It's looking like TEMPO³ will be transmitting on the amateur radio bands (exact frequencies still under investigation), so some team members suggested I take my amateur radio tests. It's not that hard, especially if you have a technical background, you tinker in electronics, or have taken one electrical engineering class. Morse Code is not required for any license level. I tested for both Technician Class and General yesterday. Here are some resources to help other prospective operators:

• Here is a narrative study guide for the Technician test(pdf file)
• Here is a narrative study guide for the General test (pdf file)
• Here is a site where you can take repeated exams with samplings of each question pool
• When you're ready, you can find a testing location here. Testing locations are authorized to charge up to $14 to defray costs (going up to $15 in '09).

I don't have any radio equipment at my house yet, so my first transmission may be from space!

Space exploration advocacy is rife with historical comparisons. The American West as a frontier engine is a common one, though I tend to think the great migration from Africa is a much better one. Rand Simberg is hosting a discussion comparing Europe's use of the Canary Islands in the development of the new world to using the moon in the development of Mars.

The Planetary Society has summarized what they see as basic principles for a roadmap to space. They're looking for supporters. I like their lead in:

Human exploration of Mars should be a primary goal

I know, it's been a while since I posted. TEMPO³ (note the snazzy new easy use of the superscript) has been developing rather rapidly. Some of the recent developments include:

• First major funding
• Contact with Dick Gordon, pilot of Gemini 11, the last living human who's experienced tethered-artificial gravity
• New artwork by artist Michael Carroll

Other developments are pending. We plan to have a preliminary design by early February in preparation for the CubeSat conference which should be in April, though I haven't seen any advertising on it yet.

An asteroid, named 2008 TC3 and a couple meters in diameter, will light up the skies over Africa tonight. Details here. It'll hit at about 10:45PM ET, so you don't have much time to get there...should be quite a show.

The site appears to be pretty busy. Wonder why?

Update, 27 Oct: The impact was confirmed through multiple sources. Orbit@home has a cool animation of what the asteroid 'saw.' I haven't put in the time to get my software working for their project. Wish it was easier.

The recent bailout rescue plan may cost $700B (all caveats are applied in that may...we may not need to spend that much, 'sweeteners' make it cost much more, we may get money back, we may have to spend much more...). The Apollo program to land people on the moon cost $100B in today's dollars. A Mars program could cost less, but would probably run at least $700B. So, Congress just voted to spend 7 Apollos. I like the currency exchange part of the article.

I'm not convinced we're as close to space elevators as some advocates claim, but they're getting some attention, such as in this CNN article.

With guest host:

I'll be on The Space Show on September 14th at 3pm ET. Here are some support links.

Mars Society TEMPO³ web page

Video update here

YouTube Video 1

YouTube Video 2

Chris Vancil's artwork of TEMPO³

Design Reference

CubeSat community

CubeSat kit web page

Mars Society Purchase Page, for contributions

Update on Wednesday: Got some pictures of air pucks that a friend is making. I've seen video of them in action, but couldn't get them translated to digital video in time.

The Rosetta Spacecraft just completed a close approach to the asteroid Steins 2867. Emily has a great picture showing how Steins' shape and size compared to other asteroids and comets we've visited and imaged. To me, the comparison of the number of objects on the image (13) compared to even the naming order number assigned to Steins (2867) says we need to learn a lot more about these objects.

In trying to keep TEMPO³ followers up to date in many ways, eventually planning to settle on the ones that work best. Here's a quick view of frictionless, tethered motion.

I'm sure that some people will find this to be a waste of time in zero-gravity. I think it's pretty cool.

A New York Times opinion piece (free registration required) on the Republican platform critiques the document and then notes this at the end:

One passage nicely summarizes the Republican approach to government, at the dawn of its long exile from power — bold and feckless, all at once. In a section on “Technology and Innovation,” the platform’s authors look to the heavens. They write, “As a symbol of that commitment, we share the vision of returning Americans to the Moon as a step toward a mission to Mars.”

A symbol of a vision of a step — one small step indeed. But a party can dream, can’t it?

I've not heard whether the Democratic Party platform contains a mention of Mars.

I did my first video update on Wednesday. Here is the channel, and there are archives. Next one will be on Wednesday night at 8:30 pm ET. You can watch by simply going to the website, but if you want to participate in the chat room (it's how I get questions to answer), you'll need to register.