Avenue, Oceanside 92054
SD Space’s Space Night Out is heading north on Interstate 5 towards Oceanside. Stop by Killer Pizza from Mars for some food (pizza would be an excellent choice), beer (or soda if you prefer), and conversations with SD Space members and other space enthusiasts/advocates. Topics of conversation can include space; the past, present, and future of space exploration; and anything else you want to talk about.
Don’t worry if you can’t make it this time; there will be another one in a few weeks—location and date to be announced here. 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!
Posted by Brent Bernasconi in Calendar on September 16, 2009
Sat, Oct 3, 2009
10:00 am to 2:00 pm
Space journalist and author, Andrew Chaikin is coming to the San Diego Air & Space Museum. In addition to his two presentations, Exploring the Moon and Moonwalk Memories, he will also be signing his book A Man on the Moon.
His first presentation, Exploring the Moon, (10:30-11:30 am) will take educators on a tour of the moon answering questions such as: What formed the craters of the moon? Why does the moon always keep one face pointed toward the Earth, and why does the side we see look so different from the far side? Where did the Apollo astronauts visit, and what did they find? This event is for educators only and requires an RSVP. To RSVP for the event, click here.
During his second presentation, Moonwalk Memories, (1:00-2:00pm) he will share anecdotes he collected from conversations with moon-voyagers during his book research. He will also look ahead to NASA’s upcoming LCROSS lunar-impact mission, which will try to discover whether deposits of ancient ice await future lunar explorers. Moonwalk Memories is free with paid admission.
For more information, call (619) 234-8291 ext 119 or click here.
Posted by Brent Bernasconi in Events on September 11, 2009
This blog post is re-posted from thebernasconis.com, the personal blog of San Diego Space Board Member and San Diego Air & Space Museum Education Coordinator, Brent Bernasconi.
With the Friday night Race to the Moon event over (which you can read about here), I had time to relax by the pool with the wife since the Saturday event did not start until 5 p.m. Even though it cooled down a little, I still dreaded having to get dressed up and putting on my rented tuxedo.
A little before 5 p.m., I finally began the drive over to the USS Midway, a little later than I should have left. I arrived late but I still made it there before some of the other escorts. Once they all arrived (including the new escort who learned of her job the night of), we did a final walk-through and then had some time to goof around in the hanger deck (as you can see in the pictures below). (more…)
