Lakes Trasimeno, Bolsena and Bracciano, in central Italy, imaged from 39,565 m by StratoSpera 3. The view faces southwest.

StratoSpera 3, the third flight of the StratoSpera Italian high altitude balloon project by Associazione ISAA, went way beyond our expectations. In late 2010 StratoSpera 1 reached a maximum altitude of 27,600 m in the stratosphere and took an eerie photo of its burst balloon. Not a bad maiden flight. The following spring StratoSpera 2 went lower, just 20,123 m, and didn’t break the 30,000 m altitude goal we had hoped for the project. StratoSpera 3, which we launched on September 10, 2011, did break that barrier. And blew our minds.

The StratoSpera 3 GPS unit recorded a maximum altitude of 39,614 m, which at the time was the fourth highest amateur balloon flight (see Records -> Altitude -> Highest) and is probably still the first in Italy. This is not far from the altitude range, around 45,000 m, where booster separation occurred during Shuttle launches. To put this in context, the highest altitude ever reached by a balloon is around 53,000 m.

There was another treat. Unlike similar launches to the highest altitudes back then, the StratoSpera 3 payload included a camera that took from 39.591 m the highest photo by an amateur ballon at the time. However, not everything went smoothly. The camera battery died shortly after the balloon burst, so we don’t have descent images.

The StratoSpera 4 launch is scheduled for May 26, 2012. We wouldn’t mind repeating and exceeding that carefully planned engineering process known as sheer luck. But, having temporarily satisfied our thirst for altitude, this time we will focus on experimentation.

Central-southern Italy, with lakes Trasimeno and Bolsena at right. The view faces south. Panorama created with StratoSpera 3 photos by Francesco Bonomi.

We will use a cluster of three balloons, rather than a single one, to evaluate its ability to stabilize the payload. This would be useful, for example, for imaging in low lighting conditions. A wide field mini camera mounted in the upper section of the gondola facing upwards, code-named Polifemo (Polyphemus), will image the balloons to help study their dynamics. It will complement the set of environmental and engineering sensors (temperature, pressure, humidity, radiation, voltage, and more) we usually fly.

Polifemo is controlled by an Arduino board. It is the first experimental external payload connected via a specified interface to the BSM-2 on-board computer, running the BeRTOS open-source operating system, developed by our sponsor Develer. This architecture will support third-party payloads, which we hope to open to external collaborations for educational activities. And maybe bring them again where Shuttles dared.

The Associazione ISAA mobile magazine on Google Currents for Android on a Nexus S phone

I am a board member of ISAA, the Italian Space and Astronautics Association, which is a typical volunteer-run space enthusiast organization. We do a range of information, outreach and education activities including a space news portal, a podcast, events, and experimental projects such as high altitude balloon launches. Our content and updates on these activities are spread among a dozen ordinary web sites and online resources like video channels and photo albums.

Space enthusiasts often consume online content with smartphones and tablets. The use of mobile devices is actually growing so fast that in a few years they will outgrow traditional PCs and laptops. If you are a space tweep, I guess you are already well aware of this trend.

There are good apps for consuming online news in a mobile friendly way. The most popular are Flipboard, Zite and Pulse News. They repackage news feeds in an elegant, magazine-like layout. Google Currents is the latest such app and is probably not as widely used as the others, but it may be the most versatile and promising for online publishers.

Currents provides a powerful mobile content aggregation, layout management and publishing environment called Producer. Unlike the more limited, single feed oriented content access features of other newsreaders, Producer lets you group different RSS and social feeds into a unified magazine-like mobile experience. Anybody with a Google account can freely use Producer to create publications (editions in Currents lingo), not just selected media partners. Readers can subscribe to free editions and read them with the Currents app available for Android and iOS, for both tablets and smartphones.

With the help of other ISAA members I put together Associazione ISAA, a Currents edition aggregating most of our online content. Each magazine section collects and displays content from a single RSS blog feed, social feed, YouTube video channel, Flickr photo set or other sources. Like magazines, readers can browse sections and articles or access a table of contents.

A section of Associazione ISAA on Google Currents for Android on a Nexus S phone in landscape mode

If you manage different online space resources, creating and customizing a basic Currents edition is as simple as filling some forms or uploading images and media. Once an edition is in place, it updates automatically by pulling new content from feeds and other sources.

I encourage you to check our Associazione ISAA mobile magazine and see what is possible. It is in Italian but you can read it anyway thanks to another handy Currents feature, machine translation. To translate article text in you own language, tap the globe icon in the bottom toolbar of the Currents app. Translation quality ranges from barely acceptable to fairly accurate. This feature may open your content and activities to a wider audience, the international audience of space enthusiasts.

Have you created any space-related Currents editions?

It's the other side of space!

Hello Space Fans!

I wanted to take the opportunity to introduce all of you to TheSpaceport.us. We are a Space/Astronomy/Everything forum site with some really great members. We talk about everything from technology and space to politics and aviation. We discuss upcoming and current space missions including those in the private sector. We have some very educated individuals that add a lot of great knowledge and debate to the site. Along with some great aviation history buffs and former military members who actually worked with and on the aircraft!

We are always looking for some new and exciting members to share our love for technology and all things space! We are a good bunch of people that love to make new friends and discuss our passions for science and technology. Come visit us and start talking about the other side of space at TheSpaceport.us!

Keep looking up!

@mtclemente (Delphinus on TheSpaceport)

New York area residents: We are about to get the coolest new neighbor to ever arrive in this area. I am, of course, talking about the prototype orbiter Enterprise, the vehicle that started the wonderful long-running Shuttle Transportation System program by proving you could actually glide back to the surface of the Earth in what’s lovingly dubbed a “flying brick”.

Last week I was lucky enough to be at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum to see Discovery (my favorite orbiter) arrive and Enterprise move out of the home where she has delighted visitors for many years. They are things of beauty beyond words, both of them, and I’m still marveling that one will be easily accessible right in the heart of the Hudson side of Manhattan.

In Virginia, NASA hosted a #NASASocial for that event but the incredible part was how many Space Tweeps showed up for what was dubbed the “Rogue Tweetup”. Approximately 200 tweeps (from what I can gather) joined in the celebrations and had a wonderful time meeting each other or seeing friends from previous tweetups, launches, and other gatherings.

The best part of the week, in my opinion, was not the day of the transfer of Discovery to the Smithsonian, but the day she flew over both her new home and the city of DC. Images of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft with her precious cargo over the Capitol, the Washington Monument, and other landmarks are stunning and oh, so poignant.

So, think about it: What’s the one backdrop even cooler than those landmarks? The New York City skyline!

As of now, the most accurate plans I’ve heard include flying up the Hudson River past our local landmarks like the Statue of Liberty and her future home on the Intrepid. With this in mind, tweetup ideas have been flying around and it’s time to make them official. As one tweep said, “You can either be in Manhattan and get New Jersey as the backdrop or you can be in New Jersey and get the skyline.” That made it obvious that the ideal location would be Pier A in Hoboken, easily reachable by PATH train from the city, is a major NJ Transit hub, and lacking in city tolls for anyone driving in from the suburbs and beyond (with big parking garages near the site).

The flight has been postponed several times already and is now planned for Friday, April 27^th. The timing isn’t exact but I’ve been hearing it should be around 10 am – 1 pm, but Discovery was a half-hour early in DC, so I would plan to arrive between 9 and 9:30 to set up cameras and such. I will keep updating this page if things change again and with more plans as they are formed, so keep an eye on this or follow me or the hashtag #OV101toNYC on Twitter.

Let’s show this bird that New York is thrilled to have her! Sign up here so we can have a ballpark headcount and join the Facebook group if you want to discuss any further ideas. I’d like to do something to celebrate every stage of her arrival, so I will keep the group active until she is installed in her permanent home this fall, at least.

• What: OV-101 Enterprise NYC Flyover Tweetup
• When: Friday, April 27^th at 9:30 AM
• Where: Pier A Park in Hoboken, NJ
• Sign up now

Inspired by space

Personally I think space and science suffer a similar fate as the great outdoors. For some reason the beforementioned young couch potatoes are out of touch with science and space. So where @nationaltrust is luring kids to get out there and do 50 cool things in the outdoors, us spacetweeps should make an effort to get them to experience 11 cool things in space and science.

11 Space and Science things to do before you’re 11

So here is a new bucket list for your kids (or grankids, or neighbor kids, or schoolkids):

1. Watch a rocket launch

You may think that without space shuttles there is no more space exploration going on. Not true! We live in one of the most exciting eras in space discoveries, with new spacecraft being launched almost weekly. And the neat thing is that almost all can be watched live at home over the internet! Check out the launch calendar here to find out when the next viewing opportunity is.

2. See the ISS fly over your head

Did you know that you can see the International Space Station from your own back yard? Almost every day it passes your location. Usually at dusk and dawn, the ISS is one of the brightest objects in the sky! Like a very bright star, but then moving at 17,000 miles per hour. Just follow @twisst on Twitter, or check Heavens Above for the next viewing opportunity in your street!

3. Find Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn in the evening sky

When you watch the sky at night you will see hundreds of stars. But some of these stars are actually the planets of our own solar system. At the time of writing you can see four planets in the evening sky above your head. Venus is particularly bright now, but you can also easily spot the orange-red glow of Mars, and with a little more searching you can also see Jupiter and Saturn.

4. See a falling star (and know what it is)

I am sure you have all seen a falling star. But in reality stars don’t fall. All kinds of things may happen to stars, but falling is not one of them. Most of the time when you see a flashing trail through the sky for a split second you are seeing a small sand or pebble-size meteorite that burns in our own atmosphere, well below the stars. If it lasts longer than a split second it is larger than a pebble. When it is a larger rock, sometimes meteorites make it all the way to the ground. Take cover!

5. Visit your public observatory to watch the Jovian Moons

Once you have found the planets in the night sky, it is time to take a closer look. Most cities have a public observatory with a telescope. Just google the words observatory and your city name to find the nearest to you. Often they have special hours for kids to watch cool things in the solar system. Jupiter is particularly cool to see, with its colored bands around its surface. And I am sure you will see at least 4 of the 16 Jovian (Jupiter’s) moons too!

6. See the sunspots

Okay, here is one for the advanced skywatcher. Did you know the sun has cool-zones on its surface? These are known as sunspots, that appear as dark spots on the blazing bright and hot surface of the sun. There is no way you can see these with the naked eye, but with a few simple tools you can. This one is a little dangerous, so make sure  you find someone knowledgeable to help you out. Your local observatory would be your best bet, but also a pair of good solar eclipse glasses will do the trick. When filtering out the bright sunlight with a special filter or eclipse glasses you will see the sunspots. Warning: never look into the sun with the naked eye, as this may cause eye damage.

7. Meet an astronaut

Through the use of social media it is nowadays not so difficult to get in touch with a real astronaut. You can follow them on Twitter or through the Facebook account of your parents or older siblings. Many of them are happy to answer your questions online. You can even get in touch with the astronauts on board the International Space Station that way! With a little more effort you can also look for nearby events visited or hosted by astronauts. Kennedy Space Center in the USA has this on a weekly basis, but science museums, observatories and sometimes schools also organize events where you can meet one of the more than 500 astronauts in the world (and counting).

8. Visit a science or space museum

Sounds boring huh? Well, give it a chance. Museums are usually no longer those dusty displays of rusty items or (even worse) paintings from long forgotten times. Science museums are actually pretty cool hands-on playgrounds for kids your age. Play realistic computer games to dock spacecraft to the ISS, launch rockets or zoom past planets. Also make sure you ask about special activities for kids. You could sleep over at the museum, get a behind-the-scenes tour or follow a real astronaut training. And yes, you can touch the rockets!

9. Touch the moon

During the Apollo program the astronauts brought a lot of souvenirs with them back to Earth. Much of the dirt and rocks collected on the moon is now on display at a wide variety of places in the world. You can touch the moon at @ExploreSpaceKSC, @AirAndSpace and @SpaceExpo, and I am sure many more places.

10. Use a GPS or satnav system

Did you know that you are in direct contact with several satellites as soon as you turn on a GPS device or car satellite navigation system? Even your smartphone most likely has a built-in GPS receiver. Most GPS devices have a setting where you can see how many satellites you are tracking. With the help of these satellites you know exactly where you are, at any moment!

11. Launch your own rocket

You don’t need to build a Space Shuttle to be a rocket engineer. Trust me, rocket science is a lot less complex and nerdy than people will make you believe. A rocket is actually no more than a big tube driven by a lot of horse power! The simlest rockets are fuelled by something you can find in your own home: water! Here are instructions for a simple water rocket, or for a school project, a slightly more complex water rocket. I hope you’re not afraid to get wet!

The one WITH answers

Obviously the one WITHOUT answers

Enjoy!

Emory

Yesterday, I was offered the opportunity by NASA to participate in this morning’s ISS, Expedition 30 press conference. What does participation mean? It means I get to ask one question to the crew – via that phone call (the one I’ll be on hold for). So, one more dream come true, one more item off of my bucket list and one question, one incredible opportunity via NASA!

So.. follow along this morning with the following hashtags: #askStation, #ISS, #NASA and #Exp30. Oh, and while I get to ask one question via the phone, you get the chance to ask a question via Twitter! Start submitting questions using #askStation and, if there’s enough time, the Expedition 30 crew will get a few questions from the twitterverse! How awesome is that?!?!

Oh.. and while I have a few questions in mind.. feel free to tweet me some suggestions! @johnmknight

STEM and space outreach at a Zoo

Before the event, local primary schools could win a trip to the zoo to attend the inflight call by proposing questions to André Kuipers. So two winning school classes, lots of their parents and teachers, VIP members of the zoo, a bunch of space industry representatives and the mayor of Amsterdam all gathered at the entrance of the zoo on the afternoon of April 5th. Between the guests were also some of André Kuipers children, apparently big zoo fans.

Amsterdam zoo is not only home to many animals from all over the world, it also has a beautiful planetarium. At 16:00 the doors were opened for the invitees. Local TV and press rushed in to interview the schoolkids in their self-made astronaut uniforms. After a few drinks and snacks the doors to the large dome were opened and the crowd of 200 to 250 people sat down. A great sight to see so many kids excited about ‘their’ astronaut in space.

Live inflight call

The event was hosted by popular astronomer and science writer Govert Schilling (@govertschilling). He explained principles of gravity and weightlessness to the kids and explained how André reached ISS and what living conditions on board are. His explanation was supported by great computer animations of the Soyuz launch and the ISS in the planetarium dome.

A few minutes after five, the black ESA/NASA screen shivered and then showed André Kuipers holding a microphone in the Columbus module. Surrounded by fresh cargo just unloaded from ATV-3 that docked a week earlier. A few seconds later we heard his voice, welcoming the crowd to the zoo and to ISS. A large applause by the excited people in the room followed.

The first question to Andre was about his little stowaway. People had seen pictures of the Zoo mascotte, but didn’t believe the stuffed alien actually made it to the ISS with André. Another big applause arose when André took the mascotte from his a pocket in his flight suit. Laughter when he let it float in front of the camera. More laughter when he explained that the mascotte actually was a special-made mini-version, due to a 20 grams weight allowance for this type of PR objects in space.

Then it was time for the kids to pose their questions live to André. The two prize-winning questions were: “What is your favorit spot in the ISS and why?” (Cupola, for the awesome view) and “Does it smell normal in the ISS, after it has been in orbit for 10 years” (depends on the module. Some are getting moldy, others still smell like a new car). The mayor then asked a question about the ISS as a stepping stone to further human deep space exploration, and the zoo education manager asked about our fragile earth as seen from space. The 15-minute call ended with André doing a weightlessness demonstration, followed by a big round of applause for our national hero in space.

Artis de Marsis: a Dutch space mascotte

Over and over again mascottes seem to be a great way to connect kids to the world of space exploration. @Camilla_SDO does great work for NASA, while @SpaceHuggie, @SpaceTweepMiep @VenusBarbie and @Astro_Chimp are well known #spacetweeps mascottes, mostly used for STEM education purposes.

The Artis de Marsis mascotte in the Cupola can now be seen on large posters all over Amsterdam. This will help sell the mascotte at the Amsterdam zoo shop, but also inspire many kids about space. Good to see another stuffed animal in the ISS!

Concluding, the event was a big success for space PR. Inflight calls with children asking questions are a great way to attract children and students to modern space exploration. Bringing a 20 gram zoo mascotte is another smart way to attract attention to the importance and awesomeness of space science. A great event indeed!

#AndreTweetup 29 May 2012

On 29 of May 2012 ESA will host a live inflight call with André Kuipers, inviting 80 of @Astro_Andre’s 200,000 twitter followers to the Erasmus USOC at ESTEC in The Netherlands for the #AndreTweetup. Attendees will get a VIP tour of ESA’s innovation and test facilities and get a chance to ask their questions live to astronaut André Kuipers on board the ISS. See the official ESA announcement how to register.

Last night AMC aired the movie Contact and it lit Twitter up with discussions  that mutated into talking about the book it was based on. It turns out a lot of us either had not read it or it had been years since we had. This lead to suggestions of other great books to read and I suddenly thought, “Why don’t we have a book club?” My following tweet about the idea garnered a lot of enthusiastic responses and I’m excited to say that it’s already a reality.

After a lot of research into hosting an online book club and debates with several people about using existing social networks to facilitate it, my-bookclub.com stood out as the best option. Each club on the site gets it’s own discussion forum and chat room and every member can set up their own virtual bookshelf to share what they are reading these days as well as share in the group’s bookshelf. Most importantly, it’s completely free (minus the cost of books if you have to buy them, of course).

There is still a lot of work to be done in organizing this (e.g. how often should we have chats? How often should books be “due”?) but I have great faith that together we will develop this into something amazing and learn a lot from each other along the way.

The first book will be Contact, since it inspired the club, but we will be reading all sorts of books, fiction and non-fiction, that have to do with space and exploration. This is a great opportunity to find books you didn’t know about or just find extra motivation to read the ones you’ve been meaning to read. Anyone can suggest books and we will choose selections democratically after Contact.

Love to read about space and want to participate? Just go to http://www.my-bookclub.com/bookclub/space-tweeps-book-club/ . You will have to join the site first (or sign in using your Facebook credentials) and then make sure to click the “Join” button on the club’s page. You will be added as soon as your request is seen.

Hope to see you there!

Social meeting the day before ATV-3 docking/Credits: @cpamoa

Social event
Our schedule was very tight. On the evening before the docking day few of us met in gorgeous restaurant “Le Florida” in front of Toulouse’s Capitol for @AperoSpatial. Food was delicious. We were talking about space and watching French acrobats jumped on see-saw. Among our group was @SpaceKate, @janemacarthur, @cpamoa, @danielscuka, @ericarolfe, @AndreasSchepers, @idariane, @ScottNyood. Later, the Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli (@astro_paolo) joined us, and showed us some “magic astronaut tricks”. Paolo was special guest of the @ATVtweetup.

Space City in Toulouse

In Space City with Ariane 5 mock-up/Credits: @imperator_jarek

Next day, in the morning our small group (@DCirioni_AVDA, @cpamoa, @GENSO_UVa, @ScottNyood and me @imperator_jarek) visited the Space City in Toulouse. Weather was great, with +27 degrees of Celsius.
We saw an amazing mock-up of Ariane 5, almost the same scale as natural. The difference between original is small, only few meters, because of height restrictions of no more than 50 meters,  related to the local aero-field localisation. We had a possibility to feel like Russian astronauts thanks to the short trip of  the mock-up of the space station Mir.
The best part of the trip was to watch the Hubble 3D-movie and visit a special Mars exhibition, where a lot of interactive shows were available and all Mars rovers were presented.
Among these, the best of the bests was a device, which let you feel like astronaut walking on the Moon or Mars. It was a breathtaking experience!
Thanks to @florenceseroussi and @oliviersanguy – who arranged an access to almost every part of the Space City. Also thanks to @oliviersanguy, who has really great knowledge about the space.  The tour with him, during which he was telling us many interesting details about the outer space was a real pleasure. Thank you Olivier!

Marvellous ATV Control Centre room in Toulouse/Credits: @imperator_Jarek

#ATVtweetup

@henningkrause during @ATVtweetup/Credits: @cpamoa

After the tour we went to the @CNES Centre in Toulous with the rest of the Tweeps. The official part of the @ATVtweetup has then started.  We received many interesting materials about ESA, CNES and ATV – for example a comprehensive ATV-3 information kit. After the programme review, made by organizers,  everyone made a quick presentations about themselves. We were a very diverse group and some of us participated in several @Spacetweetup events before this one (famous @SpaceKate for example). For some
others (such as me) it was first time. For some, it was even first time in Europe, like for @mountainbase123 from Japan – she travelled specially for this @ATVtweetup!
First TweetupTalk was held by Massimo Cislaghi, the ATV-3 Mission Manager, who made an ATV-3 Mission Overview. We received many interesting information about the role that ATV plays in the European space industry and the European contribution to ISS project, ATV capabilities in comparison to some other space vehicles and ATV future.

Massimi Cislaghi, ATV-3 Mission Manager talks about ATV-3 capabilities/Credits: @imperator_jarek

Second TweetupTalk presentation was made by Bernard Cabrieres, who introduced us to CNES/CST and ATV Control Centre. It’s a pity, but because of temporary technical problems with my laptop I could not listen this presentation. It was a good lesson for everyone – remember to take with you tested devices, not the old ones! Almost three hours before the docking, we were split into two groups and visited the ATV- Control Center. It is hard to describe by words how amazing it is. I really envy ATV operators their jobs. It looks amazing – you can see it on photos.

After the tour, the third TweetupTalk started – made by an Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli (@astro_paolo), author of the one of the most notable photo made in space, member of the STS-120 and Sojuz TMA-20 missions. Paolo took active part in the docking of ATV-2 “Johannes Kepler” in February 2011. Paolo, during great presentation,  told us about astronauts responsibilities during ATV docking. ISS specialists estimates that the astronaut’s support during ATV docking, which results in postponing their normal responsibilities costs 60 000 dolars/hour.

Intensive time for organizers/Credits: @imperator_jarek

After Paolo presentation we have a chance to speak individually with some ESA/CNES engineers and ATV specialists. I regret that I didn’t prepare list of questions, but I learn of a lot – mainly about ATV rendezvous phrases. My additional task during the @ATVtweetup was to provide a thorough account of the ATV docking for kosmonauta.net (@kosmonauta_net). Because of so many things in almost the same time (TweetupTalks, discussions with experts, taking photos, making videos, tweeting, facebooking, watch docking broadcasting from ESA/CNES) it was really difficult to notice everything! Great experience!

Having this opportunity I would like to thank organizers for this amazing event. Mixing @Spacetweetup & ATV-3 docking was great idea. I think that everyone from us will remember  especially the ATV control room and will be inspired to do more and more.

My new friends, I hope to see you soon! Seeing you and and spending time with you, sharing common passion of space was unforgettable adventure for me