OKLAHOMA SPACE ALLIANCE

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Minutes of September Meeting

Oklahoma Space Alliance held its regular monthly Meeting on September 9, at Earl’s Rib Palace in Moore, Oklahoma. Attending were Steve and Karen Swift, Russ Davoren, Mike Hopkins, Tom Koszoru, Claire and Clifford McMurray, John Northcutt, Tim Scott, Dave Sheely, Brian Swift, Rosemary Swift, Dennis Wigley and Syd Henderson. OSA President Steve Swift presided over the meeting.
Dennis Wigley talked about his trip to Wyoming to see the August 21 total eclipse of the sun. Dennis went to the Goldeneye Reservation near Casper. There were six campgrounds set up. The eclipsophile website had weather information. Scopedawg Optics had eclipse tips. Dennis had an Android tablet and a telescope. Dennis got photos of the corona and prominences and sunrise effect at totality in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Russ, Mike, Claire and Cliff, and Tim also saw totality. Russ went to Jefferson City and up to the highest point in the county to get a 360-degree view.
Dennis got two minutes 24 seconds of totality while Russ got near the max.

Sierra Nevada’s mini-shuttle prototype has no pilot.
NASA’s Mars rover will be doing an experiment to produce oxygen from carbon dioxide.
September was the 40th anniversary of the launch of the Voyager probes. We watched a retrospective. Voyager 1 is heading toward Gliese 445, which it will reach in about 40,000 years.
Cassini will be ending its mission the week after the meeting. Top 10 Cassini highlights:

1. Huygens probe landing on Titan.
2. Active icy plumes at Enceladus
3. Saturn’s rings are active and dynamic.
4. Titan has aspects (such as lakes and rivers) like Earth, except with methane.
5. Great north polar storm of 2011-2.
6. Radio wave production is not linked to Saturn’s interior rotation.
7. Vertical structures in rings.
8. Prebiotics on Titan (and possibly Enceladus)
9. Two-toned Iapetus (the forward hemisphere is being blasted by material from Phoebe).
10. Complete view of the North Polar hexagon and giant hurricanes at both poles.

Launch history for next month.
We watched the SpaceX launch of OTV (Orbital Test Vehicle) X-37, with the first stage returning to Earth.

We have $1027.71 in the checking account and $267 in cash.
Steve will not be here in October and is not going to run again for President.

--Minutes by OSA Secretary Syd Henderson

Contact person for Oklahoma Space Alliance is Claire McMurray.
PO Box 1003
Norman, OK 73070
Webmaster is Syd Henderson.

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