Category: Travel

SAT Visited North-West Highlands and Islands

matjazvidmar/ / impact, Innovation, Outreach, Post, science, Space, teaching, Travel

Between 25th June and 3rd July, our Space and Astronomy Tour visited North-West Scotland, in particular, the islands of Skye and Lewis and Harris as well as Sutherland and Inverness. (Here are some of the past tours to Islay, Orkney and Sutherland).

This was to continue my engagement with the Highlands and Islands communities in the context of potentially expanding space industry, which is one of my research interests at the University of Edinburgh, however, this year, in particular, the visits are also to celebrate the 200th Anniversary of the birth of astronomer Charles Piazzi Smyth (CPS200) and the 50th anniversary of the Moon landings.

As such, the programme was organised as part of the CPS200 celebrations, as well as working with the local astronomical societies Highlands Astronomical Society, Stornoway Astronomical Society and Tarbert Astronomy Group, and other groups and organisations, in particular, the local libraries and community centres and the Travelling Scholars initiative.

Over the 9 days, we travelled 875 miles in total and spent 24 hours talking to our audiences. We delivered rocket and constellation making workshops at seven primary schools (Staffin, Kilmuir, Sir E Scott, Lionel, Lochinver, Achiltibuie, Bonnar Bridge) with a total of 270 pupils and 20 teachers, as well as six evening talks (Portree, Tarbert, Stornoway, Lochinver, Lairg, Inverness) with a total audience of 102. We also held drop-in family activities at Stornoway Library, called “Rocks, Stars and Rockstar Rockets”.

We spoke of early “astronomers” keeping time using stone circles and calendar stones, of 19th century industrial and maritime revolutions and all the way to the modern satellites, providing us with GPS, telecommunication and Earth Observation services. With several potential spaceports being planned both on the islands as well as the mainland in North-West Highlands, there was particular interest in the developments of the Scottish Space Industry, too, questions I attempted to answer as per my recent academic paper.

In all, over 100 (paper) rockets were made and successfully launched as well as over 150 (personalised) constellations. Deep questions were discussed, including what does it feel like to be inside a black hole and what might happen if we ever meet some aliens. Hopefully, fun was had by all and several promises were exchanged to visit again in the near future.

 

The trip was funded by IoP in Scotland Public Engagement Grant and Royal Society of Edinburgh’s Charles Piazzi Smyth 200 Anniversary Project, with generous contributions from Highlands Astronomical Society, Stornoway and Tarbert Libraries, An Lanntair Centre, High Life Highland Libraries and the Ferrycroft Visitor Centre, Davar B&B and Lochinver Community Hall, and many individuals who gave up their time to help organise and promote these events, as well as warmly embraced us with warm Highland hospitality. Thank you all!

 

From Orkney to Outer Space (Again!)

matjazvidmar/ / arts, impact, Innovation, outcomes, Outreach, Post, research, science, Space, STEM, Travel

I have been invited to deliver a series of knowledge exchange and outreach events for Orkney International Science Festival (OISF) between 6th-12th September 2018. This is my third appearance at OISF, having visited the 2015 and 2017 editions of the festival.

I am particularly excited that though some of the events I will deliver will be held on Orkney mainland I will yet again also visit some of the more remote islands in the archipelago.

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Hence, on 8th and 9th September I will be visiting the islands of North Ronalsday and Sanday, where I will speak to the local community about going From Standing Stones to Blasting Rockets: Scotland is Off to Space!

The talk is based on my extensive ESRC-funded doctoral research of the development of (“New”) Space Industry in Scotland, in particular examining emerging networks, innovation intermediaries and changes to new product development processes. With the recent announcement of UK Government investment into the creation of vertical launch capability in the North of Scotland, this is a particularly topical contribution to the discussion in many communities.

Furthermore, I have also been invited to present some thoughts on the deep connections between scientific research, arts and society as explored through my participation in the recent Social Dimensions of Outer Space network’s Edinburgh Futures Institute project. I will outline the main points from my essay on the topic in a talk entitled Universe: The Love Story, as part of the skyranMoon exhibition in Stromness on 11th September (7pm).

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Finally, in partnership with a young team of rocket engineers from Spacelink Institute, we will have a plenary discussion about the future of small-scale spaceflight in an event called Make it, Fire it Into Orbit! in King Street Halls in Kirkwall (Wednesday, 12th September, 11.30am). Details and tickets here.

As is my practice with such visits, I will also speak to pupils of local schools, both on Sanday as well as at Kirkwall Grammar School, to discuss a variety of opportunities to engage in science, technology and innovation, including studying it form a social-scientific perspective.

As such, I am delighted to be yet again complementing a variety of colleagues form the College of Science and Engineering, including Prof Peter Higgs, who will support the festival with a host of other events and activities.

I am very grateful for the generous support of my OISF 2018 visit provided by the festival, as well as Science, Technology and Innovation Studies Group at the University of Edinburgh.

 

 

Lift-off for Sutherland Science Festival with a SAT Roadtrip

matjazvidmar/ / Innovation, Outreach, Post, Satellites, science, Space, Travel

The Sutherland Science with Travelling Scholars is the inaugural issue of an upcoming Sutherland Science Festival. The festival has been held between 6th and 17th March 2018, roughly aligned with the British Science Week (9-18 March 2018). We have been invited along to support the festival with our trademark Space and Astronomy Tour (SAT) to engage with school and generals public on topics related to Astronomy and Space Exploration and Industry.

A Road 750 Miles Long…

As part of the festival programme, a mix of school and public events was delivered. In total, we travelled 1230km (approx. 750miles) and delivered a total of 14 different events and sessions. A map of all schools and venues in Sutherland visited by the tour is shown on the map below.

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We have met with pupils from six primary schools in Sutherland, namely Scourie Primary School, Kinlochbervie Primary School, Durness Primary School, Tongue Primary School, Gledfield Primary School and Edderton Primary School. The classroom activities included Meteorite Handling, examining a Space Payload (Skylark 140 and 141 missions) and Constellation Making.

Amongst the secondary schools, the tour visited Dornoch Academy and Kinlochbervie High, at both of which we delivered talks about Space Exploration and Astronomy research (including interacting with the Space Payload and Infra-red Camera) as well as the emergence of Space Industry in Scotland, including many future academic and job opportunities. This tied in with the national SpaceCareers.uk programme of outreach.

We have also delivered two public events entitled From Dark Skies to Outer Space in the Kyle Centre in Tongue on Wednesday, 7th March and in The Hub at Bonnar Bridge on Thursday, 8th March. These events also included a mix of content, highlighting the current work across Scotland on access, research and utilisation of Space.

 

Meeting the Sutherland Community

The tour reached 191 people in total, of which nearly 75% (139) were children. We have also interacted with 37 other local residents outside the school visits, in particular through the two public events. Given this is a hard-to-reach remote rural community, such high numbers of attendees and high levels of engagement can be understood as a significant success.

Several very positive comments were received both from schools as well as from the public audiences. One of the attendees ever wrote as a thank you e-mail noting:

“I attended last night at The Hub in Bonar Bridge and I took my daughter along, we both really enjoyed the talk and she insisted we stop on the way back to look at the stars, Orion was in full view between the clouds…”How many is 1 with 22 zeros after it?” she asked. “A lot” was the best I could do.”

In many of post-event interactions, there were very specific references to the high value of our effort to reach out to the more remote communities. This is one of these comments:

“I thought I should drop you a line to say ‘thank you’ for making the effort to travel up to the Highlands to give your talk Dark Skies to Outer Space. […] We don’t get the same opportunities to take our kids along to these things as parents in the cities so it is very much appreciated when people like yourself make the effort to come up.”

We believe, however, that the public engagement interaction should be grounded in an open and honest two-way dialogue. In particular, in our engagement with the community at Tongue, we were informed of a severe lack of public discourse over the proposed Melness/Sutherland spaceport. It became clear that the developers have not been engaging the local community, past the direct landowners, in the development of the proposal. This led us to take steps to inform relevant stakeholders that a public forum over these matters should be initiated.

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This project benefited from funding from a SpaceCareers.uk / UKSEDS public engagement grant and a significant investment through the British Science Association (BSA) Community Connecting Grant and BSA regional branch funds. We are very grateful for their support and this amazing opportunity to bring the cutting edge in Astronomy and Space Science Research, as well as the Scottish Space Sector development, to communities across Sutherland.

Space and Astronomy Tour (SAT) to Visit Orkney International Science Festival

matjazvidmar/ / arts, Innovation, Outreach, Post, Space, Travel

I am delighted to announce that I have been invited to deliver a series of outreach events for Orkney International Science Festival (7th-13th September 2017). I am particularly excited that though most events will be held in Orkney’s capital, Kirkwall, some will be held on the more remote islands in the archipelago.

Let’s have a quick look at the highlights of this latest instance of what has by now become my trademark Space and Astronomy Tour(s) (or SATs):

To begin with, in order to support the North Ronaldsay’s community bid for International Dark Sky Island status, I will be visiting this fantastic island (with no street lighting!) to deliver a Dark Sky Discovery capacity development workshop and an evening event called From Dark Sky To a Bright Future. I will be visiting this most Northern outpost of the Orkneys on Thursday,  7th September, with the evening events being held at the Bird Observatory, starting at 8pm.

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North Ronaldsay Bird Observatory (C) 2016, Visit Orkney

To complement the traditional “Families’ Saturday” programme, on 9th September, in the King Street Halls, I will lead a drop-in workshop stall on Family Fun with Constellation Making. Doors open at 10am and we should have enough constellation making supplies to last us until 4pm.

In a partnership with Lewis Hou from Science Ceilidh we will be running a special science and music event at the Papa Westray Community Centre on Monday, 11th September. The event with a provisional title Celestial Harmony, will feature parts of my talk on the link between everyday objects and Astronomy and Space Science, What Has the Space Ever Done for Us? A Sign-posted Guide to Astronomy and Space Exploration in 8 Technologies, and Lewis’ musical exploration of Space in the form of Space Ceilidh dances. Whilst at “Papay” we will also be visiting the most Northern school in Scotland (if you, perhaps unjustly, exclude fair Isle and Shetland Islands).

Also, as part of a longstanding partnership with Kirkwall Grammar School (KGS), which includes and exciting project to take students to visit the Russia’s Star City in 2018, I will deliver a series of interactive sessions with National 5, Highers and Advanced Highers students, called The Discovery of Space, and based on celebrating the first century of scientific Space Exploration.

Finally, together with a former astronomer and now an acclaimed writer, Pippa Goldschmidt, we will reprise our recent Edinburgh Fringe show using fiction, and science to explore Tales of the Outer Space. The literary-scientific exploration will be held in Supper Room, Town Hall, Kirkwall on Wednesday, 13th September, at 2pm.

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Pippa and me promoting our Fringe show…

In addition to my own events listed above, I am also part of a collaborative project involving Dr Howie Firth (OISF) and Dr Edvard Kobal (Slovenian Science Foundation), on exploring the life and work of Fanny Susan Copeland. On Sunday, 10th September, we will present a talk entitled “The Astronomer’s Daughter and the Lost Armada Ships”. Fanny Copeland is the daughter of Ralph Copeland, who was the Astronomer Royal for Scotland in late 19th and early 20th century. I have completed extensive research in the Royal Observatory Edinburgh archives in support of this project. Come and find out more about her amazing life and work, as well as try out some fine Slovenian baking at Skaill House, Sandwick, at 6pm.

I will also be assisting in organising and delivering celebrations to mark the 20th Anniversary of Partnership with Slovenian Science Foundation, including the delicious celebratory banquet: From Rocky Karst to Sunlit Sea (7pm, Wednesday, 13th September, Town Hall, Kirkwall), and helping to deliver some of the other events, for instance Cloud Chamber Workshop planned by Alan Walker from the Particle Physics for Scottish Schools (PP4SS).

I suspect I don’t have to tell you just how excited I am about this amazing series of events and how much I am looking forward to visiting Orkney again. However, I do have to say massive thanks to OISF organisers for inviting me, to the Institute of Physics in Scotland for their generous financial support and to the Dark Sky Discovery / STFC for the privilege of representing the Dark Sky Discovery project.

 

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Are we trying to build a new Empire in the Outer Space?

matjazvidmar/ / arts, Edinburgh, Innovation, Outreach, policy, Post, research, science, Space, STEM, Travel, value

As part of this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival, I am teaming up with an ex-astronomer and acclaimed science fiction author, Pippa Goldschmidt, to debate the future of human activity beyond the Earth in a show titled: Outer Space – The Next Empire?

Pippa is a Royal Observatory Edinburgh graduate and has later worked both at Imperial College, London, as well as in civil service, including on outer space policy. She has since been writing fiction about science and scientists, including a novel about an astronomer who discovers the Universe and loses her mind, ‘The Falling Sky’ and a collection of short stories ‘The need for Better Regulation of Outer Space’. Pippa has been writer in residence in several science and social science research centres and is currently Visiting Fellow at the Science, Technology and Innovation Studies Group (my “home” department) at the University of Edinburgh.

In an hour of literary drama, comedy and engaging discussion with the audience, Pippa and I will be exploring big questions such as: Who does outer space belong to, and are humans its only intelligent tenants/owner-occupiers? Will colonising space soon become our business-as-usual, and should we be doing it at all? Can we cause any harm to whoever else might be out there or are we likely to be harmed ourselves?

The event is part of the Cabaret of Dangerous Ideas series, which is a joint Beltane Public Engagement Network and Fair Pley production, successfully taking science to the Fringe for the fifth time in 2017. You might even remember that I have done another Cabaret show last year, called “Let Big Brother Watch!”

Hence, I am delighted to be returning to the Fringe with this show, as we are planning to make it as exciting for the audience as any of the big Fringe productions, but with more discussion and engagement. Pippa is an amazing story-teller and I am so honoured to be working with her to create this very special event.

Though we will intertwine fact with fiction to set the scene, we are looking forward to talking about the scientific and social impact of space exploration, whilst also questioning some of the accepted norms and challenging pre-conceptions. Arts, and especially literature, is great in enabling an open and frank discussion about not only the present, but also the future of scientific and technological development.

 This is very well illustrated in this review (by Iain Maloney) of Pippa’s collection of short stories, ‘The Need for Better Regulation of Outer Space’: “Science is a tool for understanding the universe, but in Pippa Goldschmidt’s hands it is also a metaphor through which we can better understand ourselves.”

Outer Space – The Next Empire? is on 5th August, 1.50pm, at the New Town Theatre in George Street.

Tickets can be bought via the Fringe Box Office or on-line: bit.ly/OuterSpaceEmpire 

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It is “Ignition” for UK’s Spaceport(s)!

matjazvidmar/ / policy, Post, research, Satellites, Space, Travel

The UK is well on its way to establishing the first set of spaceports outside the USA. Though the first Government consultation on the issue completed as far back as 2014 and preparations are well underway at several locations, the publication of the draft Spaceflight Bill in February has finally put on paper the future outlook for UK space access capabilities, with first launch activities scheduled for 2020.

The joined ministerial statement accompanying the launch of the draft Bill noted: “We want to see UK spaceports enabling the launch of small satellites from the UK, as well as sub-orbital spaceflights and scientific experiments. Our new laws will put British businesses at the forefront of these new space services and create jobs in communities that have not previously considered themselves to be part of our space sector.”

Instead of direct targeted government investment, which has been discussed in the past, the draft Bill is making provisions for a licensing scheme, enabling any spaceport operator to acquire permission for multi-phase launch from mainland UK, as long as they are satisfying safety requirements and having a viable business case. To assist the development of spaceports Government grants could be made available to successful applicants.

Though most operators are considering what is called a “horizontal launch”, i.e. a modified aircraft deploying a rocked powered 2-stage vehicle over the Atlantic Ocean after a “normal” runway take-off, the Bill is making provisions for “vertical launchers”, i.e. free-standing rockets, as well.

The scheme could see the establishment of a whole series of spaceports, with specialist airfields from Newquay in Cornwall, Snowdonia in Wales, and Sutherland, Campbeltown, Prestwick and Southern Isles in Scotland all separately attempting to bid for licences.

However, Stuart Macintyre from Orbital Access, who are developing a horizontal launch system to operate from the UK, sees potential for a more networked approach. He told the BBC recently that they “envisage a system of collaborating spaceports and a system of operators whose needs will describe the capabilities that are required at those spaceports.” In particular, as they would “need a diversionary site if for any reason we cannot land back at the runway from which we took off.”

But the Bill is not all about “health and safety”. The science minister, Jo Johnston, noted that “spaceflight offers the UK the opportunity to build on our strengths in science, research and innovation” and that “it provides opportunities to expand into new markets, creating highly-skilled jobs and boosting local economies across the country. That is why it is one of the key pillars of our Industrial Strategy.”

So, while not quite in the lift-off stage yet, the vision of UK spaceports clearly got to “ignition”!

 

This brief analysis was published in the May-June 2017 edition of the Popular Astronomy magazine by the Society for Popular Astronomy. Image copyright: Orbital Access.

Space is Up!

matjazvidmar/ / impact, Innovation, policy, Post, research, science, Space, Travel

The Global Space Innovation Conference (GLIC) 2015, which was held in Munich between 23rd and 25th June 2015, was preceded by an “unconference” based on the Space Up template – Space UP GLIC.

This template means, that the “participants decide the topics, schedule, and structure of the event”, which in this instance was themed around Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the Space Sector. We aimed quite high; for instance, one of the (preparatory) questions from Twitter reads:

The day was mainly filled with short presentations from a variety of speakers presenting on topics ranging from protection against Near Earth objects (NEOs):

to dancing in zero gravity:

I also added my ramblings to the mix; I ended up wrapping up the presentations section with my talk “It IS Rocket Science!” about studying innovation, New Product Development (NPD) and networks in the Space Industry:

This was followed by some debate time drawing on two key questions: What is innovation? and Does investment stimulate innovation or vice versa?

The outcomes of this discussion and a summary of our contributions was also presented at the close of the “main” conference, including a video vlog of the day:

For my part, on top of being introduced to a variety of interesting ideas and projects, I was also introduced to so many exciting and very talented people, all passionate about space and ready to actively participate in the future of Space exploration. That in itself made this event the place to be for any budding Space enthusiast and I am looking forward to meet my new friends again, as soon as might be.

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“On top of Munich!”

Perhaps, we might even get SpaceUp to Scotland some time soon…

Think Global, Act Global!

matjazvidmar/ / impact, Innovation, outcomes, policy, Post, research, science, Space, Travel, value

Few and far in-between are times when an interdisciplinary researcher working across different fields, such as myself, find themselves at a conference comfortably covering nearly the entire theme of their work. Most often, I myself sit with two crowds – innovation studies researchers’ meetings cater for participating in academic discussions and I attend the gatherings of the space community to keep up to speed in the trends in my research area, the Space sector.

However, the importance of bringing together of these two crowds has recently been noted within the international Space community and from 23rd to 25th June 2015, I have found myself in Munich attending the “conference of my dreams” – the Global Space Innovation Conference.

GLIC conference banner, (c) IAF

For me, the event was two part, as the “main” conference was preceded by the SpaceUp GLIC “unconference”, which provides an alternative platform for facilitating networking and discussions amongst (younger/young at heart!) Space enthusiasts. Little snippets from this event are published separately in the post “Space is Up!”.

The theme of the conference was “From Government Programmes to Entrepreneurial Actions” and was based on two main premises:

1. There is significant appetite, both from the government as well as industry point of view for more private-public partnerships or direct private enterprise to get involved in the (national and international) Space exploration efforts, including but not limited to benefiting from the (civil/non-space) applications of technology originally developed for Space exploration. 

2. There are important (negotiated?) roles for all stakeholders (public, private, academic, non-profit, etc.) in the entrepreneurial system the industry is embedded in. This system was defined along the lines of (Gnyawali and Fogel, 1994):

  • Socioeconomic Environment,
  • Entrepreneurial and Business Skills,
  • Non-financial Support,
  • Financial Support, and
  • Government Policies and Procedures

These five elements were also the themes of the GLIC’s five key discursive panels (2-6):

  • Panel 1. The View from Entrepreneurs
  • Panel 2. Socioeconomic Environment for Entrepreneurs
  • Panel 3. Entrepreneurial Education and Training
  • Panel 4. Non-Financial Assistance for Venture Creation
  • Panel 5. Financial Support for Venture Creation
  • Panel 6: Policies and Laws for Entrepreneurship

The key findings, in my view, are that stakeholders have to work to reduce the burdens on the entrepreneurs by, on one hand, (public and private) funders increasing investment in early-stage technology development and on the other, providing clever institutional support (mainly in business development) to the entrepreneurs. In theory, this should also lead to a (more) competitive and dynamic Space economy, including breaking corporate monopolies currently supported by targeted government procurement.

However, the appreciation of the complexity of the products in the Space sector is necessary and my own research here is in many ways an embodiment of the above programme and an expression of the anxiety associated with it in particular with respect to the need for a more detailed understanding of the product development processes (NPD) and the role the different stakeholders play in it. In particular, the entrepreneurial networks through which expertise and action are channelled play a crucial role here as, the project complexity requires an increased knowledge flow into the NPD or innovation process.

In fact, this was the main part of my contribution to the event, made in the context of the SpaceUp GLIC, where I outlined these important concerns and my plans to address them in the context of my research in Scotland/UK.

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Presenting the talk: “It IS Rocket Science!” at SpaceUp GLIC, Munich, 23rd June 2015

More of those plans to follow in a white paper draft to be published later this year…