Filed under: Aeronautics, Cool Science, Science | Tags: Commercial Spaceflight, news, Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic unveils a new WhiteKnightTwo, bringing commercial spaceflight a little closer – at least to those with an extra $200,000!
Press Release – Virgin Galactic, Mojave Air and Spaceport, California July 28th 2008
http://www.virgingalactic.com/
WhiteKnightTwo launch vehicle for SpaceShipTwo heralds a new era in aerospace fuel efficiency, performance and versatility
Virgin Founder, Sir Richard Branson and SpaceShipOne designer, Burt Rutan, today pulled back the hangar doors on the new WhiteKnightTwo (WK2) carrier aircraft that will ferry SpaceShipTwo and thousands of private astronauts, science packages and payload on the first stage of the Virgin Galactic sub-orbital space experience.
The rollout represents another major milestone in Virgin Galactic’s quest to launch the world’s first private, environmentally benign, space access system for people, payload and science.
Christened “EVE” in honor of Sir Richard’s mother, who performed the official naming ceremony, WK2 is both visually remarkable and represents ground-breaking aerospace technology. It is the world’s largest all carbon composite aircraft and many of its component parts have been built using composite materials for the very first time. At 140 ft, the wing spar is the longest single carbon composite aviation component ever manufactured.
Read more of the official press release at Virgin Galactic’s webiste: http://www.virgingalactic.com/
The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) in Portland Oregon will offer astronomy enthusiasts a front-row seat for the live satellite broadcast of a full solar eclipse on Friday, August 1, at 4:09 a.m. PDT in OMSI’s Kendall Planetarium. Doors open Friday morning at 3:00 a.m. with the live broadcast beginning at 3:30 a.m. Admission is free with limited seating.
On August 1, a full solar eclipse will occur as the new moon moves directly between the sun and the earth. The moon’s shadow will fall first on Canada, zoom across Greenland, the Arctic, central Russia, Mongolia, and into China. There, in the remote Xinjiang Province in Northwestern China, very close to the Mongolian border, an eclipse expedition team from San Francisco’s Exploratorium will be waiting. Since the eclipse is not visible at all in the United States, the team will webcast the eclipse live to the world. From this remote desert on the ancient Silk Road, they will point four cutting-edge telescopes skywards to capture the eclipse from beginning to end—in white light, hydrogen alpha (for amazing details), and Calcium-K (to see surface structure).
In addition to live feeds of the eclipse, Exploratorium scientists Dr. Rob Semper and Dr. Paul Doherty will provide commentary on prominences, sunspots, and the corona as they occur. NASA heliospheric physicist Dr. Eric Christian will show some of the latest imagery of the sun from NASA’s SOHO and STEREO missions and explain how the solar wind can impact us here on Earth. Dr. Na Wang, director of the Urumqi National Observatory, will also be present. From coronal mass ejections to snapshots of the Silk Road to the newest U.S. and Chinese moon missions, the Exploratorium will cover it all while broadcasting one of the world’s most awe-inspiring celestial events.
For more information about the Kendall Planetarium, visit http://www.omsi.edu/visit/planetarium/
For information regarding OMSI, visit http://www.omsi.edu/
According to a press release received this morning, an accalimed documentary, Sputnik Mania, opens this weekend in Portland at the Hollywood Theatre. The press release below describes more about this space age film. For more info visit http://www.SputnikMania.com
October 4, 2007 marked the 50th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik, the first manmade object ever to leave the atmosphere and successfully orbit the earth. Throughout the world, events are being planned to celebrate the “Sputnik Year,” which begins on the anniversary and runs through December 31, 2008. As part of that celebration, SPUTNIK MANIA tells the satellite’s story from America’s point of view.
Like today, 1957 was a time of fear. In place of Al Qaeda, dirty bombs, and the war in Iraq, there were the Soviets, hydrogen bombs, and the Cold War. The world’s two superpowers were hell-bent on beating one another by any means necessary. It was also a time of political wrangling, with a popular president under attack for not being strong enough on Communism.
The film leads us through the first year following the launch of Sputnik. In 1958, a nuclear weapon was tested in the atmosphere by either Russia or the United States every three days. By the end of that year, nothing was the same. Sputnik spurred us into an arms and space race, necessitating the creation of an academic army of scientists and engineers. This led to the development of NASA, massive reforms in our education system, and the discoveries that enabled many of the consumer technologies on which we depend today (the Internet, cell phones, global positioning systems, credit card verifications and high-definition televisions). The launch of Sputnik also led to widespread panic, fear and anxiety as leading politicians and the media whipped the public into an escalating mass frenzy – only months after Sputnik’s launch, 60% of Americans thought that nuclear war was imminent and that 50% of the American population would likely die (Gallup Poll, April 1958).
With our education system again in dire need of reform, the renewed focus on nuclear testing, and NASA’s plans to build a moon base by 2024, the cosmic frontier has reopened to a new generation of scientists, engineers, and soldiers. As the film’s epilogue asks: what will be our next “Sputnik moment” — the event that drives us to address these and other challenges?
SPUTNIK MANIA is based on Paul Dickson’s bestselling book Sputnik: The Shock of the Century. The filmmaker, David Hoffman, has 40 years of movie-making experience, including over one hundred television specials and four feature documentaries. Actor Liev Schreiber narrates the film with his dramatic and instantly recognizable style of storytelling.
Many key players of the Sputnik era supported the production of SPUTNIK MANIA. Russian representatives, NASA, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the National Education Association, NPR’s Daniel Schorr, and Homer Hickam of Rocket Boys fame among others contribute to the film with short clips dramatically telling their stories.
SPUTNIK MANIA sings an uncannily prophetic song of the past to the tune of the present. It tells a story of great relevance to issues facing the 21st century.
The film will show Saturday, July 26th and 27th at 12:30pm, 3:45pm & 5:30pm, with an additional screening on Monday July 28th at 7:00pm. The showtimes for the second weekend will be set on Monday the 28th.
The Hollywood Theatre is located at 4122 NE Sandy Blvd. in Portland. General admission is $6.50, $4.50 for seniors 65+ and children 4-12. Monday night all shows are just $4.
Filed under: Best Practice, Educational Materials, K-12, NASA, STEM, Science, Teacher Development
The Educational Materials section of NASA’s Web site offers classroom activities, educator guides, posters and other types of resources that are available for use in the classroom. Materials are listed by type, grade level and subject. The following item is now available for downloading.
Space Science Is for Everyone: Creating and Using Accessible Resources in Educational Settings
Over the past seven years, the Southeast Regional Clearinghouse, or SERCH, convened seven highly successful “Exceptional Space Science Materials for Exceptional Students” workshops. The workshops offered professional development training and resources for the teachers of students with disabilities, science educators (both formal and informal), and product developers who are working to make Earth and space science concepts more accessible for persons with disabilities.
This collection of helpful hints and resources is based on the seven workshops, the expertise of the participants and product testing in classrooms around the United States following these workshops. The brochure is offered as a tool for science, technology, engineering and mathematics educators who are working with students and/or audiences with disabilities. Some activity descriptions are supplemented with case study examples addressing a particular disability. In addition, contributing educator-authors have provided a variety of lessons learned from formal education (Pre-K-12), home school education and informal or “free-choice” education learning venues, such as science centers, museums and planetariums.
Filed under: Educational Materials, K-12, NASA, STEM, Science, Teacher Opportunities | Tags: Arctic Research
Follow along as American, Canadian and Inuit teachers work side by side with NASA scientists studying remote and extreme environments in the Arctic July 25 through Aug. 2, 2008. Training slides and biographies of expedition participants are available online. Science plans are also available that outline the investigations that will be taking place to search for life in extreme environments. During the expedition, participants will post journal entries.
The mission of Spaceward Bound is to train the next generation of space explorers. The mission has students and teachers participate in the exploration of scientifically interesting but remote and extreme environments on Earth as analogs for human exploration of the moon and Mars. Spaceward Bound Field Expeditions involve teachers in authentic fieldwork so that they can bring that experience back to their classrooms and assist in the development of curriculum related to human exploration of remote and extreme environments.
For more information, visit http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/projects/spacewardbound/arctic2008/index.html
Satellite Images of the Californai Wildfires
New high resolution images showing the location and effects of wildfires across California are available at the NASA website. NASA’s Terra Satellite has captured the latest of these images, available at the following website: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/fire_and_smoke.html
Filed under: Conference, Higher Education, K-12, NASA, Professional Development, STEM, Science, Student Opportunities, Teacher Development, Teacher Opportunities | Tags: computer modeling, Computer Simulation
MODSIM World 2008 Offers Educators Amazing Professional Development Opportunity
Sponsored by the Virginia Modeling, Analysis & Simulation Center (VMASC) and the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, MODSIM World 2008 is September 15-18, 2008, at the Virginia Beach (VA) Convention Center.
MODSIM World 2008:
• Is the premier international conference and exposition for researchers and practitioners and for the diffusion of knowledge in modeling, simulation, visualization, game-based learning, systems thinking, and systems dynamics
• Has an Education & Training Track designed specifically for K-20+ educators, undergraduate, and graduate level students, administrators, supervisors, coordinators, policymakers, and homeschoolers.
• Offers K-12 (in-service) educators a $125.00 early registration fee ($175.00 at the door).
• Provides pre-service education students and future teachers with a special, “reduced” registration fee. (A one-day pass for $50.00 and a three-day pass for $100.00.)
Register at www.modsimworld2008.com
About the Education & Training Track
MODSIM is broadly defined to include modeling, simulation, visualization, games for learning, systems thinking, and system dynamics. The Education & Training Track includes papers, presentations, invited speakers, demonstrations, and tutorials broadly focusing on teaching, learning, training, and preparing a 21st Century modeling and simulation workforce.
Topics of interest include
– learning theory, curriculum development and integration, classroom instruction, tools and applications, infrastructure and integration, standards, policy, certification, accreditation, professional development, MODSIM as content and methodology, and continuing education.
What Will Educators Gain From Attending MODSIM World 2008 Conference & Expo?
Attendees will :
• Learn as they interact with colleagues and experts.
• Improve their content knowledge by attending workshops and tutorials; hearing invited speakers and presenters; and participating in panels and roundtables.
• Increase their technology skills by attending Games for Learning sessions, workshops, and tutorials and interacting with vendors.
• Experience the application of MODSIM as a tool for building 21st Century skills.
• See MODSIM used to integrate science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
• Learn to create differentiated “teaching and learning” strategies
Filed under: Educator Institute, K-12, Professional Development, STEM, Teacher Development, Teacher Opportunities | Tags: Computer Science, Information Technology, IT
TechStart SuperQuest 2008 is a computer science and information technology institute for K-12 teachers. The institute, in cooperation with the Oregon Computer Science Teachers Association and Western Oregon University, will be held on the WOU campus in Monmouth Oregon on August 4-8, 2008. The session cost is only $80 for the week, including a continental breakfast and lunch!
Some of the session topics include:
- LEGO Robotics
- Using Gaming Software as a Gateway to Computer Science
- Animation with Adobe Flash
- AP Computer Science using Python
To learn more and register online, please visit the TechStart website at http://www.techstart.org/superquest
As of July 9, 2008, the California wildfires continue to burn, threatening homes, residents, and wildlife. New NASA images clearly show the extent of the fires. To read more and view the images, please visit the NASA website at http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/fire_and_smoke.html
Dozens of uncontained fires continued to burn in California in the first week of July 2008. The fires, most of them started by an intense lightning storm in the first week of summer, were threatening residences, cultural resources, and utility infrastructure, such as power lines. This image of the state was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite on July 6, 2008. Places where MODIS detected active fires are marked in red. A few of the larger fires and fire complexes are labeled. Among the largest and most active fires in the state was the Basin Complex Fire near Big Sur (south of Salinas). That blaze was 74,985 acres in size, having grown 3,700 acres in the previous 24 hours. It was only about 11 percent contained, according to the July 7 morning report from the National Interagency Fire Center.
California Wildfires
Este año el Programa 4-H de Oregon State University Extension Service está ofreciendo tres campamentos de verano en el Oregon 4-H Conference & Education Center, 5390 4-H Road, NW, Salem, OR 97304; dichos campamentos están enfocados en estudiantes latinos de 3º al 12º grado. El Campamento #1 tiene cupo limitado para 75 estudiantes de primaria en grados 3º al 5º del 16 al 19 de agosto. El Campamento #2 tiene un cupo limitado para 100 estudiantes de secundaria en grados 6º al 8º del 10 al 14 de agosto. El Campamento #3 tiene cupo limitado para 75 estudiantes de preparatoria en grados 9º al 12º del 11 al 14 de julio
El Campamento Internacional de Verano 2007 de 4 días y 24 horas al día, es parte de un gran esfuerzo que está haciendo el programa 4-H en el estado de Oregon para involucrar jóvenes latinos del 3º al 12º grado en actividades educativas que les permitan mejorar sus habilidades académicas, a desarrollar habilidades de liderazgo e involucrarlos en actividades físicas, sanas y divertidas; las cuales les ayudarán a ser ciudadanos importantes, respetuosos, responsables y contribuyentes de comunidad.
Para más información visité http://oregon.4h.oregonstate.edu/programs/events/latinoCamp/latinoCamp.htm
