Copernical Team
International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR)
The International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research is a collaborative centre based in Perth, Western Australia.
ICRAR has grown steadily since has been created in September 2009.
Italian Space Agency (ASI)
The Italian Space Agency (Italian: Agenzia Spaziale Italiana; ASI) is a government agency established in 1988 to fund, regulate and coordinate space exploration activities in Italy.
Operating under the Ministry of Education, Universities and Research, the agency cooperates with numerous national and international entities who are active in aerospace research and technology.
Norsk Romsenter (NRS)
The Norwegian Space Centre (NSC) (Norwegian: Norsk Romsenter) is a Norwegian government agency that promotes space exploration.
NSC is a subsidiary of the Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry. It supports the European Space Agency.
ISEC - The International Space Elevator Consortium
The International Space Elevator Consortium (ISEC) promotes the development, construction and operation of a Space Elevator (SE) as a revolutionary and efficient way to space for all humanity. We are made up of organizations and individuals from all around the world who share a vision of humanity in space.
ISEC is designed around four central pillars: Technology, Business, Legal and Outreach. Each pillar has several offshoot programs to encourage the development and sharing of knowledge surrounding a SE.
The idea for an organization like ISEC has been discussed for years but it wasn’t until the Space Elevator Conference in Redmond, Washington in July of 2008 that things became serious. Interest and enthusiasm for the SE reached critical mass at this Conference and, with additional SE conferences upcoming in both Europe and Japan it was felt that this was a good time to formalize an international organization. An initial set of Directors and Officers were elected and they immediately began the difficult task of unifying the disparate efforts of Space Elevator supporters world-wide. ISEC's first Strategic Plan was adopted in January of 2010 and it is now the driving force behind ISEC's efforts. This Strategic Plan calls for adopting a yearly theme (for 2010 it's "Space Elevator Survivability - Space Debris Mitigation") and focuses ISEC activities around it.
MEASAT Satellite Systems Sdn.
MEASAT Satellite Systems Sdn. Bhd., formerly Binariang Satellite Systems Sdn. Bhd is a Malaysian communications satellite operator, which owns and operates the MEASAT (Malaysia East Asia Satellite) spacecraft.
As of 2006, the MEASAT satellite network consists of three geostationary satellites designed and built by Boeing Satellite Systems. MEASAT-1 and MEASAT-2 were launched in 1996 and MEASAT-3 in 2006.
Space elevator
A space elevator is a proposed type of space transportation system.
Its main component is a ribbon-like cable (also called a tether) anchored to the surface and extending into space. It is designed to permit vehicle transport along the cable from a planetary surface, such as the Earth's, directly into space or orbit, without the use of large rockets. An Earth-based space elevator would consist of a cable with one end attached to the surface near the equator and the other end in space beyond geosynchronous orbit (35,800 km altitude). The competing forces of gravity, which is stronger at the lower end, and the outward/upward centrifugal force, which is stronger at the upper end, would result in the cable being held up, under tension, and stationary over a single position on Earth. Once deployed, the tether would be ascended repeatedly by mechanical means to orbit, and descended to return to the surface from orbit.
ref: The International Space Elevator Consortium
ref: other dedicated website: www.spaceelevator.com
ref: 2012 Annual Space Elevator Conference Set for August 25-27
Obayashi Corporation
Obayashi Corporation is one of five major Japanese construction companies.
Established in 1892 in Osaka, Obayashi operates in Japan and other countries, especially Southeast Asia and Australia, as well as the United States and Europe.
In February 2012 it announced plans to build a space elevator by 2050.
Hayabusa
Hayabusa (はやぶさ , literally "Peregrine Falcon") was an unmanned spacecraft developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to return a sample of material from a small near-Earth asteroid named 25143 Itokawa to Earth for further analysis.
Hayabusa, formerly known as MUSES-C for Mu Space Engineering Spacecraft C, was launched on 9 May 2003 and rendez-vous-ed with the asteroid Itokawa in mid-September 2005. After arriving at Itokawa, Hayabusa studied the asteroid's shape, spin, topography, colour, composition, density, and history. In November 2005, it landed on the asteroid and collected samples in the form of tiny grains of asteroidal material, which were returned to Earth aboard the spacecraft on 13 June 2010.
John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences (UND Aerospace)
The John D. Odegard School Of Aerospace Sciences at the University of North Dakota (UND) is a center for aerospace learning, with achievements in collegiate aviation education, atmospheric research, and space studies. It gathers over 500 faculty and staff members, over 1,500 students from around the world, and a myriad of programs and projects.
At UND Aerospace, Department of Space Studies, the space studies provides the student with the broader background necessary to understand the linkages between engineering, space science, and policy.
Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA)
The Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) is one of the largest and most diverse astrophysical institutions in the world, where scientists carry out a broad program of research in astronomy, astrophysics, earth and space sciences, and science education. The center's mission is to advance knowledge and understanding of the universe through research and education in astronomy and astrophysics.
The center was founded in 1973 as a joint venture between the Smithsonian Institution and Harvard University. It consists of the Harvard College Observatory and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. The center's main facility is located at Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Beyond this location there are also additional satellite facilities elsewhere around the globe.