Astronomy and Space Exploration
&
Lectures and
Photo Mosaics
Dr. Ken Kremer
NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador
The Planetary Society
Rittenhouse Astronomical Society
Email:
kremerken@yahoo.com
Princeton, NJ
Dr. Ken Kremer is a research scientist and freelance science journalist (Princeton, NJ) whose articles and space exploration images have appeared in magazines, books and on websites, including Astronomy Picture of the Day, ABC News, Aviation Week, Spaceflight Now, Spaceflight, New Scientist, The Planetary Society, Universe Today, Science News, International Year of Astronomy, 2010 Year in Space Calendar, NASA and the covers of Aviation Week & Space Technology, Spaceflight and the Explorers Club magazines.
Ken has presented at numerous educational institutions, civic & religious organizations, museums and astronomy clubs including the National Air & Space Museum, Princeton University, the Explorers Club, the Franklin Institute Science Museum and the NorthEast Astronomy Forum. Ken aims to educate and excite kids and adults about science and space exploration.
Ken has reported first hand from the Kennedy Space Center and lectures on both Human and Robotic spaceflight including the Space Shuttle, Hubble Space Telescope, Spirit & Opportunity Mars rovers, Mars Phoenix, Dawn Asteroid Orbiter, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter & LCROSS, Cassini, International Space Station, Atlas and Delta Rockets.
Dr. Ken Kremer stands in front of the space shuttle Discovery,sitting atop the crawler transporter, as it is being rolled out to Launch Pad 39 A at the Kennedy Space Center
Rittenhouse Astronomical Society meeting: Ken Kremer describes the 9 Jun 2008 Aviation Week magazine cover he created soon after the Phoenix spacecraft landed on 25 May and which shows the discovery of water ice blasted free by the retro rocket thrusters on the Phoenix lander at the martian north polar region. See the full Mars mosaic at the Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) website on 12 June 2008: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap080612.html
Mars Mosaics by Ken Kremer &
Colleagues
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Opportunity at Victoria Crater: Marco
Di Lorenzo and Ken Kremer NASA/JPL/Cornell / Aviation Week & Space
Technology
Photo Cover for Spaceflight Magazine January 2008
Follow the Shuttle Rollout (STS 130 / I.S.S.)
with Dr. Ken Kremer
(RAS Member-at-large)
Ken bundles up for a return to Florida to cover the rollout of STS 130.
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What Would NASA Do with an added Shuttle
Flight? (Universe Today 12/21/09) |
New Year's Greetings from Team ISS and 2010 ISS Calendar (Universe Today 1/3/09) |
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Soyuz Blasts off with International Crew to Build out ISS (Universe Today 12/21/09)
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Shuttle Endeavour Rolled to Pad; Countdown
to the Final Five Begins |
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Mars 2016 Methane Orbiter: Searching for Signs of Life (Universe Today 12/22/09) |
STS-130 Shuttle Flight Facing Delay due to
Payload Technical Glitch (Universe Today 1/9/09) |
Follow the Shuttle Launch (STS 129)
with Dr. Ken Kremer
(RAS Member-at-large)
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STS 129 Astronauts Arrive at Cape Canaveral (Planetary Society 11/13) |
Atlantis Roars to Space for Trek to ISS (Universe Today 11/17) |
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Clock Ticking on Shuttle Atlantis
On Critical Re-Supply Mission (Universe Today - 11/15 Scroll down) |
Kremer Reports for NDTV (Second television interview 11/17) v |
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Atlas Launch Halted by Orca;
Shuttle Atlantis Next in Line (Universe Today 11/15 - Scroll down) |
Atlantis Rockets to Orbit on Crucial ISS Resupply Flight (The Planetary Society 11/18) |
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Tweeters and Atlantis Ready to Launch (Universe Today 11/16) |
Spectacular Shuttle Belly Flip As Atlantis
Docks To ISS (Universe Today 11/19) |
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NASA ready for Atlantis Launch,
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Tranquility Module Formally Handed over to NASA
from ESA |
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 As the shuttle enters its final year of operation, the countdown clock is ticking towards blast-off of Space Shuttle Atlantis and her six man crew at 2:28 PM EST on 16 November 2009 towards the International Space Station (ISS) I am reporting from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Press site to witness the STS 129 launch and provide on-site coverage for readers of Universe Today. The weather is gorgeous here at KSC with clear blue skies and moderate temperatures. |
 Atlas 5 rocket at sunset surrounded by 4 lightening masts at pad 41. Multiple tanks of compressed gaseous nitrogen at 4800 psi in foreground. A technical glitch with the ORCA electronics unit critical for flight control forced a scrub for what would have been the 19th flight of an Atlas 5. Credit: Ken Kremer |
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 The protective Rotating Service Structure is about halfway through its 25 minute long rollback at dusk on 15 November 2009 to expose Atlantis for launch at Kennedy Space Center Pad 39 A. Credit: Ken Kremer |
 Close up of Space Shuttle Atlantis and crew walk out arm and platform at 195 ft level of pad 39 A. Close out crew assists crew into their seats. Thereafter the orbiter hatch is closed for the 11 day mission to the ISS. The arm swings away a few minutes prior to launch. Credit: Ken Kremer |
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 The six person crew of Space Shuttle Atlantis walk out from crew quarters at 10:38 AM to greet the cheering crowd of media and NASA officials and then head out to pad 39 A to strap in for space launch with hours. Credit: Ken Kremer |
 Moments after 2:28 PM EST blast off of Space Shuttle Atlantis and six person crew on 16 November 2009 from pad 39 A at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Credit: Ken Kremer |
 I visited the huge Tweet Up Tent which NASA set up for the first time at the Kennedy Space Center Press center so that ordinary folks from around the world could observe a shuttle launch and share it globally straight away as events unfolded. This reminded me of a high tech command center. Credit: Ken Kremer |
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Ken
Kremer LRO & LCROSS
LRO & LCROSS Up Close Tour
LRO & LCROSS Up Close Tour:
LRO & LCROSS: 1 Day Launch Delay LRO & LCROSS: Ready to Roll to Pad 41
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NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) entered lunar orbit on 23 June 2009 Lunar Crater and Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) will impact the moon's south pole moon on 9 October 2009
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Credit: Marco Di Lorenzo, Douglas
Ellison, Bernhard Braun and Kenneth Kremer. NASA/JPL/Cornell/Aviation
Week & Space Technology
“SPIRIT’S SOAR” -self portrait at the summit of Husband Hill was the cover image for the 14 November 2005 issue of Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine (reprinted by permission) and the April 2006 issue of Spaceflight magazine. The image was derived by an international team of Mars enthusiasts.
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Upcoming Presentation Schedule:
Please contact me for more info or science outreach presentations by email : kremerken@yahoo.com
September 2009 Amateur Astronomers Association of Princeton at Princeton University: Princeton, NJ, Sep 8, Tue, 8 PM. “Eyewitness to LRO & LCROSS: America Returns to the Moon” Website: http://princetonastronomy.org/activities.html Rittenhouse Astronomical Society (RAS) at the Franklin Institute: Philadelphia, PA, Sep 9, Wed, 8 PM. “Fixing Hubble: Eyewitness to Shuttle Atlantis Launch to save The People’s Telescope” Website: http://www.rittenhouseastronomicalsociety.org
October 2009 Amateur Astronomers Association of Princeton at Princeton University: Princeton, NJ, Oct 13, Tue, 8 PM. “ LRO & LCROSS: Post Impact Update” , “Mars Rover Update” Website: http://princetonastronomy.org/activities.html Rittenhouse Astronomical Society (RAS) at the Franklin Institute: Philadelphia, PA, Oct 14, Wed, 8 PM. “LRO & LCROSS Impact Update: America Returns to the Moon”, “Mars Rover Update”. Website: http://www.rittenhouseastronomicalsociety.org Stella Della Valley Star Party & Bucks-Mont Astronomical Association (BMAA): Ottsville, PA, Oct 17, Sat, 3 PM. “Fixing Hubble: Eyewitness to Shuttle Atlantis Launch to save The People’s Telescope”. “Mars Rover Update”, “LRO & LCROSS Impact Update” Website: http://www.bma2.org/Sdv.html UACNJ Astronomy Symposium: Hope NJ, Oct 18, Sun, 2 PM. "Eyewitness to Hubble/Shuttle Launch & Personal Postcards from Mars", “LRO & LCROSS Impact Update” Website: http://www.uacnj.org/ NJ Gifted Children at Mercer County Community College: West Windsor, NJ Oct 24, Sat, 9 AM. “Twin Robots Exploring Mars (IN 3-D)”
Website:
http://www.njagc.org/
November 2009
Space Shuttle Launch Coverage Reporting direct from the Kennedy Space Center STS 129 mission to the International Space Station Tranquility & Cupola: Next manned Modules for the International Space Station Atlas 5 Launch from Cape Canaveral
December 2009 Riverside Elementary School, Family Astronomy Night: Princeton, NJ, Dec 9, 6 PM “Phoenix and the Twin Mars Rovers (in 3-D)” January 2010 Gloucester County College Astronomy Club: Sewell, NJ, Jan, TBD, 7 PM. “Fixing Hubble: Eyewitness to Shuttle Atlantis Launch to save The People’s Telescope” Website: http://www.gccnj.edu/news_and_alerts/rotating_ads/ken_kremer.cfm
January 2010
Gloucester County College Astronomy Club: Sewell, NJ, Jan, TBD, 7 PM. “Fixing Hubble: Eyewitness to Shuttle Atlantis Launch to save The People’s Telescope” Website: http://www.gccnj.edu/news_and_alerts/rotating_ads/ken_kremer.cfm
Year in Space 2010: Weekly Desk Calendar: Dec 28 - Jan 3. Spirit Mars mosaic from Martian mountaintop, published in celebration of 6th anniversary of Spirit landing on Mars Website: http://www.yearinspace.com/the-week-in-space/148-december-28-2009-robot-revisited.html
Space Shuttle STS 130 Pre-Launch Coverage from the Kennedy Space Center
Febraury 2010
Plantation Astronomy Club: Leesburg, FL , Feb 15, 7 PM. “Eyewitness to LRO & LCROSS: America Returns to the Moon” Website: http://www.palhoa.com/id103.html
Space Shuttle Launch Coverage Reporting direct from the Kennedy Space Center STS 130 mission to the International Space Station; Delivery of Tranquility and Cupola Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) , Atlas 5 Launch from Cape Canaveral
March 2010
Villages Astronomy Club: The Villages, FL. May 19, 7 PM. “Eyewitness to LRO & LCROSS: America Returns to the Moon” Websites & Photos: http://www.vlgastroclub.org/2101.html http://www.vlgastroclub.org/31601.html http://www.thevillagesdailysun.com/articles/2009/05/20/news/news01.txt
Space Shuttle Launch Coverage Reporting direct from the Kennedy Space Center STS 131 mission to the International Space Station
April 2010 Café Scientifique: Philadelphia, PA, April 6, 6 PM, Belle Cena Restaurant. “6 Years of Mars Rovers and the Search for Life (in 3-D)” Website: http://www.sciencecafephila.org/Home.html
Check back for updates. Recent lectures listed below
Recent Lectures
September 2009 Rittenhouse Astronomical Society Septeber-09, 7:30 PM, Franklin Institute "Fixing Hubble: Eyewitness to Shuttle Atlantis Launch
May 2009
Plantation Astronomy Club: Leesburg, FL, May 18, 7 PM. "Mars, Saturn, Asteroids, Hubble and Beyond (in 3D)" Website: http://www.palhoa.com/id103.html Villages Astronomy Club: The Villages, FL. May 19, 7 PM. "Mars, Saturn, Asteroids, Hubble and Beyond (in 3D)" Websites & Photos: http://www.vlgastroclub.org/2101.html http://www.vlgastroclub.org/31601.html http://www.thevillagesdailysun.com/articles/2009/05/20/news/news01.txt Space Shuttle Launch Coverage Reporting direct from the Kennedy Space Center STS 125 mission to the Hubble Space Telescope LRO & LCROSS: Lunar missions, Atlas 5 Launch from Cape Canaveral
April 2009
Gloucester County College (GCC) Astronomy Club: Sewell, NJ, April 15, 7 PM. “Launching DAWN to Asteroids: From Behind the Scenes at Kennedy Space Center” Website: http://www.gccnj.edu/news_and_alerts/rotating_ads/ken_kremer.cfm
March 2009
Rockland Astronomy Club at Rockland Community College: Suffern, NY, March 6, Fri, 8 PM. “Mars, Saturn, Asteroids and Beyond in 3-D”Website: http://www.sunyrockland.edu/community/calendar-of-events/astronomy-series-lecture-2/?searchterm=kremer
Amateur Astronomer’s Inc (AAI) at Union County College: Cranford, NJ, 8 PM. “Daring Flight of the Phoenix: Icy Jackpot Hit on Mars (in 3-D)”. Website: http://www.asterism.org
Science and Engineering Expo, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ: March 19, 9 AM. “A 3-D Mars Experience: Phoenix and the Twin Rovers”. Website: http://www.princeton.edu/~pccm/outreach/seeprinceton.htm
Upper Moreland Middle School: Hatboro, PA, March 25, 7 PM. “A 3-D Mars Experience: Mars Day Celebration”. Website: http://umtsd.org/MiddleSchool/index_middle_school.htm
Littlebook Elementary School: Princeton, NJ, Mar 27, 7 PM, “Twin Mars Rovers in 3-D”
Feb 2009
Rittenhouse Astronomical Society at the Franklin Institute: Philadelphia, PA, Feb 11, 8 PM, “Mars Mission Update”. Website: http://www.rittenhouseastronomicalsociety.org
Riverside Elementary School, Family Astronomy Night: Princeton, NJ, Feb 20, 6 PM. “Phoenix and the Twin Mars Rovers (in 3-D)”
Kellman Brown Academy: Voorhees, NJ, Feb 27. “Twin Mars Rovers in 3-D” January 2009 Amateur Astronomers Association of Princeton: Princeton, NJ, Jan 13, 8 PM. “Daring Flight of the Phoenix & 5 Years of Mars Rovers (in 3-D)”. Website: http://princetonastronomy.org/activities.html
Doylestown Presbyterian Church: Doylestown, PA, Jan
7, 6:30 PM. “Phoenix and the Twin Mars Rovers in 3-D”.
December 2008 Riverside Elementary School, Family Astronomy Night: Princeton, NJ, Dec 4, 6 PM. “Phoenix and the Twin Mars Rovers (in 3-D)”. Rittenhouse Astronomical Society (RAS) at the Franklin Institute: Philadelphia, PA, Dec 10, 8 PM. “Daring Flight of the Phoenix Mars Lander: Icy Jackpot Hit on Mars (in 3-D)”. Website: http://www.rittenhouseastronomicalsociety.org November 2008 Gloucester County College, Astronomy Club: Sewell, NJ, Nov 17, 8 PM. “Daring Flight of the Phoenix: Icy Jackpot Hit on Mars (in 3-D)”. Website: http://www.gccnj.edu/ Rockland Astronomy Club at Rockland Community College: Suffern, NY, Nov 21, Fri, 8 PM. “Daring Flight of the Phoenix: Icy Jackpot Hit on Mars (in 3-D)”. Website: http://www.sunyrockland.edu/community/calendar-of-events/astronomy-series-lecture-2/?searchterm=kremer Rittenhouse Astronomical Society (RAS) at the Franklin Institute: Philadelphia, PA, Wed, Nov 12, 9 PM. “Mars Rovers in 3-D”. Website: http://www.rittenhouseastronomicalsociety.org October 2008 Plantation Astronomy Club: Leesburg, FL, Oct 20, 8 PM. “Launching DAWN to Asteroids; Landing Phoenix on Icy Martian Jackpot: Behind the Scenes at Kennedy Space Center (in 3-D)”. Website: http://www.palhoa.com/id103.html
David Sarnoff Library; Martians for Education Festival: Princeton, NJ, Oct 22, 8 PM. “Looking for Life on Mars: Phoenix and the Twin Rovers (in 3-D)”. Website: http://www.davidsarnoff.org/m4e_festival_2008.html http://www.davidsarnoff.org/kremer-looking-for-life-on-mars.html
Stella Della Valley Star Party & Bucks-Mont Astronomical Association (BMAA): Ottsville, PA, Oct 25, 3 PM. “Launching DAWN to Asteroids; Landing Phoenix on Icy Martian Jackpot: Behind the Scenes at Kennedy Space Center (in 3-D)”. Website: http://www.bma2.org/Sdv.html |
Selected for posting by Astronomy Picture of the Day October 19, 2009
Also Posted at Spaceflight Now
Additionally covered by Universe Today
| MAY 2009 ~~ Ken Kremer reported on the Space Shuttle Atlantis Mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope. You can read about it in our June newsletter, and access his blog posts for the Planetary Society directly below. Now that summer has arrived, some may have more time to review his excellent series of posts that follow this historic mission from start to finish. He will speak to us this fall on highlights of the mission, it's purpose and it's success. Prepare by reading his posts listed below. |
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NASA's Final Servicing Mission to the Hubble Space
Telescope
Astronauts Fly into Cape. Countdown Clock Ticking for
Mission to Save "The People's Telescope" "Go" at T-2 days from launch -- Hubble Science Instruments Preview |
Atlantis Exposed to the Heavens -- T Minus 14 Hours from Blast-off to Hubble Fueling Atlantis! T Minus 6 Hours and Counting Atlantis Launches on a Final Mission to Hubble One-on-One Chat with Ed Weiler on Hubble and the Future of Mars Exploration |
Atlantis Astronauts Rocket into Space and Grab Hubble |
Farewell to Hubble, Obama Calls, Astronauts Testify to Congress as Shuttle is Set to Land Memorial Day: Remembering the fallen who gave their lives exploring space Atlantis and Crew Return Safely to Earth after Rejuvenating Hubble
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