Oklahoma Space Alliance NSS Chapter UPDATE for February 2010
February 2010 Meeting NOTE CHANGE IN DATE
Oklahoma Space Alliance will meet at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday,
February 27 at the Koszorus' house in Norman. Prospective members are also
welcome. The house is at 514 Fenwick Court in Norman.
To get the meeting either: (1) Take the Robinson Street west exit
off I-35. Proceed west to 36th Street where you will turn left, and go south
until you turn left on Rambling Oaks (about half a mile north of Main
Street). Fenwick Court is the third street on the left. Tom's house is the
last on the left side, or (2) Take the Main Street west exit off I-35,
proceed west past the Sooner Fashion Mall, and turn right at 36th Street,
and go north until you turn right on Rambling Oaks (about half a mile north
of Main Street). Fenwick Court is the third street on the left. Tom's house
is the last on the left side.
Agenda:
1.. Introductions (if necessary)
2.. Read and approve agenda
3.. Read and approve minutes and reports of activities
4.. Old Business
1.. Start Up Kit for Chapters in Second Life
2.. Research funding
3.. A New OSA Logo
4.. Treasurer's Report
a. Distribute remaining coupon books: $15 per book or unsold books are due
to Claire at or before the March meeting (no exceptions)
b. Status of 2010 annual report to NSS due Feb. 15
5.. 50th Anniversary of Manned Space Flight (Yuri's Night 2011)
6.. President Obama's Proposed Space Budget-See
http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/428438main_Introduction.pdf and
http://www.nasa.gov/news/budget/index.html and
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/factsheet_department_nasa/
7.. Space Solar Power
8.. Marketing for Burns Flat
9.. International Space Development Conference 2010.
4.. Read and discuss mail
5.. New Business
1.. Letter Writing
6.. Create New Agenda
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.
--Minutes Submitted by OSA Secretary Syd Henderson
SPACE NEWS
Earthquakes & Astronomy-It turns out the 8.8 Chilean earthquake on Feb. 27th
was the 7th strongest on record. Because the quake slightly shrank the
Earth, NASA scientist Richard Gross said it should have speeded our daily
rotation by 1.26 milliseconds, based on early data and his computer model.
Shrinking Earth's diameter would work the same way a figure skater speeds up
by bringing arms & legs closer to the body. The quake also should have moved
the Earth's "figure axis" (around which Earth's mass is balanced) by about 3
inches. The figure axis is offset from Earth's spin axis by about 33 feet.
The stronger Sumatran earthquake in 2004 probably speeded our rotation by a
bit more, but shifted the axis by less because it was nearer the equator and
the fault lay at a shallower angle.
Gross also believes that the Earth rotates slightly more slowly in northern
winter (when major landmasses are farther from the sun) and a bit faster
when the "water hemisphere" points toward the sun. If so, that would be
oscillation around the very gradual (millisecond) lengthening of the day
associated with tidal bulges, friction and the moon's slowly-increasing
distance (a few centimeters per year) from Earth.
According to the European Southern Observatory, Chile's earthquake did not
damage major telescopes in Chile's Atacama Desert.
Other news - There's more, but I'm not feeling well enough to write it. When
I'm better ,I'll forward to Syd for inclusion in the March OUTREACH
newsletter. -Claire
Oklahoma Space Alliance Officers, 2010 (Area Code 405)
Tom Koszoru, President 366-1797 (H)
John Northcutt, Vice President 390-3476 (H)
Tim Scott, Treasurer 740-7549 (H)
Syd Henderson, Recording Secretary & Outreach Editor 321-4027 (H)
Claire McMurray, Correspondence Secretary & Update Editor 329-4326 (H)
863-6173 (CE)
OSA E-mail Addresses and Web Site:
claire.mcmurray at sbcglobal.net or at nss.org (Claire McMurray; can forward to Cliff)
T_Koszoru at cox.net (Heidi and Tom Koszoru)
john.d.northcutt1 at tds.net (John Northcutt)
sydh at ou.edu (Syd Henderson)
ctscott at mac.com (Tim Scott)
lensman13 at aol.com (Steve Galpin)
dmcraig at earthlink.net (Nancy and David Craig).
E-mail for OSA should be sent to [email protected]. Members who wish their e-mail addresses printed in Outreach or Update, and people wishing space-related materials e-mailed to them should contact Syd.
Other Contact Information
NASA: www.nasa.gov. Huge info source. Assorted phone numbers are also in there somewhere.
The Mars Society , Box 273, Indian Hills CO 80454. Old website doesn’t work: use http://www.marssociety.org/portal. Interested in human settlement on Mars: active projects.
The Planetary Society, http://www.planetary.org/home/. Phone from US & Canada: 1-800-9WORLDS (1-800-996-7537). Outside the US & Canada, phone 1-626-793-5100. Interested in exploring the solar system & beyond, mostly robotic. Nice magazine.
Science Museum Oklahoma (formerly Omniplex), 2100 NE 52nd St, Oklahoma City, OK 73111. Museum information: 405-602-6664 (old 800# doesn’t answer) Their new web site is http://www.sciencemuseumok.org/default.htm, but one must click on “Agree” or “Disagree” to enter the site
Oklahoma Space Industrial Development Authority (OSIDA), 401 Sooner Drive/PO Box 689, Burns Flat, OK 73624, 580-562-3500. Web site www.state.ok.us/~okspaceport.
Tulsa Air and Space Museum, 7130 E. Apache, Tulsa, OK 74115, Phone (918)834-9900.
Web Site is www.tulsaairandspacemuseum.com.
Congress of the United States: 202/224-3121 (switchboard). Senate: www.senate.gov/
House of Representatives: www.house.gov. You can email most from those main web sites.
Write to any U. S. Senator or Representative at [name]/ Washington DC, 20510 (Senate) or 20515 [House].
President of the United States: www.whitehouse.gov. Click on “Contact Us” for email.
Postal mail: The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500
Contact person for Oklahoma Space Alliance is Claire McMurray
PO Box 1003
Norman, OK 73070
Webmaster is Syd Henderson.
Copyright ©2009 Oklahoma Space Alliance.