Saturday 31 May 2008

NASA Launches New Education Initiative With Disney Parks and Buzz Lightyear

NASA Launches New Education Initiative With Disney Parks and Buzz Lightyear

WASHINGTON -- As seven, well-trained astronauts begin an important mission to the International Space Station on Saturday, May 31, one toy astronaut, Buzz Lightyear, will begin a journey to help educate children across the country.

The liftoff of space shuttle Discovery kicks off a new education initiative between NASA and Disney Parks. A 12-inch-tall Buzz Lightyear action figure will be carried aboard the shuttle as part of the partnership to encourage students to pursue studies in science, technology and mathematics, one of NASA's main educational goals.

Disney's Youth Educational Series and NASA have developed an online program known as the Space Ranger Education Series. It includes fun educational games for students, as well as materials for educators to download and integrate into their classroom curriculum. "NASA is excited to help students understand the science and engineering currently underway on the International Space Station," said Joyce Winterton, NASA assistant administrator for Education. "The educational games and resources from this partnership will allow students to explore the science and math behind space exploration with a beloved character."Beginning Saturday, May 31, the online games featuring Buzz Lightyear will be available by visiting NASA's homepage and clicking on the box for the NASA Kids' Club.

The five educational games are:
1. "Mission Match Up: Create a Game" --
Match the International Space Station partner countries to space facts
2. "Connect it! Flight Path" --
Attach the Kibo laboratory to the International Space Station using a sequence of commands
3. "Load the Shuttle" --
Fill the shuttle with cargo to a certain mass
4. "I Spy: Reflections from Space" --
Find everyday objects on the International Space Station that were built on NASA technology
5. "Toys in Space" --
Navigate Buzz Lightyear to different toys to see a movie on how they behave in space.

Since 1985, NASA's Toys in Space project has used toys flown aboard the shuttle and the International Space Station to help children learn science and mathematics. Scientific and mathematical principles make these toys work. For example, wind-up toys convert stored potential energy in their springs into kinetic energy as the springs unwind. Gravity often plays an important role in the actions of toys, but how would the same toys function in an environment where the effects of gravity are not felt?

Only NASA can provide the settings, so students can discover the answer to questions like these."We are thrilled that Buzz's lifelong dream of space travel finally will come true thanks to NASA," said Jay Rasulo, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. "This launch fulfills his dream, and we hope it will inspire countless children to stay interested in science and believe in their own dreams."The beginning of Buzz's space mission coincides with the opening of "Toy Story Mania!," a new 4-D interactive attraction, on May 31 at Walt Disney World, Fla., and on June 17 at Disneyland Resort, Calif.

Toy Story Mania

Bye for now,
Nick.

Friday 30 May 2008

Buzz Lightyear's Flight to the International Space Station

Buzz Lightyear to Soar with Discovery
05.29.08


Fictional spaceman Buzz Lightyear will make a real-life trip into space aboard space shuttle Discovery during STS-124. The toy astronaut will mark an educational partnership between NASA and Disney.


Credit: NASA/Steven Siceloff

Seven astronauts who will fly into orbit aboard space shuttle Discovery will have comfortable seats for the climb into space. An eighth space ranger won't have a seat at all. In fact, he will be packed tight inside a box and won't even get to enjoy the ride up. But it's nothing veteran spaceman Buzz Lightyear can't overcome. The good news is that he'll have some sports shows to listen to, along with a host of jerseys that have been to the Champs Elysees in Paris for the Tour de France and to the Super Bowl.


More accustomed to soaring among the galaxies on fold-out wings and a backpack rocket, Lightyear will take to space on Discovery’s STS-124 mission stowed inside a locker in Discovery's crew compartment. The 12-inch-tall action figure is flying as part of a partnership between NASA and Disney Parks to encourage students to pursue studies in science, technology and mathematics, one of NASA’s main educational goals. Disney’s Youth Educational Series and NASA have developed an online program known as the Space Ranger Education Series. It includes fun educational games for students, as well as materials for educators to download and integrate into their classroom curriculum. “NASA is excited to help students understand the science and engineering currently underway on the International Space Station,” said Joyce Winterton, NASA assistant administrator for Education. “The educational games and resources from this partnership will allow students to explore the science and math behind space exploration with a beloved character.”

NASA EDGE hosts Chris Giersch and Blair Allen discuss the sports theme of STS-124 during a broadcast of ESPN Radio's "Mike and Mike in the Morning" show. NASA astronaut Ken Ham is a fan of the ESPN broadcast and will talk to the show during the mission. Credit: NASA


Each crew member is permitted to carry a few small personal items that are packed into lockers before the launch. STS-124 Pilot Ken Ham is responsible for the entertainment - CDs of the ESPN Radio show "Mike and Mike in the Morning." Ham is also expected to talk to hosts Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg from space towards the end of his mission to the International Space Station. A plastic microphone stand with the ESPN logo is also making the trip. Discovery's crew will sport a number of athletic items as it embarks on its mission to deliver the Japanese Kibo laboratory's main module. A yellow jersey from Lance Armstrong's record-setting seven victories at the Tour de France bicycle race, the backup jersey Eli Manning took to the Super Bowl, and the last jersey baseball's Craig Biggio wore in a game have places inside the orbiting locker room.


The sports interest will kick off even before Discovery launches into space on May 31. The crew of the NASA EDGE program introduced space food to co-host Golic, a former football player who regales in culinary pleasures and enjoys the occasional eating contest. Golic sampled several items from Ham's stellar menu, including fiesta chicken, shrimp cocktail and Mexican scrambled eggs and compared their taste to Earth food. In a challenge to name which was made for space and which was made as traditional Earth fare, Golic could not tell the difference. The dishes were served just as they are in space, starting off as dehydrated or freeze-dried food heated up with hot water.

Bye for now,

Nick.


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Thursday 29 May 2008

NASA Awards Snow and Ice Distributed Active Archive Contract

NASA Awards Snow and Ice Distributed Active Archive Contract

WASHINGTON -- NASA has selected the University of Colorado at Boulder for the management and operations of the Earth Observing System Data and Information System Snow and Ice Distributed Active Archive Center. The maximum value of the cost, no-fee contract is $32 million over a five-year period.

The Snow and Ice Distributed Active Archive Center focuses on receiving, archiving, transforming, validating and distributing digital and analog snow and ice data products generated from numerous Earth observation satellites, as well as in situ data sets. The Center also maintains information about snow cover, avalanches, glaciers, ice sheets, freshwater ice, sea ice, ground ice, permafrost, atmospheric ice, paleoglaciology and ice cores.

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., is responsible for providing users access to data from NASA's Earth Science program.

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Monday 26 May 2008

NASA's Phoenix Spacecraft Reports Good Health After Mars Landing

Congratulations NASA's Phoenix Spacecraft Reports Good Health
After Mars Landing

PASADENA, Calif. -- A NASA spacecraft today sent pictures showing itself in good condition after making the first successful landing in a polar region of Mars.

The images from NASA's Mars Phoenix Lander also provided a glimpse of the flat valley floor expected to have water-rich permafrost within reach of the lander's robotic arm. The landing ends a 422-million-mile journey from Earth and begins a three-month mission that will use instruments to taste and sniff the northern polar site's soil and ice.

This is a false-color image taken by the Phoenix spacecraft on Mars. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Calech/University of Arizona

"We see the lack of rocks that we expected, we see the polygons that we saw from space, we don't see ice on the surface, but we think we will see it beneath the surface. It looks great to me," said Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, Tucson, principal investigator for the Phoenix mission.

Phoenix Project Manager Barry Goldstein and Principal Investigator Peter Smith await data in JPL's mission control during the Phoenix landing on Mars. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Calech

Radio signals received at 4:53:44 p.m. Pacific Time (7:53:44 p.m. Eastern Time) confirmed that the Phoenix Mars Lander had survived its difficult final descent and touchdown 15 minutes earlier. In the intervening time, those signals crossed the distance from Mars to Earth at the speed of light. The confirmation ignited cheers by mission team members at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.; Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver; and the University of Arizona.
As planned, Phoenix stopped transmitting one minute after landing and focused its limited battery power on opening its solar arrays, and other critical activities. About two hours after touchdown, it sent more good news. The first pictures confirmed that the solar arrays needed for the mission's energy supply had unfolded properly, and masts for the stereo camera and weather station had swung into vertical position.

Phoenix Project Manager Barry Goldstein and Principal Investigator Peter Smith await data in JPL's mission control during the Phoenix landing on Mars. "Seeing these images after a successful landing reaffirmed the thorough work over the past five years by a great team," said Phoenix Project Manager Barry Goldstein of JPL. A key milestone still ahead is the first use of the lander's 7.7-foot-long robotic arm, not planned before Tuesday.

"Only five of our planet's 11 previous attempts to land on the Red Planet have succeeded. In exploring the universe, we accept some risk in exchange for the potential of great scientific rewards," said Ed Weiler, NASA associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, Washington.

Phoenix carries science instruments to assess whether ice just below the surface ever thaws and whether some chemical ingredients of life are preserved in the icy soil. These are key questions in evaluating whether the environment has ever been favorable for microbial life. Phoenix will also study other aspects of the soil and atmosphere with instrument capabilities never before used on Mars. Canada supplied the lander's weather station.

Transmissions from Phoenix have reported results after a check of several components and systems on the spacecraft. "Phoenix is an amazing machine, and it was built and flown by an amazing team. Through the entire entry, descent and landing phase, it performed flawlessly," said Ed Sedivy, Phoenix program manager at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company. "The spacecraft stayed in contact with Earth during that critical period, and we received a lot of data about its health and performance. I'm happy to report it's in great shape.

"Phoenix uses hardware from a spacecraft built for a 2001 launch that was canceled in response to the loss of a similar Mars spacecraft during a 1999 landing attempt. Researchers who proposed the Phoenix mission in 2002 saw the unused spacecraft as a resource for pursuing a new science opportunity. A few months earlier, NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter discovered that plentiful water ice lies just beneath the surface throughout much of high-latitude Mars. NASA chose the Phoenix proposal over 24 other proposals to become the first endeavor in the Mars Scout program of competitively selected missions.

The signal confirming that Phoenix had survived touchdown and the transmission of the first pictures were relayed via Mars Odyssey and received on Earth at the Goldstone, Calif., antenna station of NASA's Deep Space Network.

The Phoenix mission is led by Smith at the University of Arizona with project management at JPL and development partnership at Lockheed Martin. International contributions come from the Canadian Space Agency; the University of Neuchatel, Switzerland; the universities of Copenhagen and Aarhus, Denmark; Max Planck Institute, Germany; and the Finnish Meteorological Institute.

For more about Phoenix, visit http://www.nasa.gov/phoenix.

Bye for now,
Nick.

Sunday 25 May 2008

NASA Honours Apollo 13 Astronaut John Swigert

NASA Honours Apollo 13 Astronaut John 'Jack' Swigert


The Ambassador of Exploration Award recognizes the sacrifices and dedication of the Apollo, Gemini and Mercury astronauts. Each astronaut or their surviving families will be presented a lunar sample, part of the 842 pounds of moon rocks and soil returned during the six lunar expeditions from 1969 to 1972. An inscription describes the rock as "a symbol of the unity of human endeavor and mankind's hope for a future of peace and harmony."


NASA Ambassador of Exploration Award



Photo Credit:NASA

WASHINGTON -- NASA will honor the late astronaut John "Jack" L. Swigert, Jr., with the presentation of an Ambassador of Exploration Award for his involvement in the U.S. space program. During a ceremony with Apollo 13 spacecraft commander James Lovell on Friday, May 23, Swigert's sister Virginia will accept the award at and present it for display to the Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum in Denver, Colo.

The award presentation will highlight the opening of the museum's new exhibit on Colorado's Astronauts. NASA is giving the Ambassador of Exploration Award to the first generation of explorers in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space programs for realizing America's goal of going to the moon.

The award is a moon rock encased in Lucite and mounted for public display. The rock is part of the 842 pounds of lunar samples collected during the six Apollo expeditions from 1969 to 1972. Swigert was born in Denver and received a received a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Colorado in 1953. Swigert was the command module pilot for the Apollo 13 mission.

He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in November 1982, but died the following month before taking office.


Astronaut John 'Jack' swigert NASA Biography

Bye for now,

Nick.

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NASA'S GLAST Space Telescope to Launch Aboard Delta II on June 3

NASA'S GLAST Space Telescope to Launch Aboard Delta II on June 3

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Launch of NASA's Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope, or GLAST, is targeted for Tuesday, June 3, from Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The launch window extends from 11:45 a.m. to 1:40 p.m. EDT and remains unchanged through Aug. 7.

The June 3 launch date is dependent on space shuttle Discovery's May 31 liftoff, and will move if the shuttle launch is delayed. NASA's new gamma-ray observatory will open a wide window on the universe through the study of Gamma rays, the highest-energy form of light. GLAST data will enable scientists to answer persistent questions across a broad range of topics, including supermassive black-hole systems, pulsars, the origin of cosmic rays, and searches for signals of new physics.

Link to GLAST website

Bye for now,
Nick.

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Friday 23 May 2008

Moon Shot - Space Docudrama

Man’s landing on the moon was our greatest technological achievement.

For the first time, our species walked on another celestial body. Even more remarkable was their ability to make it back.This glossy, thrilling and moving docudrama combines stunning space-recreation with breathtaking interviews from those who were there.In production. Due for transmission 2009.

Checkout the 'Moon Shot' Website.

Bye for now,
Nick.
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NASA Updates Space Shuttle Target Launch Dates

NASA Updates Space Shuttle Target Launch Dates

HOUSTON -- NASA Thursday adjusted the target launch dates for two space shuttle missions in 2008. Shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission to the Hubble Space Telescope is now targeted for Oct. 8, and Endeavour's STS-126 supply mission to the International Space Station has moved from Oct. 16 to Nov. 10. The final servicing mission to Hubble was moved from Aug. 28 due to a delay in deliveries of components, including the external fuel tanks, and the need to prepare Endeavour for a possible rescue mission approximately two weeks after STS-125 launches.

Flights beyond STS-126 will be assessed and coordinated with NASA's international partners at a later date. Both shuttle and station program officials will continue to consider options for the remainder of the shuttle flights, with those target launch dates being subject to change. The Shuttle Program also has decided that Atlantis will be assigned two additional flights after the Hubble mission in order to more efficiently fly the remaining shuttle flights using the three orbiters in sequence.

Shuttle launch manifest.

Bye for now,
Nick.

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Thursday 22 May 2008

Discovery Channel Launches New Site


Hi,

Attention Space Fans! Discovery Channel New Site


Check it out! Lots of activities for young and old.
Nick

Explosions on the Moon

100 Explosions on the Moon

May 21, 2008: Not so long ago, anyone claiming to see flashes of light on the Moon would be viewed with deep suspicion by professional astronomers. Such reports were filed under "L" … for lunatic.

Not anymore. Over the past two and a half years, NASA astronomers have observed the Moon flashing at them not just once but one hundred times.

"They're explosions caused by meteoroids hitting the Moon," explains Bill Cooke, head of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). "A typical blast is about as powerful as a few hundred pounds of TNT and can be photographed easily using a backyard telescope."

Above: A lunar impact on Jan. 4, 2008. This is number 86 on the list of 100 impacts recorded by the MEO team since their survey began in 2005.

Large movie: 0.8 MB gif,

The impactor was a tiny fragment of extinct comet 2003 EH1. Every year in early January, the Earth-Moon system passes through a stream of debris from that comet, producing the well-known Quadrantid meteor shower. Here on Earth, Quadrantids disintegrate as flashes of light in the atmosphere; on the airless Moon they hit the ground and explode.

"We started our monitoring program in late 2005 after NASA announced plans to return astronauts to the Moon," says team leader Rob Suggs of the MSFC. If people were going to be walking around up there, "it seemed like a good idea to measure how often the Moon was getting hit."
"Almost immediately, we detected a flash."

That first detection—"I'll never forget it," he says--came on Nov. 7, 2005, when a piece of Comet Encke about the size of a baseball hit Mare Imbrium. The resulting explosion produced a 7th magnitude flash, too dim for the naked eye but an easy target for the team's 10-inch telescope.

A common question, says Cooke, is "how can something explode on the Moon? There's no oxygen up there."

These explosions don't require oxygen or combustion. Meteoroids hit the moon with tremendous kinetic energy, traveling 30,000 mph or faster. "At that speed, even a pebble can blast a crater several feet wide. The impact heats up rocks and soil on the lunar surface hot enough to glow like molten lava--hence the flash."

During meteor showers such as the Quadrantids or Perseids, when the Moon passes through dense streams of cometary debris, the rate of lunar flashes can go as high as one per hour. Impacts subside when the Moon exits the stream, but curiously the rate never goes to zero.
"Even when no meteor shower is active, we still see flashes," says Cooke.




Above: A map of the 100 explosions observed since late 2005. A complete list with lunar coordinates is available here.

These "off-shower" impacts come from a vast swarm of natural space junk littering the inner solar system. Bits of stray comet dust and chips off old asteroids pepper the Moon in small but ultimately significant numbers. Earth gets hit, too, which is why on any given night you can stand under a dark sky and see a few meteors per hour glide overhead—no meteor shower required. Over the course of a year, these random or "sporadic" impacts outnumber impacts from organized meteor showers by a ratio of approximately 2:1.
"That's an important finding," says Suggs. "It means there's no time of year when the Moon is impact-free."

Fortunately, says Cooke, astronauts are in little danger. "The odds of a direct hit are negligible. If, however, we start building big lunar outposts with lots of surface area, we'll have to carefully consider these statistics and bear in mind the odds of a structure getting hit."
Secondary impacts are the greater concern. When meteoroids strike the Moon, debris goes flying in all directions. A single meteoroid produces a spray consisting of thousands of "secondary" particles all traveling at bullet-like velocities. This could be a problem because, while the odds of a direct hit are low, the odds of a secondary hit may be significantly greater. "Secondary particles smaller than a millimeter could pierce a spacesuit," notes Cooke.
Right: A simulated meteoroid explodes on impact at the NASA/Ames Vertical Gun Range. This is a genuine photo showing the spray of secondary particles: more.

At present, no one knows how far and wide secondary particles travel. To get a handle on the problem, Cooke, Suggs and colleagues are shooting artificial meteoroids at simulated moon dust and measuring the spray. This work is being done at the Vertical Gun Range at NASA's Ames Research Center in Mountain View, CA: full story.

Meanwhile, back at the observatory, the team has upgraded their original 10-inch (25 cm) telescope to a pair of telescopes, one 14-inch (36 cm) and one 20-inch (51 cm), located at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama. They've also established a new observing site in Georgia with a 14-inch telescope. Multiple telescopes allow double- and triple-checking of faint flashes and improve the statistical underpinnings of the survey.
"The Moon is still flashing," says Suggs. Indeed, during the writing of this story, three more impacts were detected.

Bye for now,

Nick.

NASA Kid's Club - For the Young and the Young at Heart


Hi Kids,

Follow this link. Education and science is fun especially at the
Pass it on to family, friends and of course teacher!
Bye for now,
Nick.



Phoenix Set for Challenging Mars Landing on May 25

NASA's newest Mars lander arrives at the red planet on May 25th 2008 to uncover clues to the geologic history and biological potential of the Martian arctic.
After a journey of 10-months and more than 400 million miles, Phoenix arrives at the Red Planet just before 8 p.m. EDT this Sunday, beginning its study of water and possible conditions for life in the Martian arctic

NASA News Releases

PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA news briefings, live commentary and updates before and after the scheduled Sunday, May 25 arrival of the agency's Phoenix Mars Lander will be available on NASA Television and on the Web. Entry, descent and landing begins at 4:46 p.m. PDT on May 25, when the flight team listens for radio signals indicating that Phoenix has entered the top of the Martian atmosphere.


The spacecraft must perform a series of challenging transformations and activities during the seven minutes after it enters the atmosphere to slow it from 12,000 mph to 5 mph and a soft touchdown. The Phoenix team will be watching for radio signals confirming the landing at 4:53 p.m. More than half of previous international attempts to land on Mars have been unsuccessful. For a detailed schedule and landing timeline, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/phoenix


The deadline for U.S. journalists to request media credentials to cover the Phoenix mission from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., is Tuesday, May 20. Foreign journalists requesting credentials must apply by Friday, May 16. Requests for media credentials must be made online at: https://eis.jpl.nasa.gov/media/index.html


Media wishing to cover the mission from the University of Arizona in Tucson, must apply online at: http://uanews.org/marsmedia


Briefings on mission goals, challenges, status and final trajectory adjustments will originate from JPL on Thursday, May 22, at 11:30 a.m. and on Saturday and Sunday, May 25-26, at noon. On landing day, May 25, live landing commentary will air on NASA TV.


A telecast of mission control -- without roll-in videos and interviews -- will run on NASA TV's Media Channel beginning at 3 p.m. Another telecast with commentary, interviews and videos will begin at 3:30 p.m. on NASA TV's Public Channel.


For more information on NASA TV and this coverage schedule, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/MM_NTV_Breaking.html Both telecasts will continue through landing and will resume at 6:30 p.m. during the period after landing when engineers anticipate the receipt of data and possible images confirming that Phoenix has opened its solar panels successfully. A news briefing at JPL will be held Sunday, May 25 at 9 p.m., following landing and the first possible downlink of images. Briefing updates at JPL also are scheduled on Monday, May 26 at 11 a.m. and on Tuesday, May 27 at 11 a.m. Daily news briefings will continue at 11 a.m. for several days following a successful landing. Mission control and the site for news briefings will then shift to the University of Arizona in Tucson after a determination that the spacecraft is in a safe condition for conducting science operations. The earliest possibility for moving the host site for mission news briefings to the University of Arizona's Space Operations Center is Wednesday, May 28. Mission briefings from Pasadena and Tucson will be carried on NASA TV unless preempted by other NASA events.


For NASA TV streaming video, schedules, and downlink information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv


Bye for now,

Nick



Wednesday 21 May 2008

STS-124 May 31 Launch Date - Confirmed

Discovery's STS-124 mission is officially scheduled for launch May 31.

The announcement was made in an afternoon news conference held at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida following today's executive-level Flight Readiness Review."Preparations are going really well," Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach said, pointing out that Discovery's remarkably smooth processing flow will allow shuttle work crews to take off the Memorial Day holiday. "Right now we're in great shape, and we really expect to have a good three or four days off this weekend and come back and launch."There are two Flight Readiness Reviews before each shuttle launch: a program-level review and an executive-level review. During these routine meetings, top NASA and contractor officials evaluate prelaunch preparations and determine whether the vehicle is ready for flight.

Discovery's 14-day flight will carry the largest payload so far to the station and includes three spacewalks. It is the second of three missions that will launch components to complete the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory. The crew will install Kibo's large Japanese Pressurized Module and Kibo’s robotic arm system. Discovery also will deliver new station crew member Greg Chamitoff and bring back Flight Engineer Garrett Reisman, who will end a three-month stay aboard the outpost.

STS-124 Crew Portrait - Image Credit:NASA
















Bye for now,
Nick

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NASA News - Send Your Name to Outer Space

Hi,

NASA invites you to submit your name to be included on a DVD that will be rocketed into space as part of NASA's Kepler Mission, scheduled to launch in February 2009.

The Name in Space DVD will be mounted on the exterior of the spacecraft in November 2008. A copy of the DVD with all of the names and messages will be given to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

Those who want to participate in the Name in Space project should submit their name, the state or country they live in and, if they desire, a short statement (500 words or less) answering the question: "Why do you think the Kepler Mission is important?"

A Certificate of Participation will be generated for printing when you register on the Kepler Mission Web site.

The deadline for submissions to the Kepler Mission Web site is Nov. 1, 2008.

To submit your name and learn more about the Kepler Mission, visit http://kepler.nasa.gov/ .

Bye for now,
Nick

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Send Your Name to the Moon - Hurry

Hi,

There is still time to Send Your Name to the Moon Aboard LRO!

NASA invites people of all ages to join the lunar exploration journey with an opportunity to send their names to the moon aboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, spacecraft.

The Send Your Name to the Moon Web site enables everyone to participate in the lunar adventure and place their names in orbit around the moon for years to come.

Participants can submit their information at http://lro.jhuapl.edu/NameToMoon/index.php, print a certificate and have their name entered into a database. The database will be placed on a microchip that will be integrated onto the spacecraft. The deadline for submitting names is June 27, 2008.


So get your skates on and sign up. How about sending your name to Outer Space - please see next post,

Bye for now - Nick

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Piers Sellers on Heart FM in the Midlands

Hi,
Driving in traffic this morning I heard a radio phone-in featuring Astronaut Piers Sellers with hosts Ed and Rachel. They seemed generally excited and thrilled at talking live to an Astronaut. Good on them for getting him on. Pity they didn't ask listeners for questions. You can here that part of the show by visiting this link:

Piers Sellers Heart FM Phone-in

Piers is a class act and makes fairly regular appearances here in the U.K. If you get the chance to go and listen...do it!

Thanks,

Nick.

Tuesday 20 May 2008

Hi,

please find below a list of useful websites of the astronauts. If you know of any others please lets us know and we'll include them on a future post:

Buzz Aldrin
Gemini 12 and Apollo 11 Astronaut. There is only one Buzz Aldrin - Enjoy.

William Anders
Apollo 8 Lunar Module Pilot

Jay Apt
Retired shuttle Astronaut now a very popular public speaker.

Alan Bean
Explorer-Artist. Site details many of his famous space paintings

Roberta Bondar
Canada's first female astronaut.

Duane "Digger" Carey
Former space shuttle pilot - Public speaker.

Scott Carpenter
Official website for the Project Mercury astronaut. This site expands frequently. Lots of great images.

Leroy Chiao
Personal blog of the former space shuttle astronaut. Flash animation and sound effects.

Walter Cunningham
Apollo 7 Astronaut. space memorabilia and some unique photos and space flown items.

Charlie Duke
Apollo 16 Moonwalker - my favourite Astronaut speaker...so far. Very professional as is his site service.

Richard Gordon Official website of the Gemini and Apollo 12 Astronaut.

Tom Jones
Former astronaut, scientist, speaker, consultant, and author.

James Lovell
Website of Lovells of Lake Forest Restaurant. Jim's son is the chef see some Apollo artifacts up close and enjoy a meal there with the chance that Jim Lovell will dine there too.

Ed Lu Multimedia website.

Franco Malerba
Former Italian Astroanut

Edgar Mitchell
Apollo 14 Astronaut Moonwalker. Site details his public speaker schedule, photographs and autographs.

Mike Mullane
Retired Shuttle astronaut -professional speaker and author.

Story Musgrave
Astronaut my wife most wants to meet. This man does degrees like most people have hot dinners, what a mind!

Bill Pogue
Skylab astronaut.

Walter Schirra
The only astronaut to fly Mercury, Gemini and Apollo - Wally recently left this world for the next.A real astroanut celebrity if ever there was one.

Rusty Schweickart
Personal home page for the Apollo 9 lunar module pilot. Very much inviolved in the Association of Space Explorers and the study of Near Earth Objects.

Rick Searfoss
Another great public speaker.

Edward White
Official website of the first American to walk in space.

Al Worden
Apollo 15 command module pilot another great space personality.

John Young
Unofficial fan site for a true space veteran.

Spaceflight Participants

Anousheh Ansari
Website of the first female and first Iranian- American spaceflight participant. Beauty and brains and a very able public speaker.

Richard Garriott
Website of the sixth space tourist and son of U.S. astronaut Owen Garriott. Richard is going all out to promote space to the public and especially to children. More please!

Gregory Olsen
Biography and photo gallery of the third private citizen to orbit

Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor
Blog of the first Malaysian angkasawan

Mark Shuttleworth
Website for the first South African Astronaut.

Charles Simonyi
Fifth space tourist and the second Hungarian in space.

thanks,
Nick
SPACEBOOSTERS Online Store
http://www.nasa-space.co.uk/
http://www.nasa-collectables.com/
http://www.unofficial-michaelfoale.com/
http://www.unofficial-pierssellers.com/
http://www.unofficial-helensharman.com/
http://www.unofficial-nicholaspatrick.com/

STS-126 Crew Portrait Released

Hi,

The crew portrait for Space Shuttle Mission STS-126 has been released. It's not up to the usual NASA standard. I believe its time these poor photoshop type backgrounds were replaced. They actually do a better job at the KSC visitor center for tourists.However it is the official release and we are stocking it in our SPACEBOOSTERS web store.

Here is a direct link to the photo: STS-126 Crew Portrait

Happy Collecting,
Nick

SPACEBOOSTERS Online Store
http://www.nasa-space.co.uk/
http://www.nasa-collectables.com/
http://www.unofficial-michaelfoale.com/
http://www.unofficial-pierssellers.com/
http://www.unofficial-helensharman.com/
http://www.unofficial-nicholaspatrick.com/

NASA 50th Anniversay Stamps

Hi,
Check out these fantastic stamp sheets and an FDC produced by the Ascension Islands P.O. to celelebrate 50 Years of NASA. http://www.postoffice.gov.ac/











First Day Cover

The original purpose of constructing the station at Ascension was for it to support the early Surveyor missions whose Atlas-Centaur launch vehicles would produce a direct-ascent trajectory to the moon, rather than insertion into a parking orbit. Translunar injection would therefore occur before the spacecraft was visible to either the Johannesburg station or the stations in Spain. Consequently a station nearer to the launch site than these facilities was needed to obtain during this phase positional data vital to trajectory determination and midcourse corrections. Because such a station could also support later deep-space missions and Apollo manned missions, NASA decided to build an integrated facility (with a joint-control building) serving both programmes. A site survey, conducted by Goddard Space Flight Centre personnel in April 1964 on Ascension Island, identified a suitable site at Devil’s Ashpit, at an elevation of 1,761 feet on the eastern side of the island.Deep space and Apollo missions were separately monitored by two 9-metre, az-el mounted antennas with high angular-tracking rates. The deep-space antenna (on the right) had a nominal communications range of 60,300 kilometres (37,500 miles).

Happy Collecting,

Nick

SPACEBOOSTERS Online Store
http://www.nasa-space.co.uk/
http://www.nasa-collectables.com/
http://www.unofficial-michaelfoale.com/
http://www.unofficial-pierssellers.com/
http://www.unofficial-helensharman.com/
http://www.unofficial-nicholaspatrick.com/

http://www.spaceboosters.co.uk/

Monday 19 May 2008

Visit us at: Rocket & Space Event 21st & 22nd June

Hi,

Be sure to visit our stand at the Rocket and Space Event 2008, Rocket Workshops, Educational Talks, Exhibitors, Traders, plus much more... for details visit the site at:


Rocket & Space Event

We'll see you there. Let us know you're a spaceboosters blogger,

All the best,
Nick


Nick Deakin


SPACEBOOSTERS Online Store
http://www.nasa-space.co.uk/
http://www.nasa-collectables.com/
http://www.unofficial-michaelfoale.com/
http://www.unofficial-pierssellers.com/
http://www.unofficial-helensharman.com/
http://www.unofficial-nicholaspatrick.com/

'Free' Space Patches Reference CD's

Hi,

We are pleased to announce our 'free' NASA space patches reference CD's.
They contain NASA space patch images plus over 100 presskits and other images and information and they're free. They are a valuable reference tool. They are the first two ebooks that we have produced; many more in the pipeline too.
Digital downloads is the way to go watch this space!

In the meantime please read the following to obtain your free copies.

CALLING ALL SPACE FAN'S

SPACEBOOSTERS have produced some educational and informative ebooks. They are available on CD absolutely free of charge.
Current titles include:


CD 1. A Guide to U.S Mission Insignia and the Apollo Story (Includes hundreds of illustrations and Apollo Press Kits)
Typical screenshots:















CD 2. U.S Space Shuttle Insignia (Including over 120 Full Colour Mission Press kits)
Typical screenshots:









Within the U.K.

To obtain one of the CD's within the U.K. Please send your address and two first class stamps to the address below.We will not give your details out to anyone else. We will even provide the return envelope. Don't delay write today!

The address to write to is:

SPACEBOOSTERS
P.O Box 5229
Walsall
WS1 9GU
England.
United Kingdom

Visit our spacestore for NASA collectables, Space Shuttle Mission Insignia and much more. Everything from NASA mission patches to photos, decals, lapel pins, postcards and more.

Rest of the World

To obtain one of the CD's anywhere else in the world please provide us with your address and two International Reply Coupons (IRC) available from your local post office. We will not give your details out to anyone else. We will even provide the return envelope. Don't delay write today!

The address to write to is:

SPACEBOOSTERS
P.O Box 5229
Walsall
WS1 9GU
England.
United Kingdom

SPACE Icecream

We stock the full range of Space icecream and other freeze dried foods from:
http://astronautfoods.co.uk/stockists.php

The range includes:
  • Astronaut Ice Cream® Freeze-Dried, Ready-to-Eat, Neapolitan Ice Cream Chocolate, Vanilla and Strawberry Slice.
  • Astronaut Ice Cream® Sandwich Freeze-Dried, Ready-to-Eat, Vanilla Ice Cream within two Chocolate Wafers
  • Astronaut Cinnamon Apple Wedges Delicious, Ready-to-Eat, Space Food™
  • Astronaut Bananas® Freeze-Dried, All Natural, Ready-to-Eat, Space Food
  • Astronaut Peaches® Freeze-Dried, Ready-to-Eat, Peaches
  • Astronaut Strawberries® Freeze-Dried, Ready-to-Eat, Strawberries

Be sure to visit our site often at http://www.spaceboosters.co.uk/

For space information/images and links visit:

http://www.nasa-space.co.uk/

http://www.nasa-collectables.com/

Astronaut Fan Sites:

http://www.unofficial-nicholaspatrick.com/

http://www.unofficial-michaelfoale.com/

http://www.unofficial-helensharman.com/

http://www.unofficial-pierssellers.com/

Bye for now,

Nick