Wirefly X Prize cup

[j05h]

I just got back from the incredible Wirefly XPrize Cup. This was by far the best space event I've ever attended. Conferences might be more informative but this event had the volume turned to 11. As I was flying a booth, I didn't see much actual flying, but almost everything was perfect and incredible. Since inception and the Space Ship One flights, the XPrize has been rocking the foundations of the space community. The star-spangled spaceplane has really made history. <br /><br />Both the original prize and the new Cup are changing the way people think about Space. Even with this geometric change in attitudes, some things never change. This rant includes observations, lessons I learned, gossip that you won't find anywhere else and one major prediction. <br /><br />For everyone reading this that attended the XPrize, please tell people about it. Tell them about what you saw and help spread the word. Only you can make "space" happen.<br /><br />On Friday, nearly 10,000 school children arrived for the event. Their enthusiasm and bright smiles were infectious. My greatest hope for these space events is that they inspire this youngest generation to pursue the new frontier.<br /><br />People I'd like to thank include Denise and Nancy who handled Logistics for this very complicated event. All the volunteers and people that put blood, sweat and tears into making it happen deserve applause. Thank you. Sky Fire Lab were the best booth-neighbors ever, it was great seeing Evan again and fun meeting Kevin and Jessica, Mike, Kayoko, Yuki, Phil, Rocky, Kennda, the whole VR Skydive crew and Monica, Aaron and Darla from Seattle. Thanks to everyone who stopped by the Postcards To Space booth and especiallly those who stepped up and voted with their dollars. <br /><br />None of this would be possible without the investment and foresight of Dr. Peter Diamandis and the Ansari family. All of these folks share the Vision Thing. <br /><br />Good stuff that happened in my presence includes seeing Jon Ca <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div align="center"><em>We need a first generation of pioneers.</em><br /></div> </div>

 

[yevaud]

Something odd was going on with the Lurkerking posts I have been deleting. To be safe, I split this reply off from that thread and begun this new thread for you. The original has been moved to a safe location for review. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Differential Diagnosis:  </em>"<strong><em>I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are</em></strong>."<br /> </p> </div>

 

[j05h]

.. and somehow my post ends up in a new thread... <br /><br />Where'd the old one go?<br /><br />Edit: thanks Yevaud<br /><br />j <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div align="center"><em>We need a first generation of pioneers.</em><br /></div> </div>

 

[spacefire]

thanks for the metaphoric review Josh!<br />Watching the X-Cup online on Friday, I was at times inspired, amused or amused-appalled.<br />The event has a while to go to become the equivalent of a space-themed airshow, but the enthusiasm displayed was contagious.<br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>http://asteroid-invasion.blogspot.com</p><p>http://www.solvengineer.com/asteroid-invasion.html </p><p> </p> </div>

 

[rocketwatcher2001]

Thanks for sharing that. I was going to go there this year, but a few weeks ago I got picked for upgrade training, and there is no way I would turn that down. Next year I'll try to get there, and I'll bring my kids, too. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[j05h]

> thanks for the metaphoric review Josh! <br /><br />Your welcome! I'm a spirit-hunter of late = I wait and stalk and record events with interesting synchronicity.<br /><br /> /> Watching the X-Cup online on Friday, I was at times inspired, amused or amused-appalled. <br /><br />That's what it was like on the inside, too. It was mostly incredible, except for the few bits of foolishness. I highly recommend coming to the event next year, especially if you have kids.<br /><br />Josh <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div align="center"><em>We need a first generation of pioneers.</em><br /></div> </div>

 

[j05h]

This is a pic of me in the wind tunnel. No, I'm not deformed, that's my goatee flapping against my nose! it was really bright, so I had to play with the gamma, but it sure was a fun ride.<br /><br />Josh <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div align="center"><em>We need a first generation of pioneers.</em><br /></div> </div>

 

[spacester]

Wow. I have a new all-time favorite post at uplink.space.com - thank you JO5H for renewing my faith in the future of spaceflight. <br /><br />That post was more than I could have possibly hoped for on many levels. I have been involved with some controversy here lately, and while I am getting sick and tired of talking about my perspective, this thread gives me one last opportunity to explicate my beliefs. Don't worry, no hijacking, I'll just say my piece and be done with it.<br /><br />I have become convinced that the main thing holding back faster progress in space at this particular moment in history is the lack of a humanistic understanding on the part of those who nominally support space flight. Without the humanistic perspective of which I speak, they will not attain the Vision Thing. The Vision Thing has been blocked by Cynicism and these folks are comfortable with that choice. But by not having the Vision Thing, or even respecting those with it, these folks are actually holding us back. <br /><br />This is a deduction on my part after my long and frustrating experience on these boards and my half-baked attempt to start a Foundation, but as I delve into certain subjects and authors I am making a solid case for this hypothesis. Obviously, this is not the place to lay that case out, but I am at long last starting work on my own website.<br /><br />JO5H, you have hit the nail so right on the head here in terms of what you chose to report and the lessons you would have us share with you that it makes me a bit dizzy. I salute your humanism and I now know that at least one other person here is at least seeing an aspect of the same thing I am.<br /><br />Just to wrap up this overly personal post, I would just add that I had planned to go to both last year's event and this years, but "circumstances precluded". I hereby make a vow to see you there next year, and not on a vacation either. In the meantime, I'm going to do what it takes to gain that level of independence.<br /><br />E <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[j05h]

Thanks for the compliment Spacester! We are all in this together, and really do only have a short window of technological stability to make this happen. In Vernor Vinge's literature, Earth is repopulated many times after disasters, using space-based peoples. Keep that in mind when thinking long-term.<br /><br />Yevaud deleted the previous thread because of some Weird posting. Can anyone else that was there provide some feedback or a short writeup on the XPrize? Lunatic or anyone else? My view of it is limited largely to my booth, the social stuff I discussed and walking around after the gates closed. Other perspectives are important and educational.<br /><br />Josh<br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div align="center"><em>We need a first generation of pioneers.</em><br /></div> </div>

 

[lunatic133]

Awesome post, J05h. It's good to hear about the event from another prespective. I had a great time myself but didn't get to experience as much as I would have liked because I was working the merchandise booth on Friday, and on Saturday I was much too exhausted from three consecutive days of little to no sleep to understand much of what was going on. Still, it was an amazing experience. I have pictures that I will post once I get them off my camera, although I'll warn you I don't look particularly good in any of them . And I like the metaphor about the girl ninjas. Makes me kind of want to be a girl ninja someday <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" />

 

[j05h]

Thanks Lunatic. I'm glad you had fun. I might have seen you at the merchandise tent, I'm sure I saw you around. Post some pictures of the event! I lost the charger for my good camera, so was mostly stuck with my Palmpilot camera.<br /><br />Becoming a girl-ninja takes hard work, clarity of purpose and a desire to become a better person. Work and play should be done in equal proportions, and you need to put everything you have into each. Pick up an extreme sport or martial art, intern in a technical/creative field, be ready when the opportunity arises. <br /><br />We live in an amazing age.<br /><br />Josh <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div align="center"><em>We need a first generation of pioneers.</em><br /></div> </div>

 

[lunatic133]

I used to practice kung-fu, but I had to quit due to the time commitment it required and scheduling conflicts with school, work, and other extracurriculars. Once I have more time I'd like to try again. I went sky diving for the first time about a month ago, and it was the most amazing thing I've ever done. I'd love to take it up on a more regular basis, but I'll see what my financial situation looks like in the spring. All my friends snowboard but I own not so much as snow pants and even if you rent equipment just getting started is beyond my financial range. My problem is and always has been grades ... I'm not a good student and never have been. In high school I had a B average and in college I have a C average ... bleh. I'm not really scientific minded but I stay with it because its what I want to do and it sounds a lot more interesting than majoring in english or history. I stick with it but it is frustrating when all of my friends seem to get perfect grades all the time seemingly without trying. Ugh, sorry for the rant. We can go back to talking about X-Prize now <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /><br /><br />Anyway I was wondering what makes you think that Branson will be the first on Mars, since he was so conspicuously absent from the x-prize cup? Of course he's a busy man and probably couldn't make it but that shows he has other priorities beyond space... Still, if anyone were the first person on mars in my lifetimie, I'd be happy <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" />

 

[lunatic133]

Eeek! That's honestly the reason I didn't go ... I can handle jumping out of a plane, but I can't handle the fracking fan ... I'm weird, I know *lol*

 

[j05h]

I think Branson will be the first person on Mars because he has the right combination of factors behind him: money, daring and drive. Others have some of those factors, but not in the same way. When he can buy an FGB and Bigelow Nautilus with a bank of Blok DMs, then he'll be on his way. I saw one episode of his reality show in which he climbed up the outside of hot-air balloon and waited for the contestants to meet him up there for tea. That's why he's going to be first on Mars. <br /><br />Stick with your studies - I was never a good student either. The people that get straight As are to busy with book work to benefit from the rest of the experience. College was the best (and worst) experience of my life, the people I met and adventures we went on made me into who I am.<br /><br />Kung-fu has an advantage over almost all other forms of exercise: all you need is 20 minutes and an open area to get your workout on. Shaolin-descended schools offer a 1500 year tradition of combat, healing and personal balance. <br /><br />Be good,<br />Josh <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div align="center"><em>We need a first generation of pioneers.</em><br /></div> </div>

 

[barrykirk]

lunatic133,<br /><br />Good luck with your schooling. If grades are a problem, and they were for me, get yourself checked out for a learning disability such as dyslexia... Most engineers actually do have a learning disability of one kind or another.<br /><br />Once diagnosed and understood, learning disabilities can be turned into a strength instead of a weakness.<br /><br />Again best of luck.

 

[bpfeifer]

JO5H, thanks for all the X Prize Cup info.<br /><br />As for that first private Mars mission…<br /><br />Don't forget about Steve Fosset. Richard supported Steve's solo balloon flight around the world. Then Steve piloted Virgin's Global Flyer, which was built by Rutan to break the distance record. Steve's last project was breaking the altitude record for gliders. His co-pilot was a NASA employee, and they wore the orange pumpkin suits. Steve Fosset has a history of chasing records, and now that he's done a few projects with Rutan and Branson, and has connections at NASA…It’s just one of those things that makes me go “hmm...”<br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Brian J. Pfeifer http://sabletower.wordpress.com<br /> The Dogsoldier Codex http://www.lulu.com/sabletower<br /> </div>

 

[don2718]

Awesome report J05H! Happily I was able to attend this year, but unfortunately only on Friday. Thanks for clueing me in to some of the things I missed, and for the added perspective on what I didn't.<br /><br />I was one of the people who randomly dropped by your booth. If you'll recall, I commented that I was glad to see you there for the very fact that your Postcards to Space idea is outside the mainstream of space-related activities (you know... rocket building and that sort of stuff).<br /><br />Given some time to think about it, I've decided that this is Important for reasons I find hard to explain. Perhaps it's just me cultivating a vague and uncertain "feeling", but maybe not. Either way, I'll try to explain (or rationalize) what I'm talking about.<br /><br />When speculating about the future surrounding all this activity, it is easy to sort of clean up our mental image of what things will be like. For myself, probably because I'm an engineer, my mental image of what's to come is filled with technical things like what problems need to be solved to get from here to there and so forth. What my imagination lacks, however, is the ability to integrate that with the other aspects of the human experience that I've come to know from those occasions when I drift away from the keyboard. <br /><br />What seeing your booth did for me was remind me that whatever happens, it won't be just about the tech, the sci-fi, the neat things we saw last weekend, but it'll be unpredictable, interesting, artistic, inspired and many other things -- whatever everyone involved brings to the table. Anything but boring, that's for sure. This brings me comfort. That's what makes it Important, and I'm glad to see people like yourself doing what you're doing.<br /><br /><img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /><br /><br />Hope that makes sense. If not, I invite e-mail. My gmail address uses the same username.<br /><br />Regards to all.<br /><br />Don<br />

 

[j05h]

Thanks for the feedback Don! I think I remember you, but honestly I talked to hundreds (thousands?) of people those two days so some of it is a little blurry. I'm glad you like my nonlinear approach to space! The future will not be boring, I promise! <br /><br />BPfreifer - intertesting point about Steve Fosset. I hadn't consider him in the running but he is a good choice.<br /><br />Josh <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div align="center"><em>We need a first generation of pioneers.</em><br /></div> </div>

 

[barrykirk]

Fabulous Post J05H.<br /><br />I need to sit my wife down when she has time and show it to her.<br /><br />Thank you.

 

[flynn]

Thanks for the report<br /><br />I've added it to my favourites so I can have a proper look once my internet is sorted out. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#800080">"All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring" - <strong>Chuck Palahniuk</strong>.</font> </div>

 

[j05h]

> Fabulous Post J05H.<br /> /> I need to sit my wife down when she has time and show it to her. <br /><br />Rock on! I toned down the in-community politics before going live with it, exactly so that semi-interested peeps would read it without being repelled. I'm trying to show the same civility as the rant insists on, it's that whole Truth and Patience thing. It's on myspace now, too.<br /><br />I also dropped a long segment on the subspecies of nerd and Team Toad. <br /><br />Is it OK that I don't describe my exact schedule? A lot of other writeups are like "I got up at 4:00 AM and stumbled to the bathroom..." I tried to write something different and hope that it succeeds. Any suggestions?<br /><br />Josh <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div align="center"><em>We need a first generation of pioneers.</em><br /></div> </div>

 

[barrykirk]

Oh, so you got rid of the boring parts and only focused on the parts that are really interesting.<br /><br />No wonder it's such a fabulous post.<br /><br />LOL

 

[j05h]

> Oh, so you got rid of the boring parts and only focused on the parts that are really interesting.<br /> /> No wonder it's such a fabulous post.<br /> /> LOL<br /><br />NO, I cut out the parts that were delibrately kicking the hornet's nest. It was a lot more rant-astic originally but cooler heads (my wife) prevailed on the edit. I tend to want to rip into things I find stupid and silly, she makes me take a step back and be more analytic.<br /><br />Jeff Bell thinks everyone but himself and Lockmart are amateurs:<br /><br />http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/A_Second_Childhood_For_The_Rocketeers_999.html<br /><br />Others are finally catching on to the Al Gore at the XPrize Cup thingy:<br /><br />http://www.space.com/news/061026_gore_space.html<br /><br />Also, I've got my other article online, including some pics:<br /><br />http://www.postcardstospace.com/xprizecup.html<br /><br />Enjoy,<br />Josh <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div align="center"><em>We need a first generation of pioneers.</em><br /></div> </div>

 

[j05h]

Round up of more XPrize articles:<br /><br />From the Space Review, by Jeff Foust:<br />http://thespacereview.com/article/730/1<br />http://thespacereview.com/gallery/19<br />Jeff's Personal Spaceflight Blog:<br />http://www.personalspaceflight.info/<br />Inside Masten Space's static fire team, courtesy Jon Goff:<br />http://selenianboondocks.blogspot.com/<br /><br />If anyone has other reviews and articles about the event, please post them. <br /><br />Josh <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div align="center"><em>We need a first generation of pioneers.</em><br /></div> </div>

 

[j05h]

More photos, courtesty Jessica:<br />http://picasaweb.google.com/spacesooner/XPCBestOf<br /><br />Jessica, Kevin and Mike camped next to me at the KOA, they're wicked cool. Includes obligatory flying-in-the-windtunnel photos.<br /><br />Josh <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div align="center"><em>We need a first generation of pioneers.</em><br /></div> </div>