StarStuff

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About Me

Hi, I'm Stuart Gary, I'm a journalist and broadcaster with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. I love science, especially the majesty and wonder of space, so I put together a weekly astronomy show for the ABC called StarStuff.

In my spare time I like to fly planes, practice karate and pistol target shooting and play around with my cars, a twin Turbocharged Falcon GT Interceptor and a DeTomaso Pantera GTS.

I’m vegan, a life member of the RSPCA and a supporter of several animal welfare organisations.

My other great passion is music which is understandable when you realise that I was a radio music jock long before I became a journalist. My record library contains tens of thousands of singles, albums, videos, CD’s and DVDs. These days that’s all stored in an 8 terabyte raid enclosure linked to a desk top PC at home. My tastes range from rock and grunge through to trance and new romantics. At the moment I’m listening to heaps of MGMT, William Control, Hawthorne Heights and Short Shack, but I have lots of time for the classics like Placebo and the early stuff from Silverchair, In fact Neon Ballroom is still my favourite album, and Emotion Sickness is still one of my two favourite songs (the other being William Control’s Death Club).

StarStuff is a great name for the show, but it works on more levels than just astronomy, it’s really cool for any science program because everything in the universe after the quark gluon plasma of the big bang is star stuff even the iron which makes your blood red was manufactured in the supernova explosions of stars. Carl Sagan said it best, we are all star stuff.


This blog is designed to allow me to publish all the things which can’t fit into StarStuff. There’s heaps of really interesting stuff out there and only a half hour window for the show, so each week becomes a battle to try and squeeze it all in. This blog lets me do that.

You can check out the show at the offical ABC StarStuff website:
http://www.abc.net.au/science/starstuff/

There's also an official ABC StarStuff Twitter feed: @abcstarstuff

And an official ABC Science website: http://www.abc.net.au/science/


The legal stuff: This is my personal blog. The views expressed in this blog are those of me only and not the Australian Broadcasting Corporation or its management. I do not claim ownership of any of the media in this blog. where possible credit and or source will always be given. If one of your photos or other media is submitted in this blog and you would like it removed please let me know.

Blogs I follow:

Theme by: Miguel
  1. Learning how to catch a spacecraft ESA’s new astronauts are training to operate the International Space Station’s robotic arms. Imagine using two joysticks to work a long mechanical arm that can only be seen via cameras and occasionally through a window – and all in weightlessness. Robotic arms on the Station are used to grab and berth cargo vessels such as Japan’s HTV and the American Dragon and Cygnus. They can also help astronauts during spacewalks or even replace a spacewalk altogether. All astronauts flying to the orbital outpost are required to be certified operators of the robotic arms. This highly skilled task requires specially trained teachers and courses. Fortunately, ESA’s astronauts receive thorough grounding in generic robotics during their basic training at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany. Generic robotics training includes 30 hours of instruction spread over 12 lessons with just as much time dedicated to homework. To make sure the astronaut trainees are keeping up with the pace, they face three exams as part of the course. When learning new skills it is always good to learn from people with hands-on experience. ESA astronauts Frank De Winne and Leopold Eyharts offered practical advice and took part in the exams. After trainees pass the final exam at the astronaut centre in Germany, they are ready to continue with NASA and the Canadian Space Agency. ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst was recently in NASA in Houston, USA, while ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti was with the Canadian Space Agency in Montreal, Canada. ESA instructors Richard Moss and Lionel Ferra designed a refresher course that the astronauts can use to keep up their skills. “To best prepare our crew for robotics on the Space Station, we designed lessons underlining cornerstone skills to be maintained until they go to Montreal and Houston,” says Lionel Ferra “The refresher sessions form a bridge between finishing training with us at EAC and further robotics training in North America.” The training is already a success – ESA trainee astronauts Luca Parmitano, Alexander and Samantha passed the Montreal and Houston sessions with flying colours. Luca remarked: “One thing we learnt at EAC that helped us is that communication is important while guiding the arm. We must report verbally in a clear and concise way.” Samantha can be confident that she has a solid foundation to complete her training. Before leaving for Canada, she noted: “Robotic operations are unique tasks that astronauts perform on the Space Station, and robotics training has been challenging and fun so far. “I am looking forward to the next step: learning to fly a robotic arm in the Station environment.” IMAGE…The first Dragon commercial space ferry was berthed at the International Space Station on May 25 2012. ESA astronaut André Kuipers and NASA astronaut Don Pettit captured the vessel using the Station’s robotic arm. André watched Dragon approach from Europe’s Cupola observatory module and acted as an extra pair of eyes as Don operated the robotic arm. Once safely captured, André took over the controls to move the vessel to the Harmony module next to ESA’s Columbus laboratory. Credits: NASA/ESA

    Learning how to catch a spacecraft

    ESA’s new astronauts are training to operate the International Space Station’s robotic arms. Imagine using two joysticks to work a long mechanical arm that can only be seen via cameras and occasionally through a window – and all in weightlessness.

    Robotic arms on the Station are used to grab and berth cargo vessels such as Japan’s HTV and the American Dragon and Cygnus. They can also help astronauts during spacewalks or even replace a spacewalk altogether.

    All astronauts flying to the orbital outpost are required to be certified operators of the robotic arms. This highly skilled task requires specially trained teachers and courses.

    Fortunately, ESA’s astronauts receive thorough grounding in generic robotics during their basic training at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany.

    Generic robotics training includes 30 hours of instruction spread over 12 lessons with just as much time dedicated to homework. To make sure the astronaut trainees are keeping up with the pace, they face three exams as part of the course.

    When learning new skills it is always good to learn from people with hands-on experience. ESA astronauts Frank De Winne and Leopold Eyharts offered practical advice and took part in the exams.

    After trainees pass the final exam at the astronaut centre in Germany, they are ready to continue with NASA and the Canadian Space Agency. ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst was recently in NASA in Houston, USA, while ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti was with the Canadian Space Agency in Montreal, Canada.

    ESA instructors Richard Moss and Lionel Ferra designed a refresher course that the astronauts can use to keep up their skills.

    “To best prepare our crew for robotics on the Space Station, we designed lessons underlining cornerstone skills to be maintained until they go to Montreal and Houston,” says Lionel Ferra

    “The refresher sessions form a bridge between finishing training with us at EAC and further robotics training in North America.”

    The training is already a success – ESA trainee astronauts Luca Parmitano, Alexander and Samantha passed the Montreal and Houston sessions with flying colours.

    Luca remarked: “One thing we learnt at EAC that helped us is that communication is important while guiding the arm. We must report verbally in a clear and concise way.”

    Samantha can be confident that she has a solid foundation to complete her training. Before leaving for Canada, she noted: “Robotic operations are unique tasks that astronauts perform on the Space Station, and robotics training has been challenging and fun so far.

    “I am looking forward to the next step: learning to fly a robotic arm in the Station environment.”

    IMAGE…The first Dragon commercial space ferry was berthed at the International Space Station on May 25 2012.
    ESA astronaut André Kuipers and NASA astronaut Don Pettit captured the vessel using the Station’s robotic arm.

    André watched Dragon approach from Europe’s Cupola observatory module and acted as an extra pair of eyes as Don operated the robotic arm. Once safely captured, André took over the controls to move the vessel to the Harmony module next to ESA’s Columbus laboratory.

    Credits: NASA/ESA

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