Looking for Something to do this Weekend? SpaceUP!

By Nancy Atkinson - February 11, 2011 at 7:40 AM UTC | Site News
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Looking for something spacey to do this weekend? If you live near either Houston, Texas or San Diego, California, you're in luck, as both cities are hosting a

SpaceUp conference

– but anyone from anywhere can also attend either event online. SpaceUp is an "unconference," where participants decide the topics, schedule, and structure of the event. But there will also scheduled events and a chance to talk with commercial spaceflight representatives and even an astronaut.

At unconferences like SpaceUp, everyone who attends is encouraged to participate by giving a talk, moderating a panel, or starting a discussion. It's like "hallway conversations" turn into full-fledged topics. But there are also events lined up, and the agendas have now been announced for each conference.

Houston's SpaceUp

conference will be held on February 12-13 at the Lunar & Planetary Institute (LPI). Organizers say the conference "will include the rare opportunity to interact with the companies and people creating the future of spaceflight. Commercial spaceflight companies in attendance will include Boeing, United Launch Alliance, ATK, SpaceX, Sierra Nevada, and Orbital Sciences. NASA representatives will also be on hand to demonstrate moon rocks, a NASA Space Exploration Vehicle and astronaut Clay Anderson will discuss using social media to communicate his spaceflight experiences to the world."

Attendees will have all weekend to interact with scientists, engineers, developers, designers, musicians, and students interested in guiding the future of spaceflight. Children are free with the purchase of an adult ticket and are encouraged to attend. Breakfast and lunch will be free on both days and snacks will also be provided.

The event will be livestreamed on February 12-13 at

http://spaceuphouston.org

. You can purchase a special online package where you can get some of the "swag" associated with the conference.

For the San Diego event, the San Diego Space Society and the UCSD Astrophysics Club are hosting their event at The Loft at UC San Diego, with a similar format.

Kids have their own activities and are free with a parent registration. The event will be livesteamed at

SpaceVidCast.

Learn more about SpaceUp San Diego at this link.

Future SpaceUp events are planned for Washington DC and Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com