{"id":727,"date":"2007-09-11T15:07:22","date_gmt":"2007-09-11T20:07:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.spaceelevatorblog.com\/?p=727"},"modified":"2008-03-31T22:38:21","modified_gmt":"2008-04-01T03:38:21","slug":"727","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spaceelevatorblog.com\/?p=727","title":{"rendered":"The latest Spaceward Foundation News Bulletin"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The latest newsletter from Spaceward:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.spaceward.org\/images\/swOval.223.127.jpg\" style=\"padding-left: 30px; float: right\" \/><\/p>\n<h1>Spaceward Foundation News Bulletin<\/h1>\n<hr width=\"300\" \/>\n<p align=\"center\" style=\"font-weight: bold; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto\">Newsletter #3 &#8211; September 08, 2007<\/p>\n<hr width=\"300\" \/>Hello Folks!6 weeks to go, and the excitement is mounting!In this newsletter:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Announcements: EuroSpaceward, The Space Show, Hotels, Light Racers<\/li>\n<li>Venue pictures and sneak preview<\/li>\n<li>2007 Team Profiles<\/li>\n<li>Volunteer positions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Announcements:For those of you new to this newsletter, previous letters are archived at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.spaceward.org\/press.html#newsLetters\"><strong><font color=\"#162546\">www.spaceward.org\/press.html#newsLetters<\/font><\/strong><\/a>, including the power-beaming technology overview from newsletter #2. This will help you keep up with some of the comments in the team preview below.Fans of Dr. David Livingstone&#8217;s Space Show as well as Space Elevator enthusiasts can find our 90 minute SE special conversation with the good doctor <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thespaceshow.com\/detail.asp?q=760\"><strong><font color=\"#666666\">here<\/font><\/strong><\/a>. We talk about the coming games, the Space Elevator, Light Racers, and a little bit about the Space program and Space politics.<\/p>\n<p>A quick reminder on behalf of the European Spaceward Foundation &#8211; Registration for the 2007 Climber Workshop in Luxemburg is open &#8211; read all about it at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.eurospaceward.org\/\"><strong><font color=\"#666666\">www.eurospaceward.org<\/font><\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Team registration for Light Racers: Welcome to our new team from Farmington. If you&#8217;re considering participating in the Great Light Racer Championship, please sign up to the Light Racer mailing list, since we&#8217;ll use this list to announce special offers (Solar Panels!) rule updates, practice times, etc. Take a couple of minutes and read through the pages available at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lightracers.org\/\"><strong><font color=\"#162546\">www.lightRacers.org<\/font><\/strong><\/a>. A new picture-by-picture guide to building a Light Racer is available too.<\/p>\n<p>And finally, as if you&#8217;ve forgotten, the 2007 Spaceward Games &#8211; October 19-21 2007: Be there or be square! For details, tickets, special hotel rates, go to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.spaceward.org\/\"><strong><font color=\"#666666\">www.spaceward.org<\/font><\/strong><\/a>. A new hotel rate is now available at the Hilton Garden Inn in Layton (In addition to the Holiday Inn Express next door.) The discounted prices expire about 3 weeks before the games, or if they sell the entire block &#8211; so get your tickets now!<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Venue Sneak Preview:(Since some email readers do not show images by default, I used links instead of embedded images &#8211; just click the image name to view it)I just recently returned from another scouting week in lovely Salt Lake City. Things are coming along great, and I thought I&#8217;d share some of the pictures and some of my thoughts with you.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.spaceward.org\/images\/utah\/layout-raw.520h.jpg\"><strong><font color=\"#162546\">first image<\/font><\/strong><\/a> is probably familiar to you already, a Google aerial shot showing the general layout of the grounds. The signature square concrete path will be the epicenter of activity \u2013 this is where the climbers will launch from.<\/p>\n<p>The second image is of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.spaceward.org\/images\/utah\/DSCF3576.400h.jpg\"><strong><font color=\"#162546\">launch pad location<\/font><\/strong><\/a>, taken from where the crane will be located. This year&#8217;s crane has an &#8220;elbow&#8221; type boom, and so will be almost 100&#8242; away from the ribbon, which in my mind makes for a much prettier setup. Still, at almost 400&#8242; tall, even 100&#8242; doesn&#8217;t seem like much&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>From the launch pad, you can follow the concrete pathway through the lawn to &#8220;climber row&#8221; &#8211; the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.spaceward.org\/images\/utah\/DSCF3561.400h.jpg\"><strong><font color=\"#162546\">hangar<\/font><\/strong><\/a> where the teams are parked when they are not on the pad. Serving as a real life Space Elevator museum, climber row features the climbers hanging from the roof beams at eye level, so you&#8217;ll be able to walk up close, talk to the teams, and get a first hand look at what makes them (both the climbers and the teams) tick.<\/p>\n<p>The concrete paths are great for moving the team entries around, and the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.spaceward.org\/images\/utah\/DSCF3573.400h.jpg\"><strong><font color=\"#162546\">square pattern<\/font><\/strong><\/a> allows us to de-stage one team while the other one sets up &#8211; No traffic interference. This event center seems to have been built for our games.<\/p>\n<p>Right outside climber row stands this <a href=\"http:\/\/www.spaceward.org\/images\/utah\/DSCF3554.400h.jpg\"><strong><font color=\"#162546\">concrete pedestal<\/font><\/strong><\/a>, which will be transformed (by October 15) into an 8&#8242; Earth hemisphere, complete with Space Elevator attached. This model will also feature the moon, and mars &#8211; all to scale!<\/p>\n<p>There is much more that I haven&#8217;t snapped pictures of: The question Maze, the A\/V facilities where we will screen unique Space Elevator movies, the Light Racer arena, the media center (more on this in the next newsletter)<\/p>\n<p>I will be headed back to SLC in a couple of weeks, and will make sure to have more show and tell for the next newsletter.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>The rest of this email is dedicated to an overview of our teams &#8211; both the veterans and the newcomers. I recommend that you check out their web sites&#8230; You&#8217;ll find that the teams are about as diverse a set as we could have hoped for &#8211; universities and hobbyists, 4 countries &#8211; some are prolific bloggers, some are more secretive. One thing&#8217;s for sure: On October 19, all their secrets will be revealed.So here we go, alternating between veteran and newcomers. You&#8217;ll notice that not all 22 teams are here. As was the case last year, some teams are not able to complete their climber in time. Since we&#8217;re nice people, we allow them to roll over their entry to next year, and so we hope to see them compete yet in 2008.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>USST \u2013 the University of Saskatchewan. (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.usst.ca\/\"><strong><font color=\"#666666\">www.usst.ca<\/font><\/strong><\/a>).<br \/>\nUSST was last year&#8217;s best performing team, having come in only two seconds too slow to claim the prize money. This year is a brand new game of course, so while they are natural favorites, they are by no means a hands-down sure bet. Last year, USST was the only team to attempt an Infra-Red power beam, and they are planning to pursue the same idea again this year &#8211; only with a much more powerful system in mind. They are ambitious, and are definitely a team to watch. Clayton Ruszkowski is the leader.<\/li>\n<li>Lasermotive (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.lasermotive.com\/\"><strong><font color=\"#666666\">www.lasermotive.com<\/font><\/strong><\/a>).<br \/>\nThis new entry from Seattle is led by Laser expert Jordin Kare, also working with an Infra-Red based system. The Infra-Red systems are closest to what is currently planned for the real Space Elevator &#8211; we explained a little bit about the power systems in the previous newsletter. Definitely one of the favorites.<\/li>\n<li>The Kansas City Space Pirates (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.kcspacepirates.com\/\"><strong><font color=\"#666666\">www.kcspacepirates.com<\/font><\/strong><\/a>).<br \/>\nThe Pirates were by far the most original design last year, and also one of the more powerful ones, pioneering the use of a Solar light collector and what Brian Turner termed &#8220;Helio-Beaming&#8221;. Look for another original design this year!<\/li>\n<li>E-T-C (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.earth-track-controllers.com\/\"><strong><font color=\"#162546\">www.earth-track-controllers.com<\/font><\/strong><\/a>).<br \/>\nETC is our first ever Japanese team! ETC is one of the teams that have chosen to use a commercial off-the-shelf white light beam. Led by Akira Tsuchida.<\/li>\n<li>MIT (<a href=\"http:\/\/mitset.mit.edu\/\"><strong><font color=\"#666666\">mitset.mit.edu<\/font><\/strong><\/a>).<br \/>\nThe Massachusetts Institute of Technology doesn&#8217;t join competitions in order to come in second. That&#8217;s right &#8211; If you&#8217;re not first, you&#8217;re last! MIT is one of our new entries, and we&#8217;re expecting them to uphold the school&#8217;s reputation. MIT&#8217;s system is based on a Microwave beam, and they have been working on their entry for more than a year, so expect to see sparks fly!<\/li>\n<li>Team Zero G(<a href=\"http:\/\/www.teamzerog.com\/\"><strong><font color=\"#666666\">www.teamzerog.com<\/font><\/strong><\/a>).<br \/>\nA home grown Microwave-based team, lead by Arthur Shay and assisted by daughter Katie.<\/li>\n<li>Team Tesla (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.warr.de\/projekte.php?projekt=space_elevator\"><strong><font color=\"#162546\">www.warr.de\/projekte.php?projekt=space_elevator<\/font><\/strong><\/a>).<br \/>\nLast year the German team was one of the more robust designs, so if that&#8217;s any indication, we&#8217;re looking forward to see Team Tesla&#8217;s entry. They are pursuing a MW based system, and from their web site they will certainly have this year&#8217;s best looking climber! Team leader is Joachim Sturm.<\/li>\n<li>The Technology Tycoons. (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.goingupteam.com\/\"><strong><font color=\"#162546\">www.goingupteam.com<\/font><\/strong><\/a>).<br \/>\nKnown last year as &#8220;Lite Won&#8221;, this high-school team is another one of the teams using redirected Solar light. Last year&#8217;s direct-solar climber performed quite well, and so they have the potential to pull a fast one (get it?) over the grown-up teams. Team leader is Larry Grattan.<\/li>\n<li>McGill University (<a href=\"http:\/\/space-elevator.mcgill.ca\/\"><strong><font color=\"#666666\">space-elevator.mcgill.ca<\/font><\/strong><\/a>).<br \/>\nAnother member of the Canadian invasion, McGill is also pursuing a Microwave power beam. Lead by Cyrus Foster.<\/li>\n<li>Snowstar (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.snowstar.ca\/\"><strong><font color=\"#666666\">www.snowstar.ca<\/font><\/strong><\/a>).<br \/>\nThe team from the University of British Columbia is one of our two-year veterans, having fielded entries in both the 2005 and 2006 games. They&#8217;re back this year with an all-new Solar based design. Led by Damir Hot, this team is one of the better sponsored teams in the line-up.<\/li>\n<li>Starlifters<br \/>\nA new team this year, featuring a solar design. Led by Donald Longerbeam.<\/li>\n<li>Centaurus Aerospace.<br \/>\nA private team from Logan, Utah, Centaurus is our second two-year veteran. Last year Centaurus we already attempting a Microwave based design, and so they have an extra year&#8217;s worth of MW experience under their belts.<\/li>\n<li>Andromeda Connection (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.anconn.com\/\"><strong><font color=\"#666666\">www.anconn.com<\/font><\/strong><\/a>).<br \/>\nA new team this year, featuring a solar design. Led by Mike Harvey<\/li>\n<li>University of Michigan MClimber (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.mclimber.org\/\"><strong><font color=\"#162546\">www.mclimber.org<\/font><\/strong><\/a>).<br \/>\nA veteran group, University of Michigan&#8217;s MClimber was the first of the climbers to reach the top of the track last year. Lead by Brian Baca, this team is using a white light beam, similar to that of ETC.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Next on our agenda is the &#8220;help wanted&#8221; sectionWe&#8217;re looking for a few good men and women to act as guides &#8211; this event will draw on the larger SLC area population, and a lot of people coming to the games will never have heard about the Space Elevator before. (Gasp!) Do you know your Space Elevator basics? Can you explain them well?\u00a0 We&#8217;ve got a &#8220;Guide&#8221; badge waiting for you!If you feel you&#8217;re up for it, please browse to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.spaceward.org\/help-wanted.html\"><strong><font color=\"#162546\">http:\/\/www.spaceward.org\/help-wanted.html<\/font><\/strong><\/a> and register, so we can keep you informed. Please also email <a href=\"mailto:help-wanted@spaceward.org\"><strong><font color=\"#162546\">help-wanted@spaceward.org<\/font><\/strong><\/a> with a description of what you want to do at the competition.<\/p>\n<hr width=\"400\" class=\"alignleft\" \/>We look forward to seeing you at the games!\u00a0\u00a0 The Spaceward Crew <\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><font size=\"1\"><small>The Spaceward Foundation is a 501(c)(3) educational non-profit dedicated to furthering Space exploration in educational curriculums and the public mindshare &#8211; http:\/\/www.spaceward.org. <\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><\/small><\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The latest newsletter from Spaceward: Spaceward Foundation News Bulletin Newsletter #3 &#8211; September 08, 2007 Hello Folks!6 weeks to go, and the excitement is mounting!In this newsletter: Announcements: EuroSpaceward, The Space Show, Hotels, Light Racers Venue pictures and sneak preview 2007 Team Profiles Volunteer positions Announcements:For those of you new to this newsletter, previous letters [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-announcements","category-spaceelevatorcompetitions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spaceelevatorblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/727","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spaceelevatorblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spaceelevatorblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spaceelevatorblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spaceelevatorblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=727"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.spaceelevatorblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/727\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spaceelevatorblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spaceelevatorblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spaceelevatorblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}