SpaceUp is the world's first space unconference. (You might know it as a BarCamp.) There are no spectators at SpaceUp, only participants. All attendees are expected to give a demo, present a talk, or participate in a panel or roundtable.

BarCamps and other unconferences have been held about technology, science, transit, and even cupcakes, but this is the first time anyone has held one for space exploration. Want to learn more? Details are at spaceup.org, or follow @SpaceUpConf on Twitter or the SpaceUp Facebook page.

The first SpaceUp will be in San Diego in February or March 2010. The venue is still being determined, and that's where we need your help. Times are tough for our candidate venues (museums and universities), so they need reassurance that we'll have the attendees and money to really make this happen. Your pledges will solve the chicken-and-egg problem so we can nail down the details in January.

Attendance at SpaceUp is limited to 200 people (or possibly less), and backers who pledge $50 or more will get priority. If it turns out you can't make the date when its announced, don't worry; you can transfer your registration to someone else.

If you can only pledge $1, that still helps by showing that SpaceUp has people behind it. Be sure to add your city, too; Our hope is that a SpaceUp can happen anywhere, with anyone, anytime there's interest. SpaceUp organizers all over the globe will look at this list to see where to have one next.

SpaceUp is organized by the San Diego Space Society, a chapter of the National Space Society and (more importantly) a non-profit organization. That means that 100% of the funds raised for SpaceUp will go toward making the event awesome.

UPDATE: Some great reactions to SpaceUp so far, including:

"You have to love this because if you hate space, you hate the entire

universe." ­— Jimmy Wales, Co-Founder, Wikipedia

"Great news for everyone! A new space barcamp event is being organized called "SpaceUp" ... We encourage you to check them out!" — Nicholas Skytland, OpenNASA

"It's certainly interesting. You know I'm signed up. How can we get involved?" — Michael Doornbos, on the EVAdot podcast