Archive for the ‘Space Shuttle Missions’ Category

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Celebrating Hubble’s 20th Anniversary!

Thursday, April 22nd, 2010

Twenty years ago, this month, the first of four Great Observatories launched into space aboard NASA’s space shuttle Discovery. Deployed 360-miles above the Earth by the crew of mission STS-31, the Hubble Space Telescope embarked on a journey that has taken us to places barely imagined and never before seen.

Through Hubble’s eyes, we’ve experienced the Universe in all its extremes – breathtakingly beautiful, extraordinarily complex, and exceedingly vast.  We’ve peered into stellar nurseries, looked at dying stars, and observed the remnants of long-past supernovae.  We’ve witnessed a disintegrating comet, discovered distant moons, and even journeyed back in time.  Through Hubble’s accomplishments, we’ve investigated mysteries, confirmed theories, and even raised new questions, about our Universe.  The Hubble Space Telescope has expanded our horizons, to put the Universe in our hands, like no other exploration, no other mission, and no other technology have ever done.

NASA EPO Specialist, Andrew Wolt, encourages us all to celebrate the wonders of Hubble on this 20th Anniversary and to share our events for a chance to win some fun Hubble swag!  Whether you’re hosting an astronomy club presentation, arranging an IMAX: Hubble 3D viewing party, video-casting Hubble’s finest targets through remote observing, or sharing Hubble’s discoveries in an educational environment, take a few minutes to note your event with a few details and pictures.  Your posts will encourage others to participate and may even introduce some people to Hubble’s spectacular successes Space Telescope for the very first time.  And who knows – you might even win a little bit of Hubble goodness!

Browse the Hubble Image Gallery

Explore Hubble’s online, interactive exhibit

Learn about Hubble’s five servicing missions

Read about the visionaries behind the Hubble Space Telescope

Track Hubble’s orbit

Classify Hubble galaxies

Follow Hubble news and updates on Twitter

Follow Andrew Wolt (aka @SpaceManAndy) on Twitter

Meet the next generation space telescope, the NASA/ESA/CSA James Web Space Telescope

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Posted in Cosmology, Hubble Space Telescope, NASA, Outreach, Space Shuttle Missions, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Video Podcast: Of Padrats & Spacetweeps

Monday, November 30th, 2009

On November 15, 2009, A Sky Full of Stars hosted a special AFM*Radio event, featuring a virtual tour of NASA’s LaunchPad 39A with Jen and Andy Scheer, both of whom work with NASA’s Space Shuttle program.  For those who missed the original presentation, we now have the Video Podcast available!

LiveStream
You can view a streaming version of the program on LiveStream – this will allow you to quickly navigate to any section of the 90 minute program.

Full Screen Version (640 x 480)

Get the Flash Player to see the wordTube Media Player.

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Posted in NASA, Outreach, Podcasts/Vidcasts, Social Media, Space Shuttle Missions, Twitter | No Comments »

SaveNASA Podcast Now Available!

Thursday, November 26th, 2009

On November 25, 2009 Astronomy.FM hosted an “A Sky Full of Stars” program featuring @Neal Wiser of the #SaveNASA movement. Tavi Greiner, Rob Keown, and Michael Foerster joined Neal to discuss the challenges facing NASA and the need for grassroots outreach and education, while listeners contributed their comments and questions via the AFM meeting room and through twitter.

Get the Flash Player to see the wordTube Media Player.

You can download the file here.

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Posted in Citizen Science, Cosmology, NASA, Outreach, Podcasts/Vidcasts, Social Media, Space Shuttle Missions, Twitter | 1 Comment »

Special Event: Of Pad Rats and SpaceTweeps

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

ScheersMECO

11/18 Replay: We will be replaying this program on AFM*Radio at 0200 UT 11/19 (9pm ET 11/18).  An 8pmET pre-show will include music and the latest updates on the Mars Spirit rover and NASA mission STS-129.

11/15 Update: You can find the PDF for the audio presentation here.

A Sky Full of Stars is pleased to announce an AFM*Radio Special Event, featuring a virtual tour of NASA’s Launch Pad 39A!  Join us November 15, 2009, at 2100 EST (Nov. 16, 0200 UTC) for an exciting interview and Launch Pad photo tour with Jen and Andy Scheer (@flyingjenny & @apacheman), both of whom work with *NASA’s Space Shuttle program.

Jen is a Shuttle Technician and founder of the Space Tweep Society.  Andy is a cryogenics lead technician at Kennedy Space Center’s (KSC) Launch Pad 39A.  Our program will feature Jen and Andy’s narrated “walk-down” of Pad 39A (where Space Shuttle Atlantis awaits its Nov.16 launch) and a fun discussion about SpaceTweeps and life and work at KSC.

We’ll also feature a live pre-show call-in from Astronomy.FM’s Development Director, Louis Suarato (@LouisS), who will be on location at KSC as one of a select few individuals attending NASA’s two-day Launch Tweetup.  The pre-show starts at 2000 EST (0100 UTC) and will include music, Space and astronomy news, and #STS-129 mission coverage.

Watch for presentation links here, at Astronomy.FM, and on Twitter at @askyfullofstars, @keownrwk, @TaviGreiner, and @AstronomyFM.

* Jen and Andy will be participating in this event as individuals and not as representatives of NASA *

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Posted in asteroids, Citizen Science, NASA, NEO, Podcasts/Vidcasts, Social Media, Space Shuttle Missions, Twitter | 1 Comment »

Now Tweet This: Reaching Beyond Mainstream Media

Friday, July 31st, 2009

You can catch our latest podcast contribution to the IYA’s 365 Days of Astronomy entitled “Now Tweet This: Reaching Beyond Mainstream Media.” In this podcast we discuss the strong contributions of the social-networking site Twitter and how it is used for space and astronomy science outreach and awareness.

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Posted in Podcasts/Vidcasts, Social Media, Space Shuttle Missions, Twitter | No Comments »

Grassroots Outreach: STS-125 NASA Tweetup

Thursday, July 23rd, 2009

Washington, DC – It seemed like any other NASA press conference.  The James Webb Auditorium at NASA HQ in Washington D.C. was packed to the gills with men and women carrying cameras, laptops, cables, notepads, and all of the journalistic gear you’d expect.  We mingled for awhile, talking about the current ISS/Shuttle mission, the probable Jovian impact, and, of course, the 40th anniversary of man’s first steps on the moon.

A calm anticipation settled across the room as we waited for the day’s event to begin.  To our right, a woman picked up her knitting;  sitting nearby, A Sky Full of Stars co-author Tavi Greiner (aka @TaviGreiner) chatted with @egvick and @genejm29 about social media’s role in NASA outreach; and Rob Keown (@keownrwk) set about finding angles to shoot some images for this blog.

Then, NASA Public Affairs Officer John Yembrick stepped quietly up to the podium and uttered the words:

“Welcome to the 2nd NASA Tweetup!”

No, this wasn’t a press conference and the majority of people attending weren’t journalists; rather, this was a new kind of gathering and those in attendance were a more powerful agent for NASA: socially-networked-space-enthusiasts.  We had all successfully registered for 190 seats on July 1st, days after NASA announced the event.  Now we were here – most from the mid-Atlantic region, but some from as far as Spain, to walk hallowed ground with the beloved astronauts of STS-125, the final Hubble servicing mission!

(more…)

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Posted in NASA, Social Media, Space Shuttle Missions, Twitter | 6 Comments »

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