In line with this I had the most fascinating discussion with Ben (our resident chemist) about something we could do to cut our launch cost in half. He explained to me a way to extract hydrogen from water that involved water, deep cycle batteries (about the same as a car battery, but would be more appropriate for delivering a continuous charge), and a salt bridge. He suggested that this was not novel and there are lots of instructions out on the web put together by people that do this sort of thing.<div>
<br></div><div>Assuming they don't count the cost of the batteries (which would be silly, since you're not counting the cost of the cylinder that holds the helium since it's just rented) this means that we could reduce that $100+ cost down to pennies, reducing the total cost of the launch dramatically. </div>
<div><br></div><div>What say you we experiment with helium?</div><div><br></div><div>Christie<br clear="all">_______<br>"We also briefly discussed having officers replaced by very small shell scripts." -- Noisebridge meeting notes 2008-06-17<br>
<br>The outer bounds is only the beginning. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/genriel/sets/72157623376093724/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/genriel/sets/72157623376093724/</a><br>
<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Sun, Mar 21, 2010 at 5:55 PM, Ariel Waldman <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:ariel@arielwaldman.com">ariel@arielwaldman.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
Ok, I added myself since there were no other votes. Will let you all know if they send me any updates on the competition.<div class="im"><br><br><br clear="all">Ariel Waldman | digital anthropologist<br><br>[ <a href="http://arielwaldman.com" target="_blank">http://arielwaldman.com</a> | <a href="http://spacehack.org" target="_blank">http://spacehack.org</a> ]<br>
<br>
<br><br></div><div><div></div><div class="h5"><div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Mar 8, 2010 at 8:54 PM, Mikolaj Habryn <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:dichro@rcpt.to" target="_blank">dichro@rcpt.to</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left:1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);margin:0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex;padding-left:1ex">
I nominate Ariel.<br>
<br>
m.<br>
<div><div></div><div><br>
On Mon, Mar 8, 2010 at 5:53 PM, Ariel Waldman <<a href="mailto:ariel@arielwaldman.com" target="_blank">ariel@arielwaldman.com</a>> wrote:<br>
> Hey everyone, we've been added to the competition!<br>
><br>
> Please read what Jay sent me below. The PDF of the rules is on<br>
> <a href="http://workshop88.com/space/" target="_blank">http://workshop88.com/space/</a> . We need to elect an individual from our group<br>
> per the note below.<br>
><br>
> Send me your thoughts!<br>
><br>
><br>
> Ariel Waldman | digital anthropologist<br>
><br>
> [ <a href="http://arielwaldman.com" target="_blank">http://arielwaldman.com</a> | <a href="http://spacehack.org" target="_blank">http://spacehack.org</a> ]<br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------<br>
> From: Jay Margalus <<a href="mailto:jay.margalus@gmail.com" target="_blank">jay.margalus@gmail.com</a>><br>
> Date: Mon, Mar 8, 2010 at 4:31 PM<br>
> Subject: Re: Is Hackerspaces in Space a domestic or int'l competition?<br>
> To: Ariel Waldman <<a href="mailto:ariel@arielwaldman.com" target="_blank">ariel@arielwaldman.com</a>><br>
> Cc: Kevin Roof <<a href="mailto:roofuskit@gmail.com" target="_blank">roofuskit@gmail.com</a>><br>
><br>
><br>
> Not a problem at all, we're still accepting groups applying late. You've<br>
> been added to this list. Here's some additional info I just sent out,<br>
> including info on what you can do next:<br>
> Thanks for signing up to participate in Hackerspaces in Space!<br>
> News<br>
> The past few weeks have been really exciting for us. Hackerspaces in Space<br>
> (HSIS) has registered 29 organizations, including groups from Germany,<br>
> Thailand, Malaysia, and Australia. We've received some pretty nice<br>
> write-ups from Make Magazine, Hobbyspace, Evadot, Spacehack, and<br>
> <a href="http://thehackerspaces.org" target="_blank">thehackerspaces.org</a> website. The energy behind HSIS has also moved outside<br>
> the realm of hackerspaces to encompass other enthusiastic groups and<br>
> organizations. We welcome any curious individuals interested in science,<br>
> making, and exploration.<br>
> For those of you who are hackerspaces, we have additional news that we're<br>
> pleased to announce: HSIS has become the participating event for the<br>
> competitive leg of the first annual "Hackerspace Awards". An idea out of<br>
> Makers Local 256 with <a href="http://hackerspace.org" target="_blank">hackerspace.org</a> support, the Hackerspace Awards<br>
> recognize innovation and ingenuity within the maker community. This creates<br>
> no extra work for you or your organization -- it's just another way to bring<br>
> us together.<br>
> For everybody, we have even more news coming up that you'll find quite<br>
> interesting.<br>
> Competition Update<br>
> Now that registration has finally closed, we're asking two things of each<br>
> registered group:<br>
> 1) To elect an individual and submit their name to serve on the Event Board<br>
> outlined in the rules. Please e-mail <a href="mailto:jmargalus@workshop88.com" target="_blank">jmargalus@workshop88.com</a> with your<br>
> information before April 1, 2010.<br>
> 2) To re-read the rules attached to this e-mail, and ask us any questions<br>
> you might have about them.<br>
> Additionally, the Hackerspace Awards team has inquired, granted your group<br>
> will take part in the Awards, if your Event Board nominee will also judge a<br>
> "merits based event" as part of the Awards. This is an excellent<br>
> opportunity for everyone to participate in this new and exciting event, so<br>
> if you have any thoughts, please let us know.<br>
><br>
> Thanks again for signing up, and be sure to keep us all updated on your own<br>
> balloon's progress!<br>
> Happy ballooning,<br>
> Jay Margalus<br>
> p.s. If you are not a member of a hackerspace, but would like more<br>
> information on hackerspaces in your area, feel free to mail me with your<br>
> information and I'll point you in the right direction.<br>
> Jay Margalus<br>
> Polymath Workshop, Inc.<br>
> <a href="http://www.wepolymath.com" target="_blank">www.wepolymath.com</a><br>
><br>
> Have a nice day<br>
><br>
><br>
> On Mon, Mar 8, 2010 at 6:22 PM, Ariel Waldman <<a href="mailto:ariel@arielwaldman.com" target="_blank">ariel@arielwaldman.com</a>><br>
> wrote:<br>
>><br>
>> Hi Jay,<br>
>><br>
>> I just submitted my name to the registration on behalf of the hackerspace<br>
>> Noisebridge. Spacebridge (the space group at Noisebridge) has been working<br>
>> on weather balloon payloads since December and we had our first test launch<br>
>> last month. I thought someone in the group had already registered for the<br>
>> competition but found out yesterday that it hadn't been done yet. Can you<br>
>> grant Noisebridge late entry?<br>
>><br>
>> If so, please let me know what next steps are (aside from read the PDF<br>
>> rules on the site).<br>
>> Thanks!<br>
>><br>
>> Ariel Waldman | digital anthropologist<br>
>><br>
>> [ <a href="http://arielwaldman.com" target="_blank">http://arielwaldman.com</a> | <a href="http://spacehack.org" target="_blank">http://spacehack.org</a> ]<br>
>><br>
><br>
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