Recent Posts

• On The Participatory Approach to Exploration
• Predictions for Commercial Space in 2009
• The FIRST Team
• Rationale and Goals of the U.S. Civil Space Program
• New web site for nanosat community
• It’s a mystery…team
• Space Shuttle Makes a Bow Wave in Twittersphere
• Many Ways To Participate In Space Enterprise
• Cal Poly SLO Students Tour Lockheed Martin, Sunnyvale
• NASA wants your input!

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On The Participatory Approach to Exploration

February 26th, 2009   By Matt   Filed Under Big Idea Space, Industry Space  

There has been some discussion online recently about the application of the participatory tool set to the exploration of space.  This is something that I am very supportive of, having seen first hand in the Centennial Challenges program the kinds of unexpected ideas that can come from giving the public a chance to contribute in parallel with traditional development efforts.  The participatory approach creates a wild card effect that helps to ensure that no stone is left unturned.

In thinking about the online discussion of the role for participatory technologies, I am reminded of something that Mike Bailey, a professor at UCSD Supercomputer Center, told us about learning to produce 3D visualization tools based on OpenGL.  He said that we were learning to become “Engineering Batman” in the sense that we were learning to produce and utilize the things that would be on our Batman utility belts as engineers.

I see the participatory approach as another one of these tools that us “Batman engineers” should know how to best utilize and keep on our utility belts.  Like all tools, there are scenarios when they are right for the job and ones when they are not.  Think of things like computers, hand held calculators, and 3D visualization; they don’t add value unless you take the time to learn how to apply them correctly.  Participatory technologies are no different, but since they necessarily involve putting large numbers of human brains in the loop, I would like to think there is great potential here.  After all, we have seen what mass scalability did in the IT world (i.e. web servers), and now we are finding ways to allow large numbers of people to contribute through these rather than just being passive recipients of information.

We may discover new uses as the participatory tool set is more broadly adopted, but the place where I see immediate benefits is at the innovation stage.  This is the phase of any project where you need to develop as many potential solutions, variations and approach vectors as possible before you start narrowing down and focusing on the most promising of them.  This is something that the participatory approach has done well.  There is an inherent value to the input of outsiders at the early stages of problem solving because they are not necessarily bound by the same assumptions that the experts might be, but by the same token, these inputs are still evaluated by subject matter experts, ideally resulting in unbound creativity refined to a very specific purpose.

I hope that others will keep participatory tool set on their utility belts, as there are a great many collateral benefits such as enhanced public awareness, transparency and social relevance that can go along with them.

Predictions for Commercial Space in 2009

February 2nd, 2009   By Matt   Filed Under Industry Space  

Clark Lindsey has posted an interesting article on predictions for commercial space in 2009.  As can be expected, commercial access to space remains a critical issue, and Lindsey outlines a number of companies that are making significant progress on this front, including CSA member SpaceX.

So, you may be asking yourself, is 2009 the year we see hundreds of people flying into space?  Probably not.  But 2009 will be spent queuing up for some amazing achievements in 2010.  Regardless of which milestones are achieved during a specific year or not, it is evident that an ecosystem of commercial space companies is getting closer to that critical mass where it truly becomes an “industry” and includes regular operations as well as R&D.

Commercial air travel made a similar transition during the late 1920s and 1930s when the concept of commercial passenger particpation transitioned from tagging along on air mail flights to dedicated passenger transports called “airliners”.  Luckily there are a few lessons learned from these early and exciting days of commercial air travel that we don’t have to relearn for our ventures beyond the earth’s atmosphere.

The FIRST Team

January 20th, 2009   By Matt   Filed Under Student Space  

I love to see things like this.  The endeavours of science and technology professionals are often not recognized until either somthing goes wrong or until they create some kind of major economic impact.  Let’s face it, many of the most interesting technologies are designed to be transparent to the end user.  However, with the emergence of niche media via the internet, we now have the joy of geeky content such as The Guild and Ask a Ninja that is more relevant to youth culture.

There is now a place where the stories of the younger segment of the science and technology future workforce is being told in the form of a web comic about a team competing in FIRST Robotics.  This is a great way to demistify some of the notions about robotics clubs, and to show off how cool it really is.  I have long thought it time to put STEM careers back in the spotlight, and this web comic is doing just that.

New web site for nanosat community

December 19th, 2008   By Matt   Filed Under Uncategorized  

For anybody interested in CubeSats, CanSats, or other nano satellite activity, there is a new web site called SEF Spaceworks focused on you.  The site was founded by Professor Bob Twiggs of Stanford University, and Jeffrey Manber a well known space entrepreneur.  With a focus on “Small, Entrepreneurial and Functional” space systems, I suspect this will be an expanding community in the years to come as student projects start to make quicker and more direct transitions into the commercial space market.

It’s a mystery…team

December 11th, 2008   By Matt   Filed Under Industry Space  

Discovery Channel Blog has an interesting look at the mystery surrounding the Google Lunar X PRIZE Mystery Team.

It’s good to see a bit of fun and intrigue around space activities.  It will be interesting to see who is behind this team and if they come out as a frontrunner.

Space Shuttle Makes a Bow Wave in Twittersphere

December 5th, 2008   By Matt   Filed Under Factoid Space  

The sonic boom created by Space Shuttle Endeavor on return from orbit was heard across Los Angeles.  Similar to the way earthquakes have done in the past, the event caused Twitter users who heard the sound but did not know the cause to inquire with each other to determine the cause.  Even more interesting that LA Times picked up the story.

It is fun to see how Twitter is turning humans into sentient sensors roaming around the world publising their data.  Could this be a useful paradigm for planetary exploration?  Hundreds of mini-rovers unleashed on an unsuspecting planetary surface to report back what they find would create a very different data set than those acquired from a single rover.

Many Ways To Participate In Space Enterprise

November 26th, 2008   By Matt   Filed Under Your Work Space  

A new site has launched with the purpose of informing you about opportunities to participate in different aspects of space enterprise. Spacehack uses a well designed blog format to document the many projects at NASA and elsewhere that are designed to benefit from your participation. While the site is still brand new, it already contains a pretty good gathering of participatory space projects.  It will be interesting to see where this leads as a community builds around it and more things are added.  I have to admit, I found myself wondering what the addition of content similar to that found on sites like lifehacker and create digital music would look like with a space focus.

NASA wants your input!

November 3rd, 2008   By Matt   Filed Under Industry Space  

Wayne Hale at NASA has created a blog post asking for your input.  I don’t want to paraphrase the whole thing, but the main point is that NASA is preparing to inform the next president of the agency’s current status and issues.  Dr. Haile is asking for your input on what the largest issues facing NASA are.  This is a great opportunity to participate in your space program.

How can celebrities help raise awareness of STEM careers?

October 28th, 2008   By Matt   Filed Under Big Idea Space  

What would you ask a celebrity to do in order to help encourage students of all ages to study Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)?

The space community has broadly expressed the shortage of students graduating with STEM skills in order to become the scientists, engineers and technicians of the future.  It has even been called a crisis.

Carrying this important message to young students is not without challenges.  In an industry that traditionally does not produce many products directly for consumers, there is little focus on advertising.  This results in the voice of the space community being overshadowed by the myriad commercial entities that are collectively vying for the attention of these young minds.

The entertainment industry, through the likes of the Star Wars franchise and movies like Iron Man, do provide some level of visibility to STEM careers.  The space community has recognized Hollywood for raising awareness.  In addition, the space enterprise community have also expressed, through the California Space Enterprise Strategic Plan 2007-2010, that a more direct endorsement of the value that STEM careers bring to society and our economy is needed.

The importance of addressing the STEM workforce issue is expounded by the current global economic crisis.  Some celebrities have spoken out to share their solution to global economic woes but the Planetary Society’s Board of Directors has made a strong statement that “Space is not a luxury,” and carries with it long term economic benefit.  They also make a convincing argument for the benefits derived from the inherently international community around space activity.  But the benefits to be brought from space enterprise activity depend on a healthy aerospace workforce.

So, with this global issue in need of increased awareness, what is to stop celebrities from using their star power to bring some attention to it?  How would you like to see star power applied to the STEM issue?  A press conference?  A book?  A blog post? A benefit concert? A YouTube video? Interpretive dance?

Please use the comments to tell us what you think would be an effective way for celebrities to bring awareness of STEM careers to young students.

Sometimes Workforce Development Is Rocket Science

October 22nd, 2008   By Matt   Filed Under Industry Space, Student Space  

MOJAVE, CA – Learn by doing has long been the motto of many California State University campuses and at the Long Beach campus (CSULB), that’s just what they are doing. In conjunction with Garvey Spacecraft Corporation (GSC) and the California Space Authority (CSA), 42 students from numerous campuses have successfully launched a 500 pound liquid-fueled rocket over the skies of the Mojave Desert. Funded by the US Department of Labor’s Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) initiative, the project was heavily focused on demonstrating the effectiveness of ambitious hands-on opportunities in preparing the next generation of the nation’s technical workforce.

“The space enterprise community has expressed the need for hands-on lessons that will teach to the workforce issues it faces,” stated Andrea Seastrand, Executive Director of CSA. “This exercise is exactly the type of opportunity to provide real-life, real-time learning.”

The rocket, known as Prospector 12A (P-12A) and developed by GSC and CSULB, carried payloads that were designed and developed by students of CSULB, Santa Clara University, Saratoga High School and the University of Kentucky. Their mission was to collect data about the rocket’s aerodynamic performance, the rocket’s trajectory, and to record video for further study.

“It was an exciting experience and learning process for these students and their mentors,” said Professor Bob Twiggs of Stanford University. “The Saratoga High School students asked me to say ‘thanks’ to the WIRED program for this opportunity.”

Recognizing the activity as an experience the students will remember, Dr. Eric Besnard, Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at CSULB, commented that “this launch represented the culmination of weeks of close collaboration between industry mentors, students and faculty and as a result its lessons about systems integration are all the more valuable.”

According to John Garvey of GSC, “this launch represents another important step in our long-term goal of developing a dedicated nanosat launch vehicle that can put these kinds of student payloads into orbit. The P-12A rocket reached an altitude of 3,000 feet before returning to earth.” All payloads survived the launch and returned intact and the student investigators were intensely focused on retrieving their hardware and data.

“To ensure we retain our leadership in the global space economy, it is imperative that we step up our workforce training efforts to fill the coming gap that will be caused by retirements from the existing workforce,” concluded Mrs. Seastrand. “It is exciting to know that CSA was instrumental in providing this highly relevant opportunity for students.”