Global voting started yesterday, May 9, for the International Space Apps Challenge! The Space Apps Challenge fosters innovation by providing a platform for citizens from around the world to work together to solve current challenges relevant to both space exploration and social need. The Innovation Endeavors and Talenthouse community of investors, entrepreneurs and advisors are here to support and celebrate these teams and their innovations to the fifty challenges – and invite you to vote for your favorite App. The final winners will be determined with your votes and along with an internationally recognized jury of investors and entrepreneurs from Innovation Endeavors.
Among the many Apps is one that visualizes near-real time aurora data, a solution to visualize Kepler data, such as changing star intensity, using an Arduino and a prototype web app aimed at school children that makes the Kepler exoplanet data more accessible by displayingﾠit in a visual and fun way, making comparisons with each planetﾠto our own.
The six radio hams comprising the ISS Expedition 31 crew. In the front row are Russian cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko RN3DX (right), commander; and Gennady Padalka RN3DT, flight engineer. Pictured from the left (back row) are NASA astronaut Joe Acaba KE5DAR, Russian cosmonaut Sergei Revin RN3BS, European Space Agency astronaut Andre Kuipers PI9ISS and NASA astronaut Don Pettit KD5MDT, all flight engineers. Photo credit: NASA
The ARRL report that NASA will televise the launch and docking of the next mission, carrying three radio amateurs to the International Space Station (ISS), scheduled for May 14.
NASA Flight Engineer Joseph Acaba, KE5DAR, and his two Russian crewmates, Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka, RN3DT, and Flight Engineer Sergei Revin, RN3BS, are completing their training as they undergo Soyuz spacecraft fit.
Live NASA TV coverage of the Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan begins at 9 PM CDT on Monday, May 14 (0200 UTC May 15), with the launch scheduled for 10:01 PM CDT (0301 UTC).
The trio will arrive at the station May 16, joining Expedition 31 Commander Oleg Kononenko, RN3DX, of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Flight Engineer Don Pettit, KD5MDT, of NASA and Flight Engineer Andrei Kuipers, PI9ISS, of the European Space Agency, who have been aboard the ISS since December 2011. Padalka, Acaba and Revin will transition to the Expedition 32 crew in July and return to Earth in mid-September.
The AMSAT Forum at the 2012 Dayton Hamvention will be on Saturday
morning May 19 from 11:15 to 13:30 in Forum Room 5. The moderator
will be Alan Biddle, WA4SCA
The speakers will be:
Barry Baines, WD4ASW; AMSAT Status Report
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Barry, AMSAT President, will highlight recent activities within
AMSAT, and discuss some of the challenges and accomplishments
of the organization.
Mark Hammond, N8MH; AMSAT Educational Relationships
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Mark, AMSAT VP of Educational Relationships, will discuss his
education activities.
Gould Smith, WA4SXM; ARISSat-1 Operation in Space
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Gould, AMSAT Project Manager for ARISSat-1, will talk about its
operation aboard the ISS, the deployment and operations this past
fall and winter.
Tony Monteiro, AA2TX; Project Fox - AMSAT's First CubeSat
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Tony, AMSAT Engineering VP, will discuss the design and status
of Project-FOX.
Howard Long, G6LVB; "FUN in Space for All!"
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Howard, AMSAT-UK Committee, will discuss the FUNcube project
which will enable amateurs and students to have FUN in space.
For amateurs, the spacecraft will carry conventional UHF to VHF
linear transponders. For students of all ages, the same space-
craft will provide strong telemetry transmissions which they can
easily receive at schools in support of science, technology,
engineering, and math subjects (STEM).
[ANS thanks Gould Smith, WA4SXM and Alan Biddle, WA4SCA for the
above information]
CAMBRIDGE, ON, May 9, 2012 /CNW/ – COM DEV International Ltd. (CDV.TO), a leading manufacturer of space hardware subsystems, today announced that the AEHF-2 satellite has been successfully launched with COM DEV-built switches, filters and other microwave components on board. The satellite was launched May 4 th from Cape Canaveral, Florida, aboard an Atlas V rocket.
AEHF-2 is the second of four planned “Advanced Extremely High Frequency” satellites being built for the U.S. Air Force. AEHF is the next-generation military strategic and tactical relay system. It will provide survivable, global, secure, protected, and jam-resistant communications for high-priority military ground, sea and air assets. The AEHF constellation will also serve international partners including Canada , the Netherlands and the United Kingdom .
“AEHF is one of the most technologically advanced satellite programs in the world,” said Michael Pley, CEO of COM DEV. “It’s a great example of how space technology can be used to help ensure greater security for all of us. We are pleased to be able to contribute, with multiple COM DEV divisions providing equipment for this satellite.”
A single AEHF satellite provides greater total capacity than the entire five-satellite Milstar constellation currently on-orbit.
Lockheed Martin is the AEHF prime contractor, space and ground segments provider as well as system integrator, and Northrop Grumman is the payload provider. COM DEV has been involved in the program since 2002, and is supplying equipment for all four satellites. The program has begun advanced procurement of long-lead components for the fifth and sixth AEHF satellites.
About COM DEV
COM DEV International Ltd. (www.comdevintl.com) is a leading global provider of space hardware and services. With facilities in Canada , the United Kingdom and the United States , COM DEV manufactures advanced subsystems and microsatellites that are sold to major satellite prime contractors, government agencies and satellite operators, for use in communications, space science, remote sensing and defense applications. COM DEV’s majority-owned subsidiary, exactEarth Ltd., provides satellite data services.
This news release may contain certain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from results indicated in any forward-looking statements. The Company cautions that, among other things, in view of the rapid changes in communications markets and technologies, and other risks including the cost and market acceptance of the Company’s new products, the level of individual customer procurements and competitive product offerings and pricing, and general economic circumstances, the Company’s business prospects may be materially different from forward-looking statements made by the Company.
The triangular logo and the word COM DEV are each registered trademarks and the property of COM DEV Ltd. All rights reserved.
It’s tipped to be India’s heaviest rocket till date weighing 640 tons, it’s also taken 10 years to develop and will hopefully launch Indian astronauts into space. That’s the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) designed and developed GSLV MK3 that has cost Rs 2500 crores and will put India on the multimillion dollar commercial launch market.
An interview given to Tom Nardi by Gregor Jehle (Hadez) of the Stuttgart Hackerspace was recently published on The Powerbase site.
In the interview Hadez discusses his ideas for distributed satellite ground station network and the creation of a Hackerspace Global Grid.
AMSAT-UK 
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