Space City Con

Space City Con is an all-ages festival of comics, sci-fi, fantasy, gaming, literature, and art, in the spirit of Houston, Texas! Envisioned as a “geek festival with free parking,” SCC is conveniently located at the Westin Galleria convention center & hotel, August 10 – 12, 2012. Their goal is to put on the best convention possible for current generations of fans, and instill a love of, comics, Sci-fi and fantasy in the next generation.

SpaceUp Houston will host a fan table at Space City Con with the hope of connecting with space enthusiasts from Houston and throughout Texas.  Also, on Sunday August 12th following Nichelle Nichols feature presentation, SpaceUp Houston will host a panel to discuss how Houston is moving forward with building the space economy and supporting space exploration in the post-Shuttle era, from sustaining the ISS to building next-generation space vehicles and fostering space entrepreneurship.

Save 10% off your badge when you use the discount code SPACEUP - (you must register online to receive the discount).  Children 9 years and under are free with a paid adult.

TEDx SugarLand: The Age of Wonderment

Participants will comprise a diverse group of people from all walks of life. Among others, there will be artists, doctors, teachers, students, technologists, and entrepreneurs in the mix. The goal of the event is to provide a high quality forum for exchange of ideas and inspiration. Their goal is to bring together individuals who are working on cutting edge of research and technology to artists and educationists exploring new ways of creating an impact in their fields. TEDxSugarLand is not-for-profit event, organized entirely by local, unpaid volunteers.

The theme for this year is The Age Of Wonderment, and it will be divided into four sessions: Mystery, Mind, Matter, and Magic.

SpaceUp Houston will be presenting at TEDx Sugarland on our organization, Spacepoints, Commercial Spaceflight and more.

Register and attend TEDx Sugarland.

We had a wonderful turnout for our third Commercial Spaceflight Panel on June 21, 2012. Many thanks to our moderator Jim Adams, NASA Deputy Chief Technologist, and our panelists:

ATK – Brian Duffy (former NASA Astronaut)
Sierra Nevada – John Curry (former NASA Flight Director)
XCOR – Khaki McKee
Armadillo Aerospace – Neil Milburn
Southwest Research Institute – Dan Durda
Boeing – Chris Ferguson (former NASA Astronaut)
SpaceX – Garrett Reisman (former NASA Astronaut)

SpaceUp Houston is having our Commercial Spaceflight Panel this Thursday 6/21 from 7-9 pm CDT which will be streamed live in case anyone is interested in watching.  You can even ask questions to the panelists via the streaming chat window if you are so inclined. Or if you are in Houston and want to attend in person you can register for free.

The event is held at the Lunar & Planetary Institute (in the USRA Building) in Houston/Clear Lake at 3600 Bay Area Blvd.

The moderator is Jim Adams, NASA Deputy Chief Technologist and the panelists include:

• ATK – Brian Duffy (former NASA Astronaut)
• Sierra Nevada – John Curry (former NASA Flight Director)
• XCOR – Khaki McKee
• Armadillo Aerospace – Neil Milburn
• Southwest Research Institute – Dan Durda
• Boeing – Chris Ferguson (former NASA Astronaut)
• SpaceX – Garrett Reisman (former NASA Astronaut)

Each of the companies have been asked to give a 10 minute presentation on what they’ve accomplished since the last panel in August 2011.  Following the presentations, the entire panel will be available for Q&A from the audience (online and present in the room).

Watch Live Here: http://www.livestream.com/spaceuphouston

Follow Tweets: http://www.twitter.com/csfcaptureflag

Help support Planetary Science by coming out for a car wash and bake sale tomorrow June 9th.  If you are in Houston, you can come down to Clear Lake and check out the event at the CVS Pharmacy at 1610 NASA Parkway which runs from 8 am to 2 pm.

Andrew Chaikin, Author and Space Historian will be available for autographs.  You can also sign letters to members of the House Appropriations Committee for NASA support.

Thinking of causing some trouble?  Star Wars troopers will be there to keep order.

Not in Houston, see if there is an event near you.

Youth worldwide 10-18 years old are invited to share their visions of the future of space exploration by submitting visual, literary, musical and video artwork to the 2012 Humans in Space Youth Art Competition by October 21, 2012.  The competition partners (German Aerospace Center, NASA, and the University Space Research Association) specifically challenge youth to consider “How will humans use science and technology to explore space, and what mysteries will they uncover?” Competition judges will include program managers, artists, teachers, astronauts, musicians, and engineers from all over the world.  Like them now on Facebook.

This is YOUR chance to introduce someone to space and as a reward earn Spacepoints!

How to enter

Become a Judge

Join SpaceUp Houston for our third Commercial Spaceflight Panel on Thursday June 21st, 2012 at the Lunar & Planetary Institute. The event will be from 7-9 pm and is open to the public.

Registration is free.

Click here to print out flyers to post around Houston and Clear Lake to help promote the panel.

Our moderator will be Jim Adams, NASA Deputy Chief Technologist.  The purpose of the panel is to learn what the various companies have accomplished since our last panel in August 2011.  And to learn what’s next for each of them.

Participants include:

• ATK – Brian Duffy (former NASA Astronaut)
• Sierra Nevada – John Curry (former NASA Flight Director)
• XCOR – Khaki McKee
• Armadillo Aerospace – Neil Milburn
• Southwest Research Institute – Dan Durda
• Boeing – Chris Ferguson (former NASA Astronaut)
• SpaceX – Garrett Reisman (former NASA Astronaut)

We will stream the event live via our livestream page and live tweet using @CSFcaptureflag.

To see videos from our previous Commercial Spaceflight Panels click here.

Reposted from STEMinist

What inspired you to pursue a career in STEM?
The Challenger Accident. I was in fifth grade when the Challenger Accident occurred and was just learning about the space program and had joined my school’s Young Astronaut’s Program. The day of the Challenger launch I was home sick from school (and bummed I was missing watching the launch live at school since it was too common of a thing to air on national television). I vowed that day I would go up and finish their mission for them and I’ve never looked back.

What is the coolest project you have worked on and why?
My first project out of college was to integrate the U.S. and Russian Astronaut training programs for the International Space Station’s Motion Control System. It was an incredible opportunity. I got to learn everything about the U.S. and Russian systems and work with a team to determine how to best teach the information to future space station crew members. From then on we taught the Motion Control System as an integrated system and not a U.S. or Russian only system. The project became a model that other Station Systems used to integrate their training programs.

Role models and heroes:
Captain Kirk

Advice for future STEMinists?
Follow your passion and dream big. Anything is possible.

Favorite website or app:
Angry Birds Space

Twitter: @txflygirl
Site: www.txflygirl.wordpress.com

By Eryn Beisner

My name is Eryn Beisner and I love space. I’ve been bitten by the space bug and hard. For me it happened at a young age, watching my first live shuttle launch at Cape Canaveral, Florida. For others it can happen later in life, often times from a sci-fi flick, a good book, or a simple breath-taking photograph snapped by the Hubble Space Telescope. The one thing we all have in common, no matter when or how it happened, is a fever that burns for more. This is the one infection of the 21st century that must be allowed to spread!

With very few exceptions I have found that everyone likes space, or at least the idea of space. It’s a mysteriously romantic notion that has enraptured scientists and philosophers alike for thousands of years. You don’t even have to know how or why it works the way it does to find yourself wanting to know more, wanting to know what’s just over that next horizon, and then the next, and the next. I for one can get very excitable and spun up when I get a chance to engage others on the topic of space. The only thing better is when I can get someone, who maybe wasn’t previously that curious, to suddenly start asking me more and more questions about space and space exploration. I can’t help but smile when I recognize the spark that has been lit in their inquisitive minds and begins to smolder. The icing on the cake? When they turn to their friend and say, “Hey, did you know…?” This is how it starts.

Those of us already involved in the space industry know how vitally important it is that mankind continues to push beyond the limitations of our own planet. I don’t need to go into the details here. What we must do, and perhaps just as important as the actual space exploration itself, is inspire those around us to carry on the mission after we’re gone. How do we do this? We talk, simple as that. We post on Facebook and Twitter, we send emails, write letters, attend conferences. We talk to our spouses, our children, friends, coworkers, congressmen (especially congressmen!!) and complete strangers on the plane. You don’t have to be an expert on the subject just be excited, be passionate. You’d be surprised at how infectious enthusiasm can be.

Never miss an opportunity to infect others with your passion. That’s how it’s done. That’s how you guarantee a future in space (maybe someday a retirement condo on the moon? Lol!). Almost everyone at some point as a kid considered being an astronaut or great explorer when they grew up. The seeds of inspiration were planted at a young age. It really doesn’t take much to revive those ideas and once again reignite their imaginations and sense of adventure. Show them they’re not alone and that there are thousands, millions of others who dream of exploring the heavens. Then sit back, take a deep breath, and do it again.

Today NASA and Rovio released a video filmed on board the International Space Station (ISS) that talks about how Birds fly in space (out of a slingshot of course).

Remember the last Soyuz launch?  There was a red angry bird in the cockpit to alert the astronauts when they reached orbit and were thus weightless.  Turns out there was a reason for that angry bird to visit space station!

Those of us here at SpaceUp Houston loved the video so much we wanted to share it with you (as if you hadn’t seen it on Twitter, Facebook, or Google+).  Whatever you do, just don’t ask NASA or Don Petit how the eggs got on board the Space Station.

We definitely think Rovio earns Spacepoints for developing this game to excite people about space and teach how physics works in space and around other planets!

Our very own @godspeeddiscvry has redesigned the SpaceUp Houston logo adding some local zing.  We like it and hope you will too.  Tell us what you think!