Ben McGee, as seen interviewed on “Forecasting the End.” (Image credit: The Weather Channel)

The television project, entitled, “Forecasting the End,” includes post-doctoral researchers, professors, and scientists from vanguard institutions such as the Southwest Research Institute, the B612 Foundation, and Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory, who help viewers explore low-probability, high-impact disaster scenarios.  These include planetary, cosmic and astrophysical events such as asteroid impacts, orbital perturbations, and gamma-ray bursts from nearby stars.

A gravity-induced orbital perturbation as depicted on Forecasting the End. (Credit: The Weather Channel)

Using these disaster scenarios to explore hypothetical weather catastrophes, the series emphasizes current research in asteroid detection and mitigation, radiation detection and protection, as well as long-term cryostorage of plant and animal tissues viable for reproduction, which is applicable to the space environment.

The show airs on Thursdays at 9:00pm, (8:00 central).

By presenting a novel reduction of terrestrial spacecraft from an archaeological point of view, it was argued that a spacecraft’s materials and physical attributes themselves were of far greater informational value than the novelty plaques and discs encoded with messages intended for hypothetical future recovery by an extraterrestrial intelligence.

Future work exploring the informational value of spacecraft is currently in-progress.  Please contact info@astrowright.com for additional information.

For adventurers or researchers seeking to improve their physical fitness for high-g loading and microgravity agility for an upcoming jet training flight or spaceflight, Astrowright is here to help.  Be sure to contact us tomorrow, November 24th, to request a quote and take advantage of our unprecedented Small Business Saturday 50% skybuster discount at info@astrowright.com!

For more information and details about our preflight fitness training programs and other services, visit our website at http://www.astrowright.com.

Read about it here:  “Head in the Stars“

For more information about our preflight fitness services or to request a quote, visit http://www.astrowright.com or email us at info@astrowright.com.

With this in mind, we at Astrowright Spaceflight Consulting LLC have taken a quick industry snapshot of planned commercial human space transportation systems currently in varied stages of physical testing, including a matrix of possible destinations as declared by flight providers.

It should be noted that this matrix is not exhaustive, though a view of even the current leading providers demonstrates an exciting wave of technology development by multiple ventures – all acting to open space to humankind.

Of note is that while suborbital spacecraft are limited by design to ballistic flights to the edge of space, it remains to be seen whether suborbital technology will lead to crossover development of orbital transportation systems by current suborbital providers.  (For example, Richard Branson of Virgin Galactic has himself stated an ultimate goal to provide orbital spacecraft.)

In all cases, manned spaceflight will require a robust network of human spaceflight support services, which Astrowright aims to lead with a unique suite of offerings.  These include custom preflight fitness, personal dosimetry, flight readiness testing, and microgravity product evaluation services.

For more information about Astrowright Spaceflight Consulting LLC, visit www.astrowright.com.

Apollo 17 astronauts Harrison Schmitt and Eugene Cernan (left to right) examine rocks at Lunar Crater in Nye County, Nevada, prior to their 1972 flight to the Moon. (Credit: NASA)

When people think of space exploration, few first think of the vast, sun-swept deserts of Nevada.  However, just beyond the reach of the Las Vegas glitz is a history rich with NASA astronauts, nuclear-powered rockets destined for Mars, the first pen designed to write in space, and even a spaceport once on the books.

Now, if the entrepreneurial gamble of Astrowright Spaceflight Consulting (Astrowright) and several other local space flight, development, and support services firms pays off, Nevada will soon become synonymous with space.

A full-scale mockup of a NERVA nuclear rocket engine. NASA’s Nuclear Rocket Development Station was located in Nevada at the former Nevada Test Site. (Credit: NASA)

Joining both long-standing and newer aerospace companies in and around the Vegas valley, such as Arcata Associates, Bigelow Aerospace, Flightline Films, Microlaunchers, and Fisher Space Pen, Astrowright aims not only to ramp up the “NewSpace” aerospace market with a spectrum of custom spaceflight services, but it also hopes to help establish aerospace as a secondary economic industry in the region to tourism, supplying jobs and stimulus that the forclosure-crippled community sorely needs.

As part of a new education and outreach initiative intended to increase public awareness and support for the aerospace legacy of Nevada, Astrowright is launching the “Nevada Space Exploration” exhibit initiative.  In the coming weeks and months, look for videos highlighting exciting and little-known aspects of space history in Nevada, eventually culminating in an interactive museum exhibit currently being designed.

The first of these videos, presented below, highlights the NASA-Atomic Energy Commission’s Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Applications (NERVA) Program.  Located at the former Nevada Test Site, the JFK-endorsed research at the Nuclear Rocket Development Station built and tested visionary rocket engines designed to power human exploration of the planet Mars.

Be sure to check back for the latest updates, and for more information about Astrowright’s history, mission, services, or staff, visit www.astrowright.com.

Astrowright Fitness Director Ashley Boron presenting at NSRC 2012.

Astrowright Principal Research Scientist Ben McGee and Fitness Director Ashley Boron gave pioneering preflight fitness and spaceflight readiness presentations at this year’s record-breaking  Next-Generation Suborbital Researcher’s Conference (NSRC), a unique gathering of spaceflight professionals held February 26-29 in Palo Alto, California. 

Organized by the Southwest Research Institute, the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, and NASA Ames Research Center, NSRC 2012 set records for both attendance and sponsorship and was the third-annual gathering of its kind, rallying scientists, spacecraft providers, educators, and regulators to discuss current and future uses of commercial suborbital spacecraft, civilian astronaut training, and more.

Astrowright Principal Research Scientist Ben McGee with Southwest Research Institute planetary scientist Dr. Constantine Tsang.

During the Sunday evening poster session, McGee presented the research justification behind Astrowright’s recent preflight fitness program upgrade, which now includes the use of an at-home, suspension-based training system.  Entitled, “A Qualitative Assessment of Preflight Fitness Training Strategies and Methods,” the presentation emphasized the importance of “points of stability” in triggering the conditioning of stabilizer muscle groups utilized during high-g and microgravity phases of flight. 

Boron presented a talk during the Tuesday morning flight training session entitled, “Astrowright ‘Flight Readiness Status’ Fitness Benchmark Testing,” which premiered Astrowright’s industry-leading physio-cognitive testing service.  Flight Readiness Status (FRS) certification testing is intended as a voluntary credential for spaceflight professionals seeking to demonstrate their ability to perform mentally-demanding tasks while under the physical stresses of spaceflight to potential employers or clients.  By combining aural and visual reading, speaking, computation, and memory retention tests with standard fitness benchmarks, earning an Astrtrowight FRS certificate proves a holder’s ability to not only withstand spaceflight, but also to think under pressure at the same time.

In addition to contributing research to the conference, Astrowright was also a proud co-sponsor of NSRC 2012, joining ranks with sponsors such as Virgin Galactic, XCOR Aerospace, Masten Space Systems, Mojave Air and Space Port, and the NASTAR Center, among others.

Corporate sponsors of NSRC 2012.

For more information regarding Astrowright’s suspension-based prelight fitness training, FRS certification, or the firm’s history, other services, or personnel, visit www.astrowright.com.

The conference, the third of its kind, brings together government, industry, and academic researchers to network and educate about the research and outreach opportunities afforded by the new wave of reusable, commercial suborbital spacecraft slated to begin flying next year.

Astrowright staff presented at last year’s conference, an act which also served as the soft launch of the firm, and we are pleased to be able to support the gathering that played such a strong role in our organization’s history.  For more information about Astrowright staff and services, please visit www.astrowright.com.