Hey Chasers!
A quick update to let you know that I’m giving a talk at TEDx University of Toronto Scarborough this weekend. What’s the topic? SPAAAAACE! (of course). More specifically, the theme of this TEDx is “Converging Realities.” They are looking for speakers who could bridge two fields/concepts/ideas that might seem otherwise unrelated. In my other life, I help run a small non-profit organization called Esther’s Echo. In fact, my background is in International Development where I studied the field at the University of Toronto. In this talk, I will be sharing how space actually encourages my work for social justice, both at home and abroad, which inspired my other site No Borders from Orbit.
Below is a teaser of the talk. The conference is streaming live from www.tedxutsc.com. I’m up at 10AM EST this Saturday February 1st, but the talk will also be available later on YouTube and we’ll post it then as well!
Keep Chasing!
-Matthew
This past Friday April 12th marked the 52nd anniversary of human space flight with Yuri Gagarin’s breaching of the Earth’s Atmosphere into the final frontier.
Shuttle Trainer at the Seattle Museum of Flight
In celebration of Yuri’s Night, Chasing Atlantis released a new trailer that yesterday was exclusive to those who participated in one of the over 300 parties around the world to celebrate humanity’s entry into the final frontier.
Today we are releasing the trailer online! Be sure to check it out!
Hey Chasers!
Tomorrow the Chasing Atlantis team is getting their groove on for Yuri’s Night: The World Space Party!!
What’s Yuri’s Night? Yuri’s Night is 3 things all wrapped up into one bundle of space awesomeness
1) Yuri’s Night is a date: The date is April 12th which commemorates the first human in space. Yuri Gagarin completed an orbit of the Earth on April 12th 1961. We have had humans in space since that time sporadically and consistently since the construction of the International Space Station. But Yuri was the first! One brave human being, and certainly the first of many steps that led to the moon, shuttle, the space station, and hopefully the outer planets and deep space (sign me up BTW)
Hey Chasers!
We survived! We successfully made it back to Canada, but not first before making three stops along the West Coast.
We left Florida following our interviews with Ryan Kobrick and John Horan in Florida. During that post we talked about struggles with getting into the new Atlantis Facility. That unfortunately didn’t pan out. We did get amazing footage right under the wing of Atlantis during her roll out but we thought it would be cool to see Atlantis all shrink wrapped and getting prepped for public display this Summer. Alas, NASA was touchy to have Atlantis filmed in such a state and we had no choice but to respect their wishes on that one. Nonetheless, some incredible adventures still awaited us on our next stop: San Francisco
Sun Rise over the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco
Hey Chasers,
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Following our last post, which found us in Toronto, we headed over to Montreal to film at our own Canadian Space Agency. The CSA has been in the news a great deal lately with Chris Hadfield’s launch to the International Space Station in December. Paul was able to capture the launch celebration at the CSA with Jenny Chan, one of our associate producers. At the event, Paul met several key CSA personalities, and we thought it fitting to make a return journey to do some interviews at the CSA, and learn more about the role that Canada plays in the exploration of space.
A shot of the Canadian Space Agency. The building is amazing. I wanna have an office there.
Hey Chasers,
So we are headed back on the road in a few days. Each time that we think Chasing has wrapped production, another amazing opportunity opens up. This is actually shaping up to be our most epic filming journey yet. Here is what we have lined up:
Starting in Toronto, I’m giving a speech at the University of Toronto International Development Conference (www.utoronto-idc.org) The conference is being hosted by the current cohort of the program I graduated from at U of T. It’s great to come back to the program because, in a sense, it is like coming full circle. I sometimes felt that I had given up on one dream (space) to embrace another (international aid) but now here I am years later combining both topics into one presentation. While in town, Paul and I will be connecting with Clara Mooney, a grade 2 student who was brought to our attention because of her passion for space. I hear she dressed up as Spock this past Halloween. Clara’s enthusiasm for all things geek reminded us of ourselves at that age and we are excited to connect with her.
Canadarm2 Connected to the International Space Station
Hey fellow Chasers,
Earlier this week I have been reflecting on the time in which we live. It is an amazing time for space geeks like us. 15 years ago the capabilities on the internet weren’t nearly as expansive as they are today. Heck, five years ago it would have been close to impossible for us to pursue such an out of this world film project because the production tools weren’t as easily accessible as they are today. Even the term Social Media was just some buzz word that we didn’t really understand. But now, with all of these advancements in our culture we are in a very literal sense able to chase after Atlantis.
Things have been going extremely well for us at Chasing Atlantis. If you haven’t heard, our last trip down to Florida to attend the Atlantis Roll-out at the Kennedy Space Center was fantastic. We interviewed astronauts, engineers, and even an astronaut candidate . As a result of our trip, new opportunities are unfolding before us and now it looks like we’re taking our production to Seattle, Vancouver, Houston, Washington DC, and of course back the Cape. In light of these new developments we have launched a crowd funding campaign on IndieGoGo to generate a budget that will allow us to purse these interviews. Stay tuned, we intend to put short teasers about these interviews up on our site as we get them.
With all of this being said, this last week has been a whirlwind. If it wasn’t for the marvels of email, cell phones, the inter-webs, and social media I don’t really know where we would be right now. Just this past Thursday CBC radio connected to both Matthew and I (in Vancouver and Toronto) through our cell phones for a pre-recorded interview. Hopefully they’ll make us sound good when the interview airs sometime this week. Then there has been the interviews and articles by the blogging and web community. Then on Friday author, blogger and good friend, Geoff Micks posted an article after conducting an interview with us about Chasing Atlantis and the inspiration that started it all. You can read his wonderful writing here.
Then there is the fantastic news that I read in my inbox 15 minutes ago. Earlier this week I was interviewed by New-Startups.com, a website that shares “bright new ideas from around the globe with the intents of keeping you up to date on incredible emerging businesses, offering our reviews, and providing a platform to engage in discussions.” Well, this article has been added to their website this morning. I am excited and humbled by the fact that there is a community of people who are rallying behind us. I tend to think that it is not just because of the communal interest in science, technology, and fantasy, but because there is a human interest story that is embedded at the very roots of Chasing Atlantis; a story that in my mind gets to the heart of why we as individuals and communities put so much into chasing our own Atlantis – whatever that dream may be.
To read the New-Startups.com article, click here.
– Paul
This past Friday, Paul and I stood beneath the wing of the last space shuttle to fly a mission to space. I could actually read the serial numbers on each of the thermal protection tiles as Atlantis hovered above me on its carrier.
Beneath the wing of Atlantis during her final roll-out
This Thursday, September 13th, a public service will be held for Neil Armstrong at the Washington National Cathedral. Armstrong, the first human to set foot on another world, passed away on August 25th. He is to be buried at sea.
When interviewed on Neil’s passing, Jim Lovell, astronaut of Apollo 8 and commander of the infamous Apollo 13, said that water was, for many astronauts, the signal of a mission’s end and would go on to signal the end of life. Armstrong had a long Navy career. Flying nearly 80 combat deployments, all had return flights to the USS Essex aircraft carrier. His Gemini and Apollo missions both ended with parachute deployed splash landings into the Pacific Ocean. When returning home, it was to water. I got the news of Neil’s death by SMS as I was about to deliver a session to a group of new student-staff Residence Advisors at Simon Fraser University. Standing at the front of the lecture hall, I put moment behind me as I continued, but three thoughts that entered my mind; we have lost a very courageous man, he sparked a moment that unified the world, and we have yet to return. I was at a loss for a while to put it all into words, especially since Apollo had been brought very close to us through the interviews with NASA staff for Chasing many of whom worked directly with the rocket. I felt it easiest to express each thought individually:
Moon Shot Through Skywatcher ED80/Canon Rebel T3i
Chasing Atlantis 