The Space Hacker Workshop introduces citizen scientists and hardware hackers to the experiment flight opportunities offered by Citizens in Space. (See our Call for Experiments.) During the two-day workshop, participants learn about microgravity and suborbital science, the XCOR Lynx spacecraft, the Lynx Cub Payload Carrier, and how to build suborbital payloads.

The second Space Hacker Workshop was held at the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas, Texas on July 20-21, 2013.

Additional workshops are planned for the future. Our goal is to roll the workshop to cities all across the country, with workshops taking place at hacker spaces, schools, universities, museums, and similar venues. To accomplish this goal, we need your help. If you would like to help bring a Space Hacker Workshop to your area, please contact us. The location of future workshops will be determined, in large part, by local interest and support.

This page contains links to YouTube videos and presentations from our Space Hacker Workshop in Dallas. You are free to use these materials for conducting a Space Hacker Workshop in your area, or in any other way you choose. These videos and other workshop materials are provided under a Creative Commons license. (XCOR images are copyright XCOR Aerospace.)

Additional videos, from the first Space Hacker Workshop in Silicon Valley, are available here.

Opening Session

SpaceGAMBIT

Jerry Isdale, founder of SpaceGAMBIT, talks about his organization’s role in promoting space research to the maker community.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msrlIsrXy9Y&w=700]

XCOR Aerospace

Andrew Nelson, Chief Operating Officer of XCOR Aerospace, speaks about the XCOR Lynx spacecraft, the history of XCOR Aerospace, and the emerging commercial space industry.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZDUpjTImmQ&w=700]

Citizen Science and Space Exploration

Edward Wright, program manager for Citizens in Space, speaks about the development of citizen science, space exploration, and how Citizens in Space is connecting the two. You can download the slides for this presentation in Apple Keynote format or Microsoft Powerpoint format.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpbVsZfzFA0&w=700]

Special Announcement: Greg Kennedy

Edward Wright, program manager for Citizens in Space, announced that Greg Kennedy, director of education at NASTAR Center, was joining Citizens in Space as the fifth citizen-astronaut candidate.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuBwZv3dcUs&w=700]

“Bring It Back Kit”

Dr. Subra Sankaran and Dr. Prashant Rao have developed an innovative system for capturing fluid flow and other microgravity phenomena in solid form, using resolidified wax as a matrix. The “Bring It Kit” is an open-source project that won the 2011 NASA MAKE Challenge. Documentation for assembling this project is available on the Make magazine website.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ygrWgLRfck&w=700]

“Citizen-Science Payloads for the XCOR Lynx”

On the second day of the workshop, Edward Wright speaks about the various types of citizen-science payloads that can be flown aboard the XCOR Lynx spacecraft. You can download the slides for this presentation in Apple Keynote format or Microsoft Powerpoint format.

Allied Organizations

Silicon Valley Space Center

Dr. Sean Casey, founder of the Silicon Valley Space Center, speaks about commercial space, DIY, and the SVSC’s missions. This talk was re-recorded after the workshop, for technical reasons. You can download the slides for this presentation in Microsoft PowerPoint format.

[youtube=http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHoDMDZGuCY&w=700]

“Center for the Advancement of Science in Space”

The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space is a nonprofit created to provide access to the International Space Station for academic, nonprofit, and commercial researchers. Chad Brinkley, business-development manager for CASIS, talks about the organization’s mission and activities.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXNhksX-8xc?v=FHoDMDZGuCY&w=700]

“Hands-on Laboratory With the Arduino Microcontroller”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ocOStdo0KE&w=700]

Notice

The Space Hacker Workshop was partially funded by SpaceGAMBIT, which is sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of the US government. The views expressed in these videos are those of the speakers and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense or the US government. No official endorsement should be inferred.

Written by Astro1 on December 4th, 2013

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