Tag Archives: Kerbal Space Program

Inspiring a New Generation of Scientists and Space Explorers

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I was at STARBASE One at Selfridge Air National Guard Base on June 11 & 12, 2019 as part of their Summer Academy – I taught the students how to fly rockets in Kerbal Space Program. I created several different rockets for them to launch: a small and large sounding rocket, and a crewed sub-orbital and orbital vessel; I related the sub-orbital and orbital flights to those of Alan Shepard and John Glenn. Their first rocket was aimed down at the launchpad, so they got to see something explode! For some reason, the students seem to get a kick out of this… but it does show that rockets in KSP can crash. When the students launched sounding rockets, I mentioned the Keweenaw Rocket Range; Michigan launched its first sounding rocket into space on Jan. 29, 1971! My wife and I visited the launchpad in 2016. When I showed the students how orbits are raised, a common comment was “that’s weird!” Yup! Orbital mechanics sure … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – May 28, 2019

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This entry is part 98 of 101 in the series In the Sky This Week

Starlink Satellites Cause a Stir SpaceX has launched the first 60 of a planned 12,000 Starlink satellites, intended to provide global broadband internet service. Despite assurances to the contrary, a train of bright lights has been seen crossing the night sky, along with some reports of Iridium-like flares. Astronomers and observatories are understandably concerned, with some expressing concern that this could “ruin the night sky.” I’m more concerned about any effect this might have on asteroid discovery and planetary defense; needless to say, I’ll be following this developing story closely. Mars will soon be lost on the glare of the sunset in the west-northwestern sky. Saturn and Jupiter continue to be visible in the southern predawn sky all week; Jupiter rises in the southeast around 10:00 PM. A thin waning crescent Moon appears low in the eastern predawn sky for the next few days; I saw this out my kitchen window while making coffee this morning. Video: Asteroid Discovery I … Continue reading →

Remembering Apollo 8

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Christmas Eve 2018 marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 8 mission, which put humans into orbit around the Moon for the first time. From lunar orbit, an image of the Earth rising over the limb of the Moon was taken; “Earthrise” went on to become one of the most influential photographs of the space age, gracing the cover of TIME Magazine, and a U.S. postage stamp. On December 24, 1968, with the surface of the Moon rolling-by outside their windows, the Apollo 8 astronauts read the first 10 verses of Genesis to the largest broadcast TV audience in history (at that point in time). Video: TIME interview with the 3 Apollo 8 astronauts The year 1968 saw terrible tragedies, including the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., and the riots in Detroit. It’s fair to say that regardless of one’s religion, the Christmas message from Apollo 8 commander Frank Borman, command module pilot Jim Lovell, and lunar … Continue reading →

Endeavour Space Academy

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I cannot remember a time when I haven’t been fascinated with astronomy, the space program, and science fiction. I was a child during the Apollo era, and a young man when the original COSMOS first aired. I cut my teeth on Star Trek, Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, and Larry Niven; Carl Sagan was, and remains to this day, my personal hero. Now that I think about it, I started doing astronomy outreach the moment I got my first cheap telescope in 1968; I showed the Moon, Jupiter, and Saturn to the neighbors, and took it with me to summer camp. I had one of those really scary green glass eyepiece solar filters – that got used a lot more than I like to think about! My wife gave me an 8″ Dobsonian telescope for my 40th birthday, that came with a not-scary-at-all solar filter; that telescope has seen a LOT of use in 16 years – so much so, it’s … Continue reading →

Asteroid Day 2016

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June 30th – the date of the historic Tunguska Impact Event of 1908. Dr. Carl Sagan introduced me to Tunguska in his 1980’s COSMOS series. I’ve done the same for quite a few members of the public, and students over the years. June 30th is also the date of this year’s second annual worldwide Asteroid Day. In 2013, a relatively small asteroid exploded over a densely populated city in Russia – blowing out windows, damaging buildings, and injuring almost two thousand people. A group was organized – their goal was simple: to make every human on earth aware of asteroids, to urge world governments and space agencies to ramp-up asteroid detection programs, and begin creation of planetary defense and impact mitigation programs. This group crafted a declaration, and got a significant number of very well-known individuals to sign-on: As scientists and citizens, we strive to solve humanity’s greatest challenges to safeguard our families and quality of life on Earth in … Continue reading →

ExoMars Orbiter and Lander Begin 7 Month Journey to the Red Planet

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The first mission of the European Space Agency’s  ExoMars programme has lifted off on a Proton-M rocket from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, and is on its way to Mars. The mission includes the Trace Gas Orbiter, plus the Schiaparelli entry, descent and landing demonstrator module. The mission will arrive at Mars in October of 2016. The main objectives of the mission are to search for evidence of methane and other trace atmospheric gases that could be signatures of active biological or geological processes, and to test key technologies in preparation for ESA’s contribution to future Mars missions. Three days before reaching Mars, the Schiaparelli lander will detach from the orbiter, and coast towards atmospheric entry. It will enter the atmosphere at 21,000 km/hr, aerobraking and then deploying parachutes. A thruster system system will be used for the final stage of its descent. The lander will operate on the surface of Mars for 2-4 sols (Martian days). The scientific mission for the Trace … Continue reading →

Space Visualization Software

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“Where do you get all those cool images from?” I was asked this after one of my lectures. When I create a lecture, I always include a LOT of images; I get many of these from various space mission websites. Occasionally, I am unable to find exactly the image I want, or wish to convey a concept that I cannot find an image for. When this happens, I create my own! There are several computer apps that allow you to visualize objects in space in a number of different ways, including: See the current position of the planets in the solar system. Go to a current NASA spacecraft, and see what they’re doing. View the solar system from any planet or moon. See the sky from the surface of the Earth at any time in the past or future. Lob an asteroid at the Earth, and see what happens. Send a star hurtling through the solar system, and see what … Continue reading →

If You Could See All The Asteroids…

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In this video, astronomer Scott Manley shows you what it would look like if you could see all the asteroids near the Earth. This is a “360 video;” if you play it on a device that supports it (like a smartphone) you can look around in all directions. Scott produced this video, showing asteroid discovery over the last few decades. Watching this for the first time simply shocked me, and may well be one of the reasons I started researching asteroids for my lecture. Scott is a also a huge fan of Kerbal Space Program, and has produced a boatload of helpful training videos. In this video, Scott shows the new Asteroid Day mod for KSP, including a in-game version of the B612 Foundation’s infrared asteroid-hunting Sentinel space telescope. … Continue reading →