This is the full presentation portion of LA Space Salon. There was an additional 60 minutes of conversation which is available to Spacevidcast epic subscribers. Log in to your Spacevidcast epic account to view and download the full presentation.

The full 90 minute presentation is available above. Due to the massively huge file size we have opted to not place the 1080p version in the above window but rather a smaller standard definition version instead. If you would like to download the 2GB 1080p video, right click on the link below and select ‘save’.

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We’re not just sending Curiosity to Mars for fun. This giant rover has several missions it will attempt to accomplish in one martian year which is nearly 2 Earth Years. The goals are to determine if life could have ever been there, characterize the climate and geology of this alien world, and finally, help prepare for human exploration of this alien world.

NASA is known for its awesome Twitter accounts and the Curiosity Rover is no exception. If you would like to follow real-time update via the tweety bird, hit up the official account @MarsCuriosity or visit the web site via the far more complicated URL which is mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl… Or the bit.ly link at the bottom of your screen will bring you there too.

If you missed the Launch that’s OK! There are plenty of additional rocket launches coming up, and here’s a quick list of everything you can watch or tweet about.

Finally, if you’re a space geek or interested in what is happening within the cosmos, don’t forget to subscribe to our yoUTube channel. Click the big yellow button and new videos will be automagically added to your YouTube homepage from Spacevidcast. We also have a Twitter account @spacevidcast or you can hit up our web site. Spread the word and help us make space exciting again!

A couple of weeks ago we did a SpacePod on Asteoid 2005 yu55 and where you could see it. It sure would be a shame if we didn’t show you this little space rock. This 28 frame movie was captured by nasa’s goldstone solar system radar. YU55 is rotating faster than real time, which would have been once every 18 hours. Remember that this asteroid came closer to earth than our own moon!

Speaking of asteroids coming close to earth, Youtuber SexyToshi asked, “Can you please do a topic on 99942 Apophis”.

Well it is still a wee bit early to talk about apophis, but it is already starting to make the news. Back in December 2004 there were predictions that Apophis has a 2.9% chance of hitting earth in 2029. since then we have refined projections for Apophis and it won’t be hitting earth in 2029. However there was a possibility that Apophis would pass through a gravitational keyhole which would then re-align it for impact with earth in 2036. However, as more time passes we gather more data and of october 2009 the probability that Apophis would hit that keyhole was down to 1 in 250,000. This is not to say that asteroids don’t pose a serious threat to the survival of humanity. but in reality our best chance for survival it to become a multi-planetary species so if something does happen to one planet, we don’t all go down with it. Hey, we do it with hard drives and personal data, why not with our species as well?

One way we will be able to travel to other stars is via next generation rockets. Many companies are working to make this happen, but one company you don’t hear a lot from is amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ project blue origin. What you’re watching is blue origins vertical takeoff, vertical landing rocket. This particular rocket is their second test vehicle and while they just released the video of this flight, it actually took to the air a few months ago. The craft has no capsule as that is being designed separately and this is only capable of sub-orbital flight. But much with how we first landed humans on the moon, you have to take baby steps before you can learn to walk in space.

It may be nearing the thanksgiving holiday here in the US, but space waits for no one! Here is a list of upcoming flights. Alas, we’re still working on the Spacevidcast live channel where you can go to chat with fellow space geeks and watch all of these launches in one place. until then hit up the launch providers webcast, but remember that our chat room is still open.

And if you’re watching us on youtube, don’t forget to subscribe. we have awesome SpacePods released weekly and hopefully some time soon will be able to start up our live channel again. and as an added surprise we were able to attend the LA Space Salon and capture Will Pomerantz’s amazing session there. watch for that on our channel soon!

What you’re watching is the launch of Tiangong 1, which translates to Heavenly Palace 1, aboard a modified Long March 2F rocket. This is the first part of what we’ll call China’s test space station. Floating in space for just over a month, this 11-foot-wide, 34-foot-long module is a target vehicle for what would come next.

On October 31st, 2011 at 21:58 UTC another modified Long March 2F rocket took to the skies.

Aboard was the second part of this test station, the Shenzhou 8 spacecraft, which roughly translates to “Divine Craft” or my personal favorite “Magic Boat”. With a series of maneuvers China brought their Magic Boat to over 27,000 Kilometers Per Hour and right up to our Heavenly Palace. Then on November 2nd at 17:28 UTC China accomplished something that very few countries have done before.

And just like that… China has performed their first ever space based docking. This is not an easy thing to do in the vacuum of space at a velocity of 7.8 kilometers per second. According to some media outlets they are one of only three countries to accomplish this feat..

And while fun to say, that part isn’t exactly true. A handful of other countries have mastered docking techniques. The European Space Agency’s Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle which sends food and supplies to the International Space Station is certainly a good example of that. Nevertheless, China has become members in a very exclusive club and with this ability can begin to unlock further manned spaceflights.

Docking in space is an important factor for being able to host not only a space station but also unlocking the ability to send crafts to the Moon, Mars and beyond. To get to these other alien worlds a space based docking with other craft, fuel depots or space stations will likely be required, just as it was during the Apollo era when the command and service module had to dock with the lunar module. For China ,space based docking is even more important as they don’t currently have a rocket with the amount of thrust and lift capability that the Saturn V had to loft Apollo. Actually, right now now one has a rocket that powerful, which means space based re-fueling may be our best chance to travel to other alien bodies.

For China, this is just the beginning. Tiangong 1 is expected to be visited by 2 more Shenzhou craft, the manned Shenzhou 9 and Shenzhou 10, both expected in 2012. After this test is complete, China is planning on launching the larger and more capable Tiangong 2 in 2013 and Tiangong 3 in 2015. Tiangong-3′s design will form the basis of a full-size, multi-module space station, which is expected to launch in the early 2020s.

It’s time to dust off those telescopes! For those of you in the Northern Hemisphere, you’ll have a great chance to see Asteroid 2005 YU 55.

Measuring in at around 400 meters in diameter, or about the size of an aircraft carrier, not only will YU 55 be coming close to Earth, but it will actually be about 15% closer to Earth than our own Moon!

On Tuesday, November 8th at 23:28 UTC which is 6:28pm EST amateur and professional astronomers from around the world will have a chance to glimpse this giant space rock.

Getting as close as 319,000 kilometers to Earth, this is the first time since 1976 that an object this large has come this close to our planet. But this isn’t the first time that we have been able to observe this asteroid.

In April of 2010 YU55 made a close enough approach that the Arecibo (airy-see-bow) Observatory was able to get this radar image.

To get your best view you’ll want to be on the Northern Hemisphere, ideally on the Eastern coast of the United States. The best time for viewing is early evening.

You won’t be able to see this with the naked eye, so grab your medium to large telescope, or if you don’t have one hit up a friend or observatory for your chance to see this. YU55 is blacker than charcoal and scientists believe it is made up of mostly carbon based materials as well as some silicate rock. More information about its composition and structure are expected from radar and chemical studies as it passes by Earth.

For your doomsdayers out there, no YU55 will not hit Earth. We’re safe for at least the next 100 years from this particular asteroid. It also won’t be hitting our moon, so lets put that rumor to bed as well. This is just a great chance to see something awesome in the night sky.

One other fun thing to watch right before YU55 will be the launch of Phobos-Grunt which will takeoff on November 8th at 20:16 UTC.

Phobos-Grunt is a Roscosmos mission to get samples from Phobos and return them to Earth. Phobos is the largest moon of Mars. This is to be the first interplanetary mission for Roscosmos since the failed Mars 96 in 1996.

It’s looking to be a fun couple of days! Make sure to tweet your star gazing and rocket watching pictures to @spacevidcast so we can share the awesomeness with other space geeks!

In 2004 ESA retired their medium lift Ariane IV launch vehicle leaving only the heavy lift Ariane V rocket in their lineup. For the past couple of years ESA and Roscosmos have been working to add an all new launch site for the medium lift Soyuz rocket at the Arianespace French Guianna launch site. This is a unique venture in that traditionally Soyuz rockets have only launched from Russia.

On October 21st, 2011 the very first Soyuz rocket launched outside of Russia lifted off the pad, once again giving ESA a medium lift rocket to add to their manifest.

Aboard are the first two satellites for the Galileo GPS constellation helping to remove Europe’s reliance on the US GPS constellation which can be shut off at any time for political or military reasons. The constellation should go live some time around 2014.

And with the successful first flight of the Soyuz from the Amazon Jungle behind them, ESA is looking to add another vehicle to their lineup. Now scheduled to launch early 2012 the Vega rocket is designed to take even smaller payloads to orbit. With no boosters the Vega system will fill out ESAs rocket lineup giving them a light, medium and heavy launch capability for whatever payload they may need to loft to orbit.

Speaking of rocket launches, United Launch alliance recently launched the last scheduled Delta II rocket, carrying the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System or NPP satellite to orbit.

NPP is an Earth observing satellite with a suite of five sensors that will take measurements of our planet including, cloud, vegetation, ice cover, ocean color, and sea and land surface temperatures. This data can be used to help better understand climate change as well as help weather forecasters make predictions on dramatic and life threatening weather.

While this was the last scheduled launch of the Delta II, that doesn’t mean the program is over. United Launch Alliance still has parts to build up to 5 more Delta II rockets. However right now there are simply no customers signed on to have those rockets built. The Alliance hopes to fly these final 5 Delta II rockets sometime around 2014, if they can line up the customers.

Before we go, here is a quick calendar of upcoming launches. Remember that technology, weather or bad voodoo can scrub or delay any of these launches. Unfortunately the Spacevidcast live channel isn’t quite online yet, although we’re working on that. Until then make sure to check out the launches via the launch providers webcast and hot up the Spacevidcast Chat room to get your geek on with fellow space nerds.

“NASA | ART” opened Oct. 25 at the Art League of Bonita Springs in Bonita Springs, Fla. The exhibition remained there until Jan. 19, 2009, then travel to 10 other museums through 2011. The show was put together by NASA and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, in cooperation with the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.

Exhibition descriptions and tour schedules are available at: http://www.sites.si.edu

The video above includes the full 13 minute Art Exhibit walkthrough for epic subscribers. If you would like to see the 6 minute public video, you may do so below:

“With the WDR we load cryogenics, liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, onto the Delta rocket to validate the vehicle’s readiness prior to attaching the spacecraft,” said ULA’s Assistant Launch Conductor Doug Lebo. “This way if there is any kind of problem with the rocket we will know before the satellite has been mated with the launch vehicle.”

The Mobile Service Tower or MST for the Delta IV medium is about the height of a football field, weighs approximately 9 million pounds and is rolled back around 360 feet on two massive wheels to expose the rocket. The entire process of moving the structure back takes between 20 and 30 minutes. From there controllers over at the rocket’s Launch Control Center test out the rocket’s launch readiness.

This Delta IV rocket will carry the GPS 2F-2 satellite to orbit. The satellite is the second block 2F of the GPS navigation series.

“These GPS satellites are manufactured and fully tested out in California, when ready they are then shipped here to the Cape,” said Captain Stephen Nielson a spokesperson for the U.S. Air Force. “The GPS 2F-2 satellite arrived at the Cape in the early morning hours of April 20, we then unpackaged it and performed two weeks of compatibility testing to makes sure it was ready for launch.”

The Delta IV medium that will be used on this flight is the 4, 2 configuration that has two solid rocket boosters that provide the extra thrust required to achieve orbit. The launch is currently slated to take place on July 14 at 2:51 a.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 37B.

Within a thirteen-hour period Kennedy Space Center saw the final rollout of the shuttle program as Atlantis headed to Launch Complex 39A, the final landing of space shuttle Endeavour as well as Endeavour’s tow back to her OPF. However for members of the media this was just the start of the day.

Atlantis’ rollout kicked off around 8 p.m. EDT with the lumbering crawler-transporter carrying its precious cargo out to the pad at a blistering mile an hour. Workers and their families formed a precession that escorted the venerable orbiter to her date with history. The crew of the final shuttle mission was all on hand as well and conducted interviews across from the Vehicle Assembly.

The press either hunkered down or went to go get something to eat before Commander Mark Kelly and the crew of STS-134, Pilot Greg Johnson and Mission Specialists Greg Chamitoff, Mike Fincke, Andrew Feustel and European Space Agency astronaut Roberto Vittori landed Endeavour one last time.

For photojournalists present the night landing wasn’t what they were waiting for. The orbiters are towed back to their OPFs and photographers are allowed to shoot images as the shuttle moves by. Most want to get a shot of the shuttle as it passes by a small pond along the route providing for beautiful reflection shots.

NASA also has what is known as a “Sunrise Photo Opportunity” where reporters are taken out to periphery of the launch pad and shoot video and pictures.

I had to leave a little early and returned to my hotel room to begin uploading video and images as well as file stories. I skipped being at KSC for the landing as; in all honesty, there really isn’t much I can do. Having covered the sunrise opportunity on a number of occasions I passed on this as well. I was waiting for what I’ve dubbed “Sunrise Photo Op – on Steroids.”

Whereas with the sunrise event takes you at the base of the launch pad, for this tour you go onto the pad itself, and are taken to various destinations on LC39A, in short, you get to walk in the footsteps of the astronauts themselves. However, if you have a fear of heights – one should not go on this tour. To add to the drama a storm blew in dousing the pad with rain and sending photographers scrambling to save their equipment.

Most (myself included) of the journalists that attended this were honored to be allowed to be included on this historical event. On the way back one photographer mumbled and grumbled about how bad it was and how he felt cheated due to the rushed nature caused by the weather. I held my tongue, but was glad when another journalist looked at him and asked him point blank, “Are you high?”

The pace takes its toll. The changing and odd hours mean little sleep, a lot of junk food and stress. A couple key themes have emerged as this period unfolds, you will get the common expressions of irritation – until the media has the opportunity to see what they have collected – and then that frustration turns to joy. But one theme although not openly stated is openly acknowledged – this must be done – history is taking place and we must chronicle it. What we are living now – is just the storm before the calm.

The tour of the launch pad was short, but some of the interviews, lift and mate as well as rollout has additional content that hit the cutting room floor. Sign up for Spacevidcast epic today for your chance to see exclusive footage only for members as well as industry interviews and additional tours. Spacevidcast epic helps us pay for the show and keeps the great content coming. Entertain your inner space geek and sign up today — http://www.spacevidcast.com/epic

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Juno is slated to lift off from Kennedy Space Center later this year. You can follow the mission on their Twitter account @NASAJuno. A special thanks to @NASAJim for setting this up and getting us access to this awesome craft.

Spacevidcast epic subscribers have access to the full 10 minute interview featuring additional data on the science and people behind Juno. Head over to Spacevidcast.com/epic to sign in to your account or sign up today. In addition to getting more of this interview we have gigabytes and gigabytes of additional content from interviews to mission downloadables and more! Spacevidcast epic helps keep the videos from Spacevidcast flowing! Get your space geek on and sign up today!

The epic enhanced version of this SpacePodis in the large video window above. If you would like to see the public version of this video, it i embedded below: