Ad Astra
The magazine of the National Space Society
Volume 21, Number 2 Summer 2009
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On The Cover: In its maiden flight, Virgin Galactic’s WhiteKnightTwo accomplished the fastest and longest flight ever in the troposphere.
Featured Articles:
16
INTERNATIONAL SPACE DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE 2009
Standing on the brink: Hope springs eternal for the future of space.
By Ian Murphy
22
SPACE TOURISM
Has the depressed economy dashed our dreams of heading to the stars?
by Doug Messier
26
POWER BEAMING FOR LUNAR EXPLORATION
One of the major challenges is providing power for the outpost and the rovers that will house and transport the crew. One solution stands out above the rest.
By Bruce Pittman, Dan Rasky, and Rob Kelso
30
FROM LEGOS TO LUNA: A NEW COMPETITION FOR STUDENTS
MoonBots: A Google Lunar X Prize Challenge
By William Pomeranz and Tiffany Montague
32
REALIZING A DREAM: LUNAR INDUSTRIALIZATION ENABLED BY PLATINUM GROUP METALS
Future space applications promise revolutionary improvements in our quality of life.
By Dennis Wingo
34
VISITING SPACE
Don your space tourist hat for a trip to the Cradle of Aviation Museum on Long Island, New York.
By Mark Williamson
39
SPACE AWARDS AT SCIENCE FAIRS
By Carol Luckhardt Redfield
40
THE NEXT GENERATION
Students Design Space Settlements and Innovative Technologies For Humanity’s Future
By Lynne Zielinski
42
2009 NSS AWARD WINNERS
By John K. Strickland
Departments:
10
LETTER FROM
HEADQUARTERS
Milestone: Thirty five years ago the National Space Institute was created
By Brett Silcox
9
LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER
13
NSS ANNOUNCEMENTS
NSS Online — Join us on Facebook
NSS Chapter Awards
14
UPDATE FROM THE NASA NOMINATION HEARINGS
44
LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE CHAIR
The Perfect Storm
By Gary Barnhard
45
SPACE SETTLEMENT
The Inevitibility of Space Settlement
By Mark Hopkins
46
BOOKS
Look to the Stars, by Buzz Aldrin
Reviewed by Marianne Dyson
Voices from the Moon, by Andrew Chaikin with Victoria Kohl
Reviewed by Stephen Adamczyk
48
MOVIE REVIEW: STAR TREK
By Brandon Fibbs
50
CHAPTER LISTINGS
54
SIGNING OFF
Endeavour performs a backflip