Fri 3 Sep 2010
The Stratos mission team gives an exclusive look at the custom camera systems that will record and broadcast Felix Baumgartner’s stratospheric mission later this year. Bringing together high definition and real time images to a supersonic freefall in the hostile environment of 23 miles / 36 km above earth won’t be easy, but will they succeed?
Tue 20 Jul 2010
On July 16th, Ed Salem presented an overview on the activities, accomplishments, and impact of the Los Angeles Air Force Space & Missile Center. This event is part of a monthly series co-organized by 62MileClub and Frontier Associates. Our motto is if it lifts on the ground it’s fair game. To date, there is only a Google Groups account set up and no stand alone website. Please contact 62MileClub directly if one is interested in a copy of Mr. Salem’s presentation.
Ed Salem, Air Force Space and Missile Center presents at July 2010 Aerospace and Defense Forum
Tue 20 Jul 2010
The blog will remain mostly dark between July 21st – 28th. I’ll be at the New Space 2010 Conference.
Fri 9 Jul 2010
Recently, I learned about two similar but separate efforts to promote the space industry in South Africa.
Africa from Space
Wed 7 Jul 2010
Tue 6 Jul 2010
Tue 6 Jul 2010
The upcoming New Space 2010 conference is one of our favorite annual conferences. We hope you’ll consider attending and say hello if you do.
New Space 2010 Conference
July 23 – 25, 2010
Domain Hotel: Sunnyvale, California
Conference website
The Space Frontier Foundation‘s annual NewSpace Conference attracts a unique mix of revolutionary space entrepreneurs, investors, scientists, engineers, regulators, and space policy leaders to explore the opportunities and challenges of opening the space frontier to human settlement. Conference sessions highlight the latest discussions on NASA-private sector cooperation, the business of NewSpace, and frontier enabling technologies of tomorrow. The featured evening event, the NewSpace Awards Gala, will recognize achievements of steely-eyed rocketeers, futuristic thinkers, and space enthusiasts from around the world. NewSpace 2010: Ready for Take-off, is set for July 23-25 at the Domain Hotel in Silicon Valley, CA. Register Now!
Fri 2 Jul 2010
We’re diving into the world of podcasting and for our first one, we’re posting a conversation with author, Howard Bloom. Enjoy!
Howard Bloom in his Park Slope neighborhood
Elisabeth Kennick and Howard Bloom
Tue 29 Jun 2010
Source: Red Bull Stratos
TUESDAY 29TH JUNE 2010: As Red Bull Stratos grows increasingly near to realisation, the mission’s aeronautics experts today announce encouraging results from the latest high-altitude test jumps and step-off procedure tests. Mission pilot Felix Baumgartner himself acknowledges feelings of both satisfaction and apprehension while the team prepares to move into a new phase of testing.
During the last week in May 2010, the Red Bull Stratos team conducted three important tests:
Capsule step-off: At Sage Cheshire Aerospace in Lancaster, California, the capsule dangled from a 40,000-tonne crane to simulate its suspension from the balloon flight train, with Baumgartner practicing his movements inside, exiting and stepping off. The purpose was to determine how the vessel reacts to Baumgartner’s motion, and whether those reactions could compromise his descent. Even a relatively gentle tumble created by imprecise step-off could not only hinder Baumgartner’s ability to break the sound barrier but also suddenly devolve into a dangerously rapid “flat spin” once he encounters a level of increased air density.
Step-off technique bungee jumps: Next, the scene turned surreal as a group of pre-eminent aerospace experts and test pilots – including Joe Kittinger, who holds the records Baumgartner will try to break – gathered in a deserted Palmdale fairground to witness something they’d never seen during all their combined years of experience: a bungee jump in a pressurised space suit and helmet. After multiple jumps from a crane basket suspended 200 feet above the ground, Baumgartner’s exit technique had evolved into something that one team member described as “perfect.”
High altitude skydives: The finale to the week of testing was a series of skydives over the desert in Perris, California, reaching approximately 26,000 feet. This test, conducted on May 27, 2010, was the first in a fully pressurised suit and was a follow-up to a similar day of flights in early spring. Baumgartner had been frustrated by the awkwardness of his equipment, especially by the way his chest pack – a vital technology hub for the descent – jammed his helmet and inhibited movement on descent and blocked his vision while landing. Objectives were to get a clean step-off from the rear-exit airplane; assess controllability and various body positions in the fully pressurised suit; experience suit deflation upon descent; and test a new chest pack system that allows one side to move out of Baumgartner’s line of sight so he can spot his landing. Baumgartner’s technique and the improved equipment worked so harmoniously that the team was able to accomplish all objectives.
Tue 22 Jun 2010
