Minutes of August Meeting
National Space Society’s Oklahoma Space Alliance chapter held its regular monthly meeting on August 11, 2018 at Earl’s Rib Palace in Moore, Oklahoma. In attendance were David Sheely, Mike Hopkins, Tom Koszoru, Claire and Clifford McMurray, Tim Scott, Michael Smith-Antonides, Brian Swift, Steve Swift, Dennis Wigley, and Syd Henderson. Dave presided over the meeting.
Most of the “What’s Happening in Space” segment was in last month’s Update, so I’ll just cover the highlights.
We looked at a NASA article on how the Parker Solar Probe will approach the Sun. This will involve several flybys of the Earth and Sun to modify the orbit so that it can fly within four million miles of the surface of the Sun.
We watched a video of meteors colliding with the Moon. The meteors were about the size of a walnut.
We watched videos of This Week at NASA.
We watched a video of a test of Orion, trying out the abort system.
The 50th anniversary of Apollo begins this fall with the anniversary of Apollo 7 [See “Space News.”] This Christmas is the anniversary of Apollo 8, the astronauts on which were named Time magazine’s Men of the Year.
NASA Administrator Bridenstine testified to Congress on the James Webb Space Telescope.
Water was found underneath a Martian icecap.
Apollo 11 tapes have been digitized, including conversations that haven’t previously been released.
Dave presented a compilation of rocket launches over July 2018, including SpaceX launch of a multitude of satellites for Iridium.
We have $955.79 in our checking account and $267 in cash, for a total of $1222.79.
What level of budget for the Apollo 11 anniversary do we feel comfortable spending? Tim thinks $200.00.
Do we have bylaws on webspace? [Yes, as part of the March Outreach, since our bylaws specify that the bylaws must be printed in our print newsletter. Not as a standalone.
We watched a video by Frank Drake, author of the Drake equation. The most interesting thing to me was the Kepler Orrery showing the comparative orbital movements of the exoplanet systems. It’s strangely mesmerizing.
--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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