| Friday 08-31-2007 | Return to top | ||
| 1:00pm RETURN TO SPACE PANEL: Ask The Experts by John Snider, Ric Jordan, |
The President says we're going back to the Moon and then to Mars AND with manned crews. How hard will it be to get back to where we were when NASA ended the moon missions? How close are scientists to all the technology that will be needed to get to Mars and back? All your questions answered on plans to put man beyond Earth orbit - again. | |
| 2:30pm THE HISTORY OF MARS TO THE PRESENT by Kevin Grazier |
How We've Viewed Mars Over Time – Mars. The Red Planet. Named for the God of War. Throughout history humans have applied various mythologies to Mars but Mars has its own history. | |
| 4:00pm COMMERCIALIZING SPACE: From Sub–Orbital Tourism To Space Solar Power by A.C. Charania |
Space ventures for fun and profit. What's being done and who's doing it. | |
| 5:30pm THE REALITIES OF LAUNCHING A SPACE AGED COMPANY by George Tyson, |
Commercializing space may be the wave of the future but actually keeping a company going ain't easy. Updates on LiftPort and Orbital Commerce Project. | |
| 7:00pm THIS IS OUR SUN by Erik Benner |
It's a great big ball of fire that we take for granted. It gives us life with its light and heat but our Sun has much more going on then meets the eye. | |
| 8:30pm SHORTEST STEP: The First 200 Miles by Andrew Clark |
How we get people and equipment to low Earth orbit cheapest, safely and in large quantities. | |
| LIFTPORT: TETHERED TOWERS by Michael Laine; has been cancelled. Michael Laine will not be able to join us this year but we hope to see him back next year and hear lots of good news for LiftPort. | ||
| 10:00pm APOLLO HOAX THEORIES & OTHER ASTRONOMICAL URBAN LEGENDS by Dr. William C. Keel, |
The moon landing was done on a sound stage in Hollywood. There is a carved stone face on Mars. The Earth will be destroyed by the asteroid named Apophis. These and other space legends get put in their place. | |
| Saturday 09-01-2007 | Return to top | ||
| 10:00am STRIKING ANCIENT SKIES by Richard Jakiel |
Greek and Roman coins have been long noted for their exquisite beauty and incredibly diverse range of design themes. Many feature astrological and astronomical designs that have been traced to actual astronomical events. These include solar eclipses, planetary/lunar conjunctions, "guest stars" (nova and supernova) and brilliant comets. | |
| HOW TO VIEW SPACE SATELLITES FROM YOUR OWN BACK YARD by Cheshire Catalyst; has been cancelled. Cheshire Catalyst had to withdraw from DragonCon due to job responsibilities | ||
| 11:30am THE GREAT OBSERVATORIES by Dr. William C. Keel |
Our annual update on The Hubble, Chandra, Spitzer and Webb astro-telescopes. | |
| 1:00pm ASTEROIDS: Defense of the Planet from Regional & Global Devastation by A.C. Charania |
They're out and they're aimed at Earth. How do we defend the Earth on a large and small scale. | |
| 2:30pm ION DRIVE TO THE ASTEROIDS by Ginny Mauldin-Kinney |
In September, NASA will launch the Dawn Project, a probe to the asteroids Ceres and Vesta. What's so different about this particular probe? They are powered by Ion drives. Could the ion drive be the engine of the future? –– PANEL CANCELLED DAY OF TALK DUE TO FAMILY EMERGENCY –– | |
| 4:00pm HEINLEIN WAS WRONG: WHY WE DON'T NEED D.D. HARRIMAN by Stephen Fleming |
How is the current vision of space different from what the greatest sci-fi writers imagined it and will we ever get that far? | |
| 5:30pm THE FUTURE BATTLEFIELD IN SPACE by Dr. John Bradford |
How real are all those great space battles we see in the movies? What are the chances our land based wars will move into space? | |
| 7:00pm LIVING OFF THE LAND IN SPACE by C. Les Johnson |
For the next few millennia at least (barring breakthroughs), the human frontier will include the solar system and the nearest stars. Will it better to settle the Moon, Mars, or a nearby asteroid and what environments can we expect to find in the vicinity of nearby stars are questions that need to be answered if mankind is to migrate into space. | |
| 8:30pm CURRENT STATUS OF MARS EXPLORATION by Dr. Kevin Grazier |
Spirit and Opportunity are still going strong but the rovers aren't the only way we're getting information on Mars. Find out what's now and what's coming up. | |
| 10:00pm HOW TO GET TO MARS WITHOUT KILLING EACH OTHER by Jason Schneiderman |
There's a lot more to landing a man on Mars than what will get him there, what he'll live in and what he'll eat and breathe. It's a long way to Mars in very close quarters; what's the psychology and medical science that's just as important as the physics? | |
| Sunday 09-02-2007 | Return to top | ||
| 10:00am STATE OF SPACE EXPLORATION: Or What is Everyone in the World Up To? by Dr. John Bradford |
It's not just the United States and Russia exploring space these days. Find out what the Europe, China and India space agencies are doing, as well as, commercial/civilian groups around the world. | |
| 11:30am HUBBLE'S GODPARENTS: How Astronomy Moved Into Space by Dr. William C. Keel |
We all know the Egyptians, the Mayans and the ancient Chinese were avid astronomers. We know how Copernicus, Galileo and Lowell advanced astronomy. But, when and what was the first astronomy done in space? | |
| 1:00pm SPUTNIK – 50 Years On by Hugh Gregory |
It was 50 years ago that the Earth's first man-made satellite, Sputnik, was launched into space by the Russians and set off the space race that ended with the landing on the moon. Learn the history of Sputnik and how close was the US to launching their own? | |
| 2:30pm CAN THIS HUBBLE BE SAVED? by Dr. Stephen Granade |
We all love the Hubble Space Telescope, but it's been sick for a while now. What are NASA's plans for it, at least right this minute, and what can be done to make it easier to fix later? | |
| 4:00pm GENESIS, STARDUST, & DEEP IMPACT PROJECT UPDATES by Ginny Mauldin-Kinney |
JPL is into space science and they've got the probes to prove it. Find out what's been found out! –– PANEL CANCELLED DAY OF TALK DUE TO FAMILY EMERGENCY –– | |
| 5:30pm CASSINI – HUYGENS by Cassini Mission Planner |
What's the latest from Saturn and its 60 moons? The successful Titan landing and continuing Cassini mission show Titan to be the most Earth-like body in the solar system -- it just happens to rain liquid methane instead of water. Huge water geysers spraying out of the South pole of Enceladus surprised everyone and have upgraded the moon's status to perhaps the best place in the solar system to search for extraterrestrial life. Amazing pictures, videos, and new mysteries. | |
| 7:00pm MAJOR IMPACT EVENT by Dr. Kevin Grazier |
We've been hit. Are we going the way of the dinosaurs? | |
| 8:30pm SPACE ENVIRONMENTS by Richard Altstatt |
Space is not empty; at least not as empty as we would like it. | |
| 10:00pm NEW SPACE: Outward Bound by Ric Jordan |
Forget NASA and JPL; civilian corporations have big plans for space as well. Who are they and what are they doing? | |
| Monday 09-03-2007 | Return to top | ||
| 10:00am DESIGNING MISSIONS TO THE PLANETS by JPL Mission Planner |
Getting around the solar system. How do you pick landing sites for landers and rovers on Mars? What is "the Martian Defense Force"? Why wasn't Voyager 2 sent on to Pluto? How gravity rather than rocket fuel is used to propel the Cassini spacecraft about Saturn. Why is the DAWN asteroid mission using ion propulsion (other than the fact it was endorsed by Scotty)? Designing real missions to the lanets. | |
| 11:30am THE FUTURE: Planning for the Next Generation by Richard Altstatt |
An optimistic look to the future, how can we get people interested in science and knock back anti-intellectualism. | |
| LIFTPORT: The New Robot by Michael Laine; has been cancelled. Michael Laine will not be able to join us this year but we hope to see him back next year and hear lots of good news for LiftPort. | ||
| 1:00pm MARS PROJECT: Learning to Live on Mars While Still Here on Earth by Dr. Anthony Francis, Jr. |
There are civilian teams spending months in remote locations living as though they were on Mars. Sound like fun? Find out how hard it really is. | |
| 2:30pm ORBITAL COMMERCE PROJECT by George Tyson |
It's been a tough year for OCP. Find out what steps they've taken to move forward with their flight-training plan and where do they go from here. | |
| 4:00pm HALFWAY TO ANYWHERE: Why Low Earth Orbit is So Important, Why It's So Hard to Get There & What We're Doing About It by Stephen Fleming |
So why do so many people and companies think getting into orbit is such a big deal? Here's someone with a vested interest in a couple of the best-known companies to tell you why. | |
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