Minutes of January 2010 Meeting
Oklahoma Space Alliance met on the afternoon of January 16 at Gordon and Rosemary Eskridge’s house in Edmond. In addition to Gordon and Rosemary, Claire and Clifford McMurray, Tom and Heidi Koszoru, Tim Scott, John Northcutt and Syd Henderson.
We added coupon books to the agenda. We will sell these for $15.00 and keep 40%.
For research funding, we need mission statements to create projects. Can we have a grant-writing class at the International Space Development Conference?
The chapter vote for the Heinlein Award is for Peter Diamandis.
We came up with several prospective new logos. Tom took copies of them for transfer.
We have five hundred dollars in our checking account and $267 in cash.
Annual reports are due on February 1, but we should get it in as soon as possible to be eligible for a drawing for $100.
We need to talk to SEDS about Yuri’s Night. Should the 2011 Yuri’s Night be at Stafford Museum? We can reserve a room there. They might be able to cater.
For February Meeting we can do a letter writing campaign.
Tom never got the CD for Space Solar Power.
Congress doesn’t want to give more money to NASA but doesn’t want to change course either. [This was written before the President’s change of course for NASA.]
Can we get a grant for someone to do promotion for the Rocket Racing League? Rocket Racers are being built at Burns Flat.
Is there a way to do a casino night at Stafford Museum?
The Falcon 9 will debut before the ISDC. Four of us have ISDC memberships.
On April 16-17, there will be a reunion of Apollo 13 crew and controllers at the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, Kansas. We should plan for a field trip.
Tim will be collecting dues at the next meeting.
Keep the same agenda except drop petitions and Heinlein Award and add letter writing.
--Minutes Submitted by OSA Secretary Syd Henderson
Notes on February OSIDA Meeting
The Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority (OSIDA) met February 17, 2010 at the Oklahoma Department of Transportation Building. OSA Secretary Syd Henderson attended on behalf of Oklahoma Space Alliance.
Oklahoma state agencies are experiencing cutbacks due to the state budget shortfall. In the case of the Oklahoma Space Authority, this means 10 - 15 %. They will be able to continue with mainline operations, but will need to cut out some subsidiary projects.
On the other hand, President Obama's proposed budget sets a lot of money for the private sector, and this will help finance programs developing suborbital and orbital flights. Executive Director Bill Khourie, who attended the FAA Commercial Space Transportation Conference, reported that Lori Garver said all the private space companies that OSIDA is working with expect to benefit. [I suspect this does not include Rocketplane Kistler, which has relocated to Wisconsin and was unable to fulfill a project for a shuttle resupply vehicle.] Without the private sector, the United States will not be able to have an effective space program. Space planes are making a comeback for suborbital flights from point to point on the Earth's surface because of the quick turnaround.
The FAA's legal staff still hasn't made a determination on the infrared landing lights (for an experimental program for making night landings).
PAPI (Precision Approach Path Indicators) lights can blind pilots wearing night vision goggles, so if the FAA will allow flights using the infrared landing lights, OSIDA will also need a remote control to turn the PAPI.
The FAA is reviewing Armadillo Aerospace's request to engage in high altitude (200,000 plus feet) launches from the spaceport. They are after a rocketry record, but I'm not sure which record that is, since that altitude is less than that achieved by SpaceShipOne.
The Rocket Racing League will be doing flight tests later this month.
Chairman Joe King wants to schedule an OSIDA meeting at Burns Flat sometime this spring.
--Notes Submitted by OSA Secretary Syd Henderson
Contact person for Oklahoma Space Alliance is Claire McMurray
PO Box 1003
Norman, OK 73070
Webmaster is Syd Henderson.
Copyright �2009 Oklahoma Space Alliance.