New for 2021 to Celebrate MajorTim.space’s 5th Anniversary – MajorTim.space – Young Ambassador Programme.

We’re looking for young people who are passionate about STEM to become our Young Ambassadors for 2021 – 2022.

Our Young Ambassadors will take part in very exciting activities, including – conducting interviews with professionals for our YouTube channel, visiting wonderful places to review them (Covid-19 allowing), being guests at some of our events and much more.

It’s an opportunity that will look great on your CV!

You will be the Ambassador for one year after which we will elect a new group.

There will be three age categories and we will be selecting one from each to be honoured with the prestigious ‘MajorTim.space – Young Ambassador’ title –
7-9 years
10-12 years
13-14 years

Plus, because it is our 5th Anniversary we will also be giving one young person an exclusive opportunity.
All entrants will automatically be also judged for our ‘MajorTim.space Honorary Young Ambassador’ Title.
The lucky recipient of this prestigious title will be entitled to hold their position
as ambassador until they turn 14.
This is a one-off opportunity.

Each ambassador (2021-2022 and Honorary) will receive a t.shirt stating their title.

Plus, next year when we welcome our new ambassadors, you will help present and pass on the roles – sharing your tips and advice.

The judges will be –

Herb Baker

Patron of MajorTim.space.
Herb recently retired from NASA after 42 years at JSC, KSC & NASA Headquarters having worked in the Space Shuttle, Space Station & Orion program offices and managing the business office supporting Flight Operations.
He is currently on the Board of Directors for the JSC NASA Alumni League and volunteers at Space Center Houston.

Dr Jackie Bell

Mathematician & theoretical particle physicist – based at Imperial College London.
A contestant on the BBC’s ‘Astronauts: Do You Have What it Takes?’ programme – She was selected from from over 3,500 applicants to take part and undertake tests similar to those used in the astronaut selection at major space agencies.
Jackie has won multiple awards for her work!
She’s from Liverpool, UK.

Amelia Jane Piper

CEO/Founder/manager of MajorTim.space.
Amelia is public speaker, science communicator, photographer, Podcaster, coder,
video editor and graphics designer.
A student at Open University studying Earth Science bsc a year early.
She recently won the title of ‘UKSEDS Outreach Ambassador of the Year 2020’
in recognition of her voluntary non-profit work.

ENTRANTS MUST BE UK RESIDENTS ONLY.
You must be at least 7 and no older than 14 on the date entries close – 3rd March 2021

Here is the timeline of dates –

In the application form you will need to answer all questions and provide a valid phone number along with email address. (this must belong to your parents/guardians).
In the final box please provide links to any videos etc that you feel contribute to
your application – this could be a video where you explain why you’d like to be on of our Ambassadors or showing an experiment you performed recently etc.

It will make your application stronger if you include a short video.

The Application Period has now ended.

Terms and Conditions

Eligibility:  Open to UK residents (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) aged 7 – 14.

Entries: Only one entry per person.  All additional entries will be disqualified.

There is no cash or alternative prizes, in whole or part.
The titles are not transferable and cannot be resold.

Copyright: By entering the competition, each entrant grants the Promoter a world-wide, perpetual, royalty free, sub-licensable right and licence to use reproduce, modify, adapt, publish or display (in whole or in part) any intellectual property contained in the content of their entry, without royalty, payment or other compensation. Each Entrant agrees not to assert any moral rights in relation to such use and warrants that they have full authority to grant such rights.

Judges will not enter any conversation about judging and all decisions are final.

Any personal information that entrants share will be kept secure and only used in line with these terms and conditions.
By entering the promotion, entrants agree that their information may be used to administer the competition and winners consent to give their name for winners promotional material.

By submitting the application you are granting photo/video consent for your child.

PUMP UP THE STEM 2020 – Winners

PUMP UP THE STEM is a competition for budding scientists, naturalists, astronauts, engineers and mathematicians etc who want to share their excitement for STEM while gaining valuable presenting experience.
Young people (age 5-18) submit videos that are up to 4 minutes long and show their passion for STEM!

The PUMP UP THE STEM 2020 judges were –

5-8 Category Judge – Herb Baker
Herb recently retired from NASA after 42 years at JSC, KSC & NASA Headquarters having worked in the Space Shuttle, Space Station & Orion program offices and managing the business office supporting Flight Operations.
He is currently on the Board of Directors for the JSC NASA Alumni League and volunteers at Space Center Houston,

9-12 Category Judge – Sue Nelson
Sue is an award winning radio producer, science journalist and former BBC TV science/environment correspondent.
She is also the author of – Wally Funk’s Race for Space: The Extraordinary Story of a Female Aviation Pioneer.

13-18 Category Judge – Dr Mark Lewney
Guitar Physicist
A Senior Patent Examiner with a PhD in Guitar Acoustics
Also know as the ‘Rock Doctor’, Mark was the first ever winner of the
FameLab Competition.
He is said to be a cross between Einstein and Jimi Hendrix!

Most Enthusiastic Presenter Category Judge – Amelia Jane Piper
CEO/Founder/manager of MajorTim.space.
A public speaker, science communicator, photographer, Podcaster, coder, video editor and graphics designer.
She recently won the title of ‘UKSEDS Outreach Ambassador of the Year 2020’ in recognition of her voluntary non-profit work.

Watch all of the fantastic winning videos from 2020 in the YouTube Playlist playlist – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzUcFnvbfgXSsAZ-CPA9IuU3e2nJPZZxb

Are you fascinated by the awe and wonders of all things space?…
If so – then this event is for you!

Join MajorTim.space for Space Quest
A one night only line-up of fantastic celebrity guests to celebrate World Space Week 2020.

The evening will be hosted by Amelia Jane Piper (CEO/founder of MajorTim.space).

The event will consist of a talk by Vix Southgate – World Space Week National Coordinator for the UK, Author and manager for VIPs

A chat with Sophia Lee- Roberts  – Chair of UKSEDS

Plus, an ‘out of this world’ special guest – Nicole Passonno Stott – An astronaut and artist who creatively combines the awe and wonder of her spaceflight experience with artwork.
She’s a veteran NASA Astronaut with two spaceflights and 104 days living and working in space as a crew member on both the International Space Station (ISS) and the Space Shuttle.

Not forgetting an interview with Herb Baker (NASA) by our PUMP UP THE STEM 2020 competition Champions –
5-8 category winner – Marthy Rose Hill-Davis (age 6)
13-18 category winner – Emilie Heather (age 13)
Most Enthusiastic Presenter category winner – Tom Jones (age 9)
Most Amusing Video category winner – Millie Davies (age 8)

Also, a personal video message from Professor Chris Lintott – best known as co-presenter of BBC’s Sky At Night.

Tim Gagnon – an artist who has worked with NASA Astronauts designing their mission patches, will give an in-depth insight into his work.

Join us on Sunday (11th October 2020) at 6pm(BST) as we launch you into the wonders of space!

The audience can ask our speakers questions in the comments on YouTube – we will try our best to answer all.

Click here to attend the event on YouTube –

Yesterday we held the Awards Ceremony of our PUMP UP THE STEM video competition
Although we faced technical issues with Zoom, it was fantastic to have all celebrity judges in attendance
Below our CEO/founder, Amelia Jane Piper provides a run down of the winners

#PUMPUPTHESTEM

Thank you to our Super Guest Judges – Herb Baker, Dr Mark Lewney and Sue Nelson

MajorTim.space – 10 Minute Star Striking Facts series is an engaging online outreach project to inspire all.
On Monday each week, we will feature a different speaker with a fact of their choice.

Join us every Monday at 6pm as we spike your interest and curiosity in new areas of STEM/Space knowledge in a personal and relaxed setting – perfect for people of all ages!

LIKE, FOLLOW AND SUBSCRIBE
MajorTim.space
Facebook – MajorTim.space
Twitter – @majortimspace
YouTube – MajorTim.space

Unfortunately due to weather conditions the historic NASA’s Commercial Crew Program – SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft which was meant to launch last Wednesday (27th May) was postponed until today (30th May).

As always for any manned spaceflight – crew safety is top priority.

A new era of human spaceflight is set to begin as American astronauts once again launch on an American rocket from American soil to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley will fly on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, lifting off on a Falcon 9 rocket, the first manned space flight to leave US since 2011, is set for blast off from Cape Canaveral, Florida – today at 8.22pm UK time (3.22pm Eastern Time)

NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission will return human spaceflight to the International Space Station from U.S. soil on an American rocket and spacecraft as a part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.  Demo-2 will be SpaceX’s final test flight to validate its crew transportation system, including the Crew Dragon, Falcon 9, launch pad and operations capabilities.  During the mission, the crew and SpaceX mission controllers will verify the performance of the spacecraft’s environmental control system, displays and control system, maneuvering thrusters, autonomous docking capability and more.

Who are the astronauts on this historic mission?

Robert Behnken

Robert will be the joint operations commander for the mission, responsible for activities such as rendezvous, docking and undocking, as well as Demo-2 activities while the spacecraft is docked to the space station.

He was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2000 and has completed two space shuttle flights.  Behnken flew STS-123 in March 2008 and STS-130 in February 2010, and he performed three spacewalks during each mission. Born in St. Anne, Missouri, he has bachelor’s degrees in physics and mechanical engineering from Washington University and earned a master’s and doctorate in mechanical engineering from California Institute of Technology.

Before joining NASA, Robert was a flight test engineer with the U.S. Air Force.

Douglas Hurley

Douglas will be the spacecraft commander for Demo-2, responsible for activities such as launch, landing and recovery.

 

He was selected as an astronaut in 2000 and has completed two spaceflights.  Hurley served as pilot and lead robotics operator for both STS‐127 in July 2009 and STS‐135, the final space shuttle mission, in July 2011.  The New York native was born in Endicott but considers Apalachin his hometown.  He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Tulane University in Louisiana and graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in Maryland.

 

Before joining NASA, he was a fighter pilot and test pilot in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Lets explore the sleek SpaceX launch and entry suits –

The spacesuits that Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley in  the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule to launch to the International Space Station on the Demo-2 mission, look different than the ones you are used to seeing.
They appear sleeker than the Sokol launch and entry suits that astronauts wear for launch onboard the Soyuz capsule that has been carrying crews to the ISS for the last nine years.  They bear even less resemblance to the orange “pumpkin suits,” also known as Advanced Crew Escape System (ACES) suits, that Space Shuttle crews wore when riding the shuttle to orbit or the space station.

It should not be surprising that the suits, like many things related to Elon Musk’s SpaceX operation, intentionally look unlike anything that has gone before them.

Their helmets are 3D-printed & the gloves are touchscreen-sensitive.
The Starman suits are all in one piece & customised for the individual astronaut.
But they are just designed for use inside the SpaceX capsule Crew Dragon – they’re not suitable for use on spacewalks.

Launch and entry suits that astronauts wear at the start and finish of their missions provide added safety to the astronauts during the most dangerous phases of the flight, like when they travel through the Earth’s atmosphere, but they are not autonomous.
The suits rely on the life support and communications systems of the spacecraft to protect life in the event of a failure of the capsule’s primary life support systems. Traditionally these suits have been adaptations of pilots’ high-altitude suits that mostly serve the same purpose.

Robert and Douglas will join the Expedition 63 crew on the station to conduct important research, as well as support station operations and maintenance.
While docked to the station, the crew will run tests to ensure the Crew Dragon spacecraft is capable on future missions of remaining connected to the station for up to 210 days as a NASA requirement.
The specific duration for this mission will be determined after arrival based on the readiness of the next commercial crew launch.

Finally, the mission will conclude with the Crew Dragon undocking from the station, deorbiting and returning Behnken and Hurley to Earth with a safe splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean.

Upon conclusion of the mission, Crew Dragon will autonomously undock with the two astronauts on board, depart the space station and re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere.  Upon splashdown just off Florida’s Atlantic Coast, the crew will be picked up at sea by SpaceX’s Go Navigator recovery vessel and return to Cape Canaveral.

The Demo-2 mission will be the final major step before NASA’s Commercial Crew Program certifies Crew Dragon for operational, long-duration missions to the space station.  This certification and regular operation of Crew Dragon will enable NASA to continue the important research and technology investigations taking place onboard the station, which benefits people on Earth and lays the groundwork for future exploration of the Moon and Mars starting with the agency’s Artemis program, which will land the first woman and the next man on the lunar surface in 2024.

MajorTim.space’s 10 Minute Star Striking Facts
Week 7
Speaker – Nick Howes (Lead Research and Development Specialist & Test Analyst – Space SI division – BMT Defence and Security.
Head of Aerolite Meteorites in UK/Europe).

The 10 Minute Star Striking Facts series is an engaging online outreach project to inspire all during the Covid-19 outbreak.
On Monday each week, we will feature a different speaker with a fact of their choice.

Join us every Monday at 1pm during this period as we spike your interest and curiosity in new areas of STEM/Space knowledge in a personal and relaxed setting – perfect for people of all ages!

MajorTim.space’s patron – Apollo 15 astronaut, Colonel Alfred Merrill Worden (Al) sadly passed away in his sleep on 18th March 2020, age 88.

Al Worden served as Command Module Pilot (CMP) on Apollo 15, the fourth manned lunar landing mission which was the first to visit and explore the Moon’s Hadley Rille and Apennine Mountains that are located on the South East edge of the Mare Imbrium (Sea of Rains) in 1971.

This mission was the first flight of the Lunar Roving Vehicle which astronauts used to explore the geology of the Hadley Rille/Apennine region. The LRV allowed Apollo 15, 16 and 17 astronauts to venture further from the Lunar Module than in previous missions.

Al’s companions on the flight were David R. Scott, spacecraft commander and James B. Irwin, lunar module commander

One of only 24 people to have flown to the Moon – Colonel Al Worden earned a Master of Science degree in astronautical/aeronautical engineering and instrumentation engineering from the University of Michigan in 1963 – Later in 1971 the university awarded him an honoury doctorate of science in astronautical engineering.

Al was a man of many talents also known as an influential author and poet.

NASA Experience –

One of the 19 astronauts selected by NASA in April 1966, Al served as a member of the astronaut support crew for the Apollo 9 flight and as backup Command Module Pilot for the Apollo 12 flight.

The Apollo 15 patch design is of three birds flying over the lunar surface, each one indicating each astronaut who was on the flight. The lunar surface behind the patch shows the landing site (next to Hadley Rille at the foot of the Appenine Mountains) and directly behind the birds is a crater formation that spells “15” in Roman numerals – XV. You can also see from the birds that they fly in formation with one on top indicating who stayed in lunar orbit (Al Worden) and two closer to the lunar surface, representing the astronauts who landed on the Moon’s surface (David Scott and James Irwin).

During the Apollo 15 mission, Al Worden set two Guiness World Records –

1 – The most isolated that any human has been from another person – completed while orbiting the Moon while his crewmates David Scott and James Irwin roamed the lunar surface (Al Worden didn’t land on the Moon’s surface and stayed in orbit around the Moon).

2 – The first spacewalk in deep space – completed en route home and still more than 196,000 miles from Earth – the aim was to retrieve film cassettes from cameras in the scientific instrument module on the spacecraft.

Total EVA time was 38 minutes, 12 seconds.

A spacewalk is also known as an Extravehicular activity (EVA).

Apollo 15 Key Dates:

Launch – Saturn V 26th July 1971

Lunar Landing – 30th July 1971 Hadley Apennine

Lunar Lift off – 2nd August 1971

Al Worden Performs First Spacewalk – 5th August 1971

Splashdown – 7th August 1971 in Pacific Ocean

Total Mission Duration: 12 days, 7 hours, 12 minutes

In more recent years Al Worden became the patron of MajorTim.space –

“The most important thing we can leave for our descendants is a love of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). These are the tools that will enable us to survive in today’s world and help us find a safe place in the future in which to prosper. I encourage all young people to focus on these disciplines to become part of the solution rather than the problem. It is our future that you hold in your hands and MajorTim.space is a good source of information!” – Al Worden

Al Worden was a geniuine, kind person with an infectious sense of humour – a true Apollo legend.

He will be extremely missed by all.

“Do you know what they did down on the Moon? What those guys’ primary job was? They picked up rocks and dirt. Now, myself, in lunar orbit…” – Al Worden, Apollo 15 CMP