One of the most exciting parts of SpaceUp is T minus 5, a series of short talks in the Ignite format. Each speaker gets 5 minutes to talk, with 20 slides that rotate automatically every 15 seconds. It’s a fun format that’s more like karaoke than giving a presentation; it’s tough to keep up with your slides, but the friendly crowd cheers you on.

At SpaceUp San Diego, we’re featuring T minus 5 talks at the party on Saturday evening, February 4th. These are the only talks that are scheduled beforehand. If you will be at SpaceUp San Diego and would like to give a T minus 5 talk, email the title and a short (two-sentence) description of your topic to Chris Radcliff before Thursday, February 2nd.

For examples of T minus 5 and other Ignite format talks, see Andy Cochrane’s amazing talk Space Is Boring at the first SpaceUp San Diego, or Scott Berkun’s talk about how to give an Ignite talk.

The T minus 5 talks will be webcast live on Spacevidcast and archived for later viewing.

2012 Lineup

MC: Scott Olson

Emily Lakdawalla
“Get Over It, Pluto”
You’re not a “planet” anymore? Big deal. The club you’re in now is cooler. And how do you think the solar system’s giant moons feel? They never get any respect.

Chris Radcliff
“Reboot the Franchise”
Newspace needs a new Trek, and humanity needs a new vision of the future.

Lindsay Quarrie
“Space on Earth, The Flying Saucer Experience”
Space-like experiences we can have on Earth while venturing into space. Introducing the HALOSaucer.

Francis French
“Why Walk When You Can Fly!”
Why the 12 guys who went around the moon in many ways had a better experience than those who landed, and yet are less remembered.

Dave Dressler
“Space Beer”
Carbonated beverages present a challenge in Zero G. How can we have recreation in space without one of our favorite beverages? One solution: flat beer.

— break —

Doug Ellison
“A Night with Tempel 1″
Why a temperamental spacecraft and it’s Valentine’s date with a familiar comet
made for a very long night.

Rick Nichols
“Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory/Pool”
An earth-bound space experience.

Jeffrey Wallace
“Swear Words in Math and Their Use”
A public service STEM message to encourage people to learn more mathematics, and to help and encourage young people to do so.

Jerry Volland
“Electric Spacecraft Propulsion and Power Beaming”

Lyford Rome
“Skyrim vs. the Real Sky”
A look at the challenges of engaging the imaginations of the iGeneration and how the wonders of the real universe might find it hard to compete with the vivid hyper-reality of modern games.

Tim Bailey
“We’re Already Astronauts”
How the debate about space exploration is as insane as a sailors in a boat arguing over whether or not to learn about the ocean.