The Spacevidcast for this week looks at China and the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge.
Canadian Astronaut Bob Thirsk
Earth to space station: Howdy partner!
CBC News
Hundreds of students will point high-powered LED lights skyward from a small airstrip south of Calgary to send a secret message to the International Space Station that’s orbiting Earth on Saturday night.
The students will have about six minutes to send their orchestrated message as the International Space Station darts across the night sky more than 300 kilometres above the Earth. That’s how long it takes for the orbiting spacecraft to travel from horizon to horizon.
NASA PRESS RELEASE
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and French Space Agency President Yannick d’Escatha signed four agreements in support of U.S. and French space cooperation during a ceremony Thursday at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
AIAA PRESS RELEASE
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) has released a report on strategies to strengthen the current and future aerospace workforce. Based on AIAA’s May 2009 “Inside Aerospace Forum†for aviation and space leaders from around the world, the report notes the issues posed by an aging aerospace workforce, and sets out strategies to retain current aerospace professionals and to build the aerospace workforce of the future.
SPACE FOUNDATION PRESS RELEASE
Some of the solutions to many developing nations’ social and economic woes might just come from the most unlikely place – outer space.
The Colorado Springs-based Space Foundation said in a white paper released this week that the ability of space-based technology to overcome infrastructure and access issues might help solve previously insurmountable economic, public health, and standard of living issues for developing nations.
Students performe an experiment in microgravity aboard the Airbus A300 Zero-G plane.
CSF PRESS RELEASE
The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is pleased to announce its co-sponsorship of the Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference (NSRC), which is being organized in conjunction with the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and the Universities Space Research Association (USRA).
The Isle of Man: First in Space?
Bauman Blog
Among the surprises: the CVI company that made the laser optics with which NASA’s Phoenix Lander (below) spotted snow on Mars last year. Another Manx company, Odyssey Moon, is competing to win the $30 million (£18.4 million).
Spaceport America
SPACEPORT AMERICA PRESS RELEASE
The construction of a new runway is well underway at Spaceport America, the world’s first purpose-built commercial spaceport. New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA) officials have released new aerial photos taken on September 13, 2009, of the 10,000-foot runway project, which is designed to accommodate horizontal launch space and air operations at the spaceport. The runway is expected to be complete by late Summer 2010.
International Space Station
NASA PRESS RELEASE
Advances in the fight against food poisoning, new methods for delivering medicine to cancer cells, and better materials for future spacecraft are among the results published in a NASA report detailing scientific research accomplishments made aboard the International Space Station during its first eight years.
The White House said Sept. 16 it intends to send one of its senior budget officials to NASA to manage the U.S. space agency’s perennially troubled finances.
AEROSPACE INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION PRESS RELEASE
The summary issued yesterday by The Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee, chaired by Norm Augustine, points to a crossroads in human space exploration programs, AIA President and CEO Marion Blakey said.
“We agree with the Committee’s conclusion that the U.S. faces a critical need for greater investment in the future of human space exploration,†said Blakey. “American leadership in this crucial international arena is perishable without a national commitment and a program matched with the resources needed for its execution.â€
Tight budgets will mean NASA must make its mission relevant to the American public, inspiring young people to enter technical and scientific fields and delivering new capabilities that grapple with climate change and assist with natural disasters around the globe, NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver said Sept. 16.