SpaceUp Houston Wants You!

Change the future of space this weekend and learn about commercial spaceflight ventures.

Houston, Texas – February 4, 2013 – This weekend, SpaceUp Houston hosts its third annual SpaceUp Unconference on Saturday, February 9 at the Lunar & Planetary Institute (LPI) near Johnson Space Center.

The Unconference on Saturday (10 am – 9:30 pm) is a family friendly event for learning and talking about space. The event will kick-off with a NASA demonstration of a robotic exoskeleton, and concludes with a special presentation by Boeing on Cis-Lunar Platforms and Exploration. Throughout the day, attendees will have opportunities to lead and participate in discussion sessions, give T Minus 5 Talks, and  connect with Houston Aerospace scientists and engineers.  Thanks to ThinkGeek we will be giving away $250 in awesome giveaways.  See the full schedule by visiting http://spaceuphouston.org/2013-unconference-schedule.

Tickets for the Unconference are available online at http://spacepts.com/events/18.  Prices for adults are $15, college students $5 and those under 18 are free with adult registration. Lunch and dinner will be provided for attendees.  In addition every participant will receive an Unconference T-Shirt and swag bag of awesome goodies.

On Friday, February 8 join SpaceUp Houston for the fourth annual Commercial Spaceflight Panel to hear directly from aerospace industry representatives on commercial spaceflight ventures. The companies confirmed to present include Boeing, XCOR, Sierra Nevada, Orbital Sciences, Red Bull Stratos, and the Southwest Research Institute. The first panel will focus on progress made on NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) and Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) contracts. The second half will feature Suborbital and Space Tourism opportunities. The Commercial Spaceflight Panel is free and open to the public but registration is required. Register at http://spacepts.com/events/17.

Can’t make it in person? Join us online for live-streaming (http://www.livestream.com/spaceuphouston) of both events on Friday and Saturday.

SpaceUp Houston is made possible because of generous sponsors including XCOR Aerospace, The Discovery Dome, Space Update and Thinkgeek.  Our supporting partners include NASA, Lunar & Planetary Institute, Schipul Technologies, and Yuri’s Night.

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SpaceUp Houston, founded in 2010, brings the Houston-Clear Lake community together in sharing and discussing the possibilities for space exploration covering NASA programs, hobbyist projects, start-up companies, research, and the arts. SpaceUp events are designed as catalysts for future science, technology, engineering, and mathematics development.  The official SpaceUp Houston Twitter stream can be found at http://twitter.com/spaceuphou.  For more information visit the SpaceUp Houston website at http://spaceuphouston.org.  Questions can be directed via email to SpaceUp Houston at press@spaceuphouston.org.

SpaceUp Houston has partnered with Yuri’s Night and has 501(c)(3) status.

Matt Duggan from Boeing Space Exploration in Houston is returning to speak at the 2013 Unconference.  This year he will have an hour session in the evening to go into more detail about Cis-lunar Platforms and Exploration.  What can we do in the vicinity of the moon?

View the Unconference Schedule
Register and join us!

If you joined us at last year’s Unconference you’ll remember that Mr. Duggan gave a 15 minute presentation on a very similar topic and it left many in the audience wanting to hear more.  See below for last year’s video, his presentation starts around the 44 minute mark.

Please join us on Saturday February 9, 2013 at our 3rd annual Unconference event. NASA will be demonstrating the Robotic Exoskeleton (X1) to kick off the day.

View the Unconference Schedule
Register and join us!

NASA and The Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) of Pensacola, Fla., with the help of engineers from Oceaneering Space Systems of Houston, have jointly developed a robotic exoskeleton called X1. The 57-pound device is a robot that a human could wear over his or her body either to assist or inhibit movement in leg joints, and can also be used to measure the user’s strength; an application important in prescribing more effective exercise protocols for crew on orbit. The same technology that has applications on-orbit for maintaining crew health, could be used in reverse on the ground, potentially helping some individuals walk for the first time. It is envisioned that one day technology similar to X1 could even help astronauts on distant planets and asteroids perform tasks that would otherwise be impossible without strength augmentation or added equipment

Want to travel or live in space? Come join other space enthusiasts and commercial spaceflight experts at the 3rd Annual SpaceUp Houston Unconference and Commercial Spaceflight Panel

SpaceUp Houston Opens Registration and Invites the Public to Learn, Engage and Take Action

Houston, TX – January 15, 2013 – SpaceUp Houston (http://spaceuphouston.org) will hold its 4^th Commercial Spaceflight Panel on February 8, 2013 and 3rd Annual SpaceUp Houston Unconference on February 9, 2013 at The Lunar & Planetary Institute (LPI) near Johnson Space Center. Tickets for the Unconference go on sale today. Prices for adults are $15, college students $5 and those under 18 are free with adult registration. Lunch and dinner are included in the price of the ticket. The Commercial Spaceflight Panel on Friday, February 8 is free and open to the public but registration is required. Find out all the details and purchase tickets online at http://spaceuphouston.org before they sell out.

About the Commercial Spaceflight Panel

Register Today (Free)

The Commercial Spaceflight Panel provides attendees with the opportunity to hear directly from aerospace industry representatives on commercial spaceflight ventures. The panel will be moderated by NASA Deputy Chief Technologist, Jim Adams. The companies invited to present include Boeing, SpaceX, XCOR, Sierra Nevada, Orbital Sciences, Armadillo, Red Bull Stratos, and the Southwest Research Institute.

The first panel will focus on progress made on NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) and Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) contracts. The second half will feature Suborbital and Zero-G Space Tourism presentations. A short question and answer session will follow each panel.

About the Unconference

Register Today ($15 adults/$5 College Students)

The SpaceUp Houston 2013 Unconference will feature spontaneous sessions created by attendees.  An unconference is also known as a user-generated conference or BarCamp.  Participants will decide the topics, schedule and structure of the event.  Learn more about the unconference format at http://spaceuphouston.org/spaceup-2013-unconference/.  SpaceUp Unconferences have been held worldwide including San Diego, Atlanta, Poland, and Germany to promote discussions on cutting edge technologies, space outreach, and the future of the space industry.

In addition to the unconference sessions, there will be a variety of great activities throughout the day, including T minus 5 Talks (Ignite style presentations), the scientists who brought you Robonaut 2, and an opportunity to learn about outposts in the vicinity of the moon.

SpaceUp Houston is made possible because of generous sponsors including The Boeing Company, XCOR Aerospace, The Discovery Dome, Space Update and Thinkgeek.  Our supporting partners include NASA, Lunar & Planetary Institute, Schipul, and Yuri’s Night.  There are still a limited number of sponsorship opportunities available with sponsor package information available on the SpaceUp Houston website.

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SpaceUp Houston, founded in 2010, brings the Houston-Clear Lake community together in sharing and discussing the possibilities for space exploration covering NASA programs, hobbyist projects, start-up companies, research, and the arts. SpaceUp events are designed as catalysts for future science, technology, engineering, and mathematics development.  The official SpaceUp Houston Twitter stream can be found at http://twitter.com/spaceuphou.  For more information visit the SpaceUp Houston website at http://spaceuphouston.org.  Questions can be directed via email to SpaceUp Houston at press@spaceuphouston.org.

SpaceUp Houston has partnered with Yuri’s Night and has 501(c)(3) status.

Check out our 2013 Promotional Video for our upcoming Commercial Spaceflight Panel and Unconference events in February.  We hope you’ll join us in person.  Register today!

CSF Panel Registration

Unconference Registration

We would greatly appreciate your help in printing and posting our SpaceUp Houston 2013 flier around Clear Lake, JSC, and the Houston area.  Just click on the flyer image to get the full size version.

Want to register for either the Commercial Spaceflight Panel or the Unconference?  Just click the Register link in our navigation bar.

Join us on Friday February 8th, 2013 for our 4th Commercial Spaceflight Panel at the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) in Clear Lake starting at 6:30 pm.

The event is free – register today before all the seats are gone.
The following speakers have been invited.

6:30 PM – 7:30 PM COTS/CCiCap
- Ted Goetz (Boeing) – CST-100 Chief Engineer
- John Curry (Sierra Nevada) – Director Spacecraft Advanced Development
- Jeff Siders (Orbital) – Advanced Programs Group

7:30 PM – 7:45 PM Break

7:45 PM – 9:00 PM Suborbital & Tourism Panel
- Greg Claxton (XCOR) – Director of Retail Sales
- Tim Bailey (Parabolic Expert)
- Alan Stern (SwRI) – Associate Vice President R&D
- Andy Walshe (Red Bull) – Director of High Performance

Our new logo is now available at LandsEnd for purchase on clothing, bags, hats, etc.

Through October 15th you can receive the logo for free on your item (up to $8.50) by using promo code: EMLOGO

I want to dedicate this blog post to all of the volunteers, participants, supporters and sponsors of SpaceUP Houston.  All of you have helped our organization grow and receive international PR and recognition because of your hard work and enthusiasm for space exploration.  Thank you for your support!

About TEDx Events

I had the privilege of presenting a TEDx Talk on SpaceUP Houston and Spacepoints at this year’s first TEDx Sugarland event in August. If you haven’t attended or heard of TEDx events, I encourage you to look for the next one in your region and apply to attend.

TED is a nonprofit organization that began 25 years ago in California and invites the world’s leading thought leaders to speak on topics related the Technology, Entertainment, and Design.   TEDx events began as a way to bring the same innovation and inspiration to local communities and are independently organized and run.

TEDx Houston has been bringing us a local TED event annually since 2009 and in 2011, TEDx Woodlands became the second Greater Houston Metro TED event.  TEDx Sugarland joined the list this year in August bringing us “The Age of Wonderment“.   and brought a diverse group of thought leaders and doers including artists, educators, nonprofit organizations and scientists.

The list of speakers included:

• Dr. Jacob Cohen, Chief Scientist at NASA Ames Research Center aerospace scientist,
• Dr. Bobo Richards, Co-founder of the the International Space University, Singularity University and Google Lunar X Prize, and
• Nicole Stott, aerospace engineer and NASA astronaut.

Just like SpaceUP Houston, TEDxSugarLand is not-for-profit event, organized entirely by local, unpaid volunteers.

SpaceUP Houston was invited to introduce our organization and our vision to the audience and inspire them to do something.  This was a tall order and our team worked very hard on a presentation that best communicated our enthusiasm and passion for space exploration.

Here’s the video and presentation deck from the event, plus the photos and links to all of the TEDx Sugarland presentations.  Please share these with your network of space enthusiasts, family and friends and join us at our next SpaceUP Houston unconference in February 2013.

I Dream of Space – TEDx Talk Video

Find all the TEDx Sugarland Videos on the event YouTube Playlist.

I Dream of Space Presentation

TEDx Sugarland Event Photos

Find all the photos from TEDx Sugarland online at http://www.flickr.com/photos/tedxsugarland/

We are looking for volunteers and sponsors to help us with SpaceUP Houston events in 2013.  Contact us for more information.