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Carnival Of The Space Geeks (69 And 70)

Posted by darnell on Sep 11, 2008 in Blog, Space Geeks | 0 comments

Before I post last weeks (and this weeks) interesting links from both Carnivals, be sure to remember those who were killed on September 11^th, 2001.

Personally I am glad that both McCain and Obama are laying aside politics (at least for a season) in order to honor the dead–as well as those who continue to defend freedom around the world (whether our own or someone else’s).

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That being said, here is a quick review of last weeks Carnival of Space, hosted by Irene Klotz of Free Space.

Articles of interest from that “alphabetical carnival” ranged from Star Trek, to an unspotted Sun to even images of ice clouds on Mars.

One article that caught my eye was from Ken Murphy (via Out of the Cradle) who wrote:

(Out of the Cradle) Were going to need folks with all different kinds of backgrounds if we are truly going to develop space. When you’re assembling large solar arrays out at geosynchronous/geostationary orbit (GEO) for a Space-Based Solar Power system, you’re more likely to need experienced construction workers than PhDs. The guys who are servicing spacecraft at EML-1 facility are going to be technicians, not PhDs. They might as well start designing a blue collar into the next round of spacesuits, because more people are learning that space is not just going to be about NASAnauts anymore.

While Ken is probably right regarding the “technical side” of making space colonies a reality, the general public will probably never see space beyond Star Wars until they can envision themselves working within (or upon) a satellite, space shuttle, lunar settlement, etc.

Perhaps what is not needed is more glamorous speeches or promises, but by finding ways to engage the “blue collar” work force with the upcoming space technology–which might be the solution to excite the less than thrilled masses.

Ken’s interesting thought regarding space was just one of many, and be sure to read the rest of the entries over at Free Space.

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This weeks Carnival of Space was hosted by “DJ” over at OrbitalHub.

Blog posts ranged from the Genesis planet, to asteroid fly-by’s to even interesting facts regarding our homeworld.

Interesting articles included:

David Portree (of Altair VI) highlighting previous plans (note: by NASA?) to colonize Mars.
Sean Welton from Visual Astronomy reports one animal that is able to survive the vacuum of space.
Brian Wang (of Next Big Future) brings good tidings regarding carbon nanotubes. This time it seems as if scientists might be able to separate the threads (which is good news for the space elevator).
Bruce Irving of Music of the Spheres blogs about solar sails, one of the few propulsion technologies that can bring us quickly to the outer planets (not to mention the stars).