Copernical Team
Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC)
Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) is an electronic systems provider and systems integrator specializing in microsatellites, energy,telemedicine, nanotechnology, and commercial orbital transportation services. The company contracts with the US military, NASA and private spaceflight companies. The company is headquartered in Sparks, Nevada, USA.
On December 2008 SNC acquired the company SpaceDev. SNC is now developing an orbital spacecraft called the Dream Chaser. On February 2010, Sierra Nevada Corporation was awarded a contract in phase 1 of NASA’s Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program for the development of the Dream Chaser.
Dream Chaser (space plane)
The Dream Chaser is a space plane concept studied and developed by the North-American company Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC).
It is designed to be a crewed suborbital and orbital vertical-takeoff, horizontal-landing (VTHL) lifting-body space plane. The Dream Chaser design is planned to carry up to seven people to and from low earth orbit. The vehicle would launch vertically on an Atlas V and land horizontally on conventional runways.
International Astronomical Union (IAU)
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) was founded in 1919. Its mission is to promote and safeguard the science of astronomy in all its aspects through international cooperation.
Its individual members - structured in Divisions, Commissions, Working groups and Program Groups - are professional astronomers from all over the world, at the Ph.D. level and beyond, and active in professional research and education in astronomy. In addition, the IAU collaborates with various organizations all over the world.
The key activity of the IAU is the organization of scientific meetings. Every year the IAU sponsors nine international IAU Symposia. The IAU Symposium Proceedings series is the flagship of the IAU publications. Every three years the IAU holds a General Assembly, which offers six IAU Symposia, some 25 Joint Discussions and Special Sessions, and individual business and scientific meetings of Divisions, Commissions, and Working Groups. The proceedings of Joint Discussions and Special Sessions are published in the Highlights of Astronomy series.
Helios (Sun probe)
Helios-A and Helios-B (also known as Helios 1 and Helios 2), are a pair of probes launched into heliocentric orbit for the purpose of studying solar processes. A joint venture of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and NASA, the probes were launched from the John F. Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Dec. 10, 1974, and Jan. 15, 1976, respectively.
Helios 2 (military surveillance satellite)
Helios II is a military satellite for Earth observation. It is operating since April 2005.
It is operated jointly by France, Belgium, Spain, Greece and Italy.
WiggleZ
The WiggleZ Dark Energy Survey is a large-scale galaxy redshift survey which was carried out over 276 nights at the Anglo-Australian Telescope between Aug. 2006 and Jan. 2011.
The aim of the project is to analyze the galaxy distribution in order to learn more about the nature of dark energy.
Skynet
Skynet is a family of military satellites, now operated by Paradigm Secure Communications on behalf of the UK Ministry of Defence, which provide strategic communication services to the three branches of the British Armed Forces and to NATO forces engaged on coalition tasks.
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.