Dear Members and Friends,
The April 2012 Update follows:
Oklahoma Space Alliance NSS Chapter UPDATE for April 2012
A free email newsletter for members & friends of Oklahoma Space Alliance NSS
To stop getting OSA mailings or remove contact info, please email BOTH [email protected] AND [email protected]
April 12 is Yuri’s Night or the International Space Party celebrating the first manned space flight.
The Oklahoma Space Alliance will start the party at 5pm in the Story Time Room at the Moore Public Library. We will have refreshments, videos, virtual reality, lively discussion, and good fellowship.
To get to the Moore Public Library, from the North, or Oklahoma City, simply go South on Interstate 35, then Take exit 118 toward Main Street/North 5th Street/North 12th Street - 0.2 mi. Merge onto I-35 Frontage Rd 1.5 mi. Turn left onto W Main St - 0.2 mi. Turn right at the 3rd cross street onto S Howard the Moore Public Library will be on the right
From the South, Take exit 117 toward OK-37/S 4th St/Main St/N 5th St. 0.1 mi Merge onto I-35 Frontage Rd 367 ft Turn right onto SW 134th St. 443 ft Turn left onto S Howard Ave the Moore Public Library will be on the left.
Resources Page - If you're looking for some media to spice up your event, don't forget the Yuri's Night Resources Page at http://yurisnight.net/party-resources/! The Resources Page features links to Yuri's Night-centric videos featuring astronauts, NASA leaders, space visionaries and everyday enthusiasts, guidelines on how to host kid-friendly YN activities, and much more! Further logos, graphics, and media are available on the Yuri's Night Wiki (https://secure.yurisnight.net/wiki/Main_Page).
Third Rock Radio - Third Rock Radio, a NASA-powered online radio station, will be broadcasting special Yuri's Night programming tomorrow from 5-9 PM Central Time (6-10 PM Eastern). Tune in at http://thirdrockradio.rfcmedia.com/!
Yuri's Night News - As you may already be aware, we're in the process of building our Yuri's Night email newsletter, so we're working on collecting email addresses from anyone who's interested in keeping up to date on Yuri's Night! If you collect any such emails at your Yuri's Night event (with their permission, of course!), we'd be much obliged if you could pass them on to the Yuri's Night Global Team. Individuals can also subscribe to the Yuri's Night Newsletter by emailing [email protected].
I Dream Of Space - Yuri's Night is partnering with I Dream Of Space to sell high-resolution digital space posters which come with a chance to win a commercial spaceflight ticket! Read more at http://yurisnight.net/2012/04/i-dream-of-space-sale-virtual-events/, and feel free to promote this at your local party. Half of all profits will go to the Yuri's Night Global Team.
April 2012 Meeting:(NOTE TIME and LOCATION
Oklahoma Space Alliance will meet at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 14th at the IHOP Restaurant at 5201 N. Classen Boulevard in Oklahoma City. This is a block north of the Northwest Expressway, so either take the Northwest Expressway exit if you’re coming on I-44 (there is no Classen exit), or take the N. 50th street exit off I-235 and head west on N. 50th to Western. Turn south to 48th Street. Then turn west on 48th, and go two blocks to Classen. Turn back north on Classen, and proceed to the IHOP. The telephone number of this IHOP is 840-4467.
Agenda for April OSA Meeting:
1) Introductions (if necessary)
2) Read and approve agenda
3) Read and approve minutes
4) Distribution of Ad Astras
5) Orbital Sciences Report
6) What’s Happening with Space
7) Read and discuss mail
8) Treasurers Report
9) Report on OSIDA meeting
10) Old Business
a) Report on Brochure Status
b) Report on Celebration of Space Flight
11) New Business
a) Moon Day
i) Discuss general plan
ii) Define schedule
iii) Form team
b) Essay and Art Contests
c) Discuss promotion of meetings
12) Create New Agenda
13) Adjournment and informal discussions
Minutes of March Meeting
Oklahoma Space Alliance met March 10, 2012 at the I-Hop on North Classen Boulevard in Oklahoma City. Those attending included Steve, Karen and Brian Swift, Chris Carson, David Sheely, Tom Koszoru, Russ Davoren, John Northcutt, Jeffrey Stephenson, Caitlin Thibodeau Dennis Wigley, Tim Scott and Syd Henderson. I apologize for names misspelled or excluded; this was our largest meeting in many years with a lot of new faces.
Steve’s phone in the officer’s listings is his cell phone, not a landline.
Added to New Business: Brochure, Celebration of Human Space Flight, and Chris’s introduction as Region 3 director.
Steve Swift talked about our letterhead, which uses a variant of the logo created by Leigh Perry. The proposed letterhead is a variant of the red part of the NSS logo, with the circular logo created by Leigh at the point of the red part. When used as a watermark, the logo is an enlarged version of the circular logo.
We have $267 in cash in $263.12 in checking account. Syd didn’t ask for reimbursement this month.
Our Celebration of Human Spaceflight will be the evening of Thursday, April 12 at the Moore Public Library. Steve Goodgate is our contact with the KISS Institute of Practical Robotics. Tom and Syd are working on this. April 12 is the 51st anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s space flight, the first human space flight, and the 31st anniversary of the first Space Shuttle launch.
Bill Khourie has asked us to table writing letters on behalf of the Oklahoma Spaceport since it’s a bad time to ask Congress for money.
The Annual Report has been sent to NSS Headquarters.
Tom has an ISDC membership that he has to give up since he’s going to Germany in May.
Topics discussed in What’s New in Space:
Cassini photograph of Saturn, Titan and Rhea.
Space debris in the spotlight: using lasers to track debris. [This article is in numerous places on the web that will all pop up with a Google search.]
NASA kills Mars deal with Europe. [Two deals actually, ExoMars and a proposed 2018 European mission to Mars.]
Photographs from space, including the aurora and lightning strikes.
The Air Force X37B robotic plane.
NASA shuts down its last mainframe computers.
Asteroid AG5 has a diameter of 140 meters (460 feet) and an estimate 1 in 500 chance of impacting the Earth in 2040. It also comes within a million miles of Earth in 2023.
The Dragon and Falcon 9 assembly is now complete. It can carry 6000 kg or seven passengers.
The Shenzhou 3 launch is in June.
Virgin Galactic is looking for its first rocket-powered test this year.
Lockheed will use Alaska’s Kodiak Launch Complex to support further Athena launches. Athena was added to NASA’s launch services contract in 2010.
Reduction of salt can slow osteoporosis in space. For details, see http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/benefits/salt.html.
Our next meeting will be 2:30 on April 14, location to be decided. Note, though, that the Celebration of Human Space Flight is on April 12.
Topics for the Agenda on April 14 include Moon Day, the brochure and a report on the Orbital Services Corporation.
--Minutes by OSA Secretary Syd Henderson
Report on March 14 OSIDA Meeting
The Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority met at the Oklahoma Department of Transportation building on March 14. Board members present were Jack Bonny, Gilmer Capps, Darryl Murphy, Joe King and Lou Sims. There were three in the audience, including Syd Henderson and Steve Swift for Oklahoma Space Alliance.
The Cecil Spaceport Development Summit at Florida State College at Jacksonville is on March 26. Oklahoma Spaceport Executive Director Bill Khourie is attending on behalf of OSIDA. Bill will serve on a panel about point-to-point space travel using suborbital horizontal-launch vehicles. Mohave, New Mexico, and Kennedy spaceports are suitable for horizontal launch, as is the Oklahoma Spaceport, which is still the only spaceport not controlled by the military. Cecil Spaceport is a former Navy airport and still has military connections.
OSIDA Chairman Jack Bonny mentioned that people from the Chinese space program once came to Burns Flat to look at the Spaceport because they wanted a central shipping location for product distribution.
Contracts have been signed on Operational Control Center. Runway and taxi signage and identifying lights are completed. FAA money covered all with $42,000 left over for fixing wiring, but OSIDA still has to pay some.
Bill Khourie attended the FAA AST conference on behalf of OSIDA. Commercial spaceport promotion is still near the top of the list. The spaceplane concept is still alive at the Department of Defense and is a perfect fit with the Oklahoma Spaceport. XCor is also a perfect fit.
OSIDA needs a propane auxiliary generator for the lift station. ODISA needs to pay $13,240 up front, but will be reimbursed for $9930 by FEMA.
Between-Meeting Activities
Tom Koszoru, Claire McMurray, Steve Swift and Syd Henderson met at Claire’s house on March 15 (I think) to work on the Celebration of Human Spaceflight and brochure. The Celebration (aka Yuri’s Night) will be in the Story Time Room at the Moore Public Library on April 12 beginning at 5:00 p.m. We can have food and drink but no cooking utensils. We can’t sell anything. It does have Wifi and a large screen. There is a television in the room with a DVD player. We should do a section on “What’s Happening in Space?” We should have videos, food, and a large container of Kool-aid or ice tea. Syd will get chips. A website for looking for materials is http://shop.yurisnight.net.
On the brochure, we should list past accomplishments and goals. We plan to have an essay contest. There’s no need to have a detailed topic yet. The Sooner Mall would like to host another art contest. We can sponsor road trips. We have to have something about NSS and their mission statement. For pictures we can use NASA photographs and the space calendar. Possibly also SpaceX launch facilities? We can do a sheet of “What’s happening in space,” since that’s the OSA theme for this year.
The Oklahoma City Astronomy Club has an article once a week or so in the Daily Oklahoman.
Dear Oklahoma Space Activist
Oklahoma has a Space Port. This Space Port could create jobs in Oklahoma if we developed a good marketing strategy. Horizontal launch and landing facilities will become the launch and landing of choice, especially with re-usable launch equipment that Virgin Galactic plans to use in the near future.
Space and Science on line Magazines:
Astronomy: http://www.astronomy.com/
Astronomy Now: http://www.astronomynow.com
Discover: http://discovermagazine.com/
Nature http://www.nature.com/
New Scientist: http://www.newscientist.com/
Science: http://www.sciencemag.org/
Science News: http://www.sciencenews.org/
Scientific American: http://www.scientificamerican.com/
Sky and Telescope: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/
Space.com http://www.space.com/ (This has some connection to Space News.)
Wikipedia: www.wikipedia.org
You can sign up for e-mail updates from Astronomy, Sky and Telescope, and Space.com. A lot of these sites have useful news feeds.
The advance viewing information in Outreach comes from hard copies of Sky and Telescope and Astronomy as well as the website
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-1765780
Heavens Above (Satellite predictions) http://www.heavens-above.com/
Organizations:
NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/
NASA: Jet Propulsion Laboratory: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/
Oklahoma City Astronomy Club: http://www.okcastroclub.com/
SpaceX: www.spacex.com
and NSS http://space.nss.org/
OSIDA is http://www.state.ok.us/~okspaceport/, but the web site is being reconstructed.
For current sky viewing, you want Astronomy and Sky and Telescope. I have subscriptions to both which is how I can go to the end of next month. A lot of these links have news feeds
Steve Swift, President 496-3616 (C)
Jim Trombly, Vice-President (resigned) 219-0283 (H)
Syd Henderson, Secretary & Outreach Editor 321-4027 (H) 365-8983 (C)
Tim Scott, Treasurer 740-7549 (H)
Claire McMurray, Correspondence Secretary 329-4326 (H) 863-6173 (C)
Tom Koszoru, Update Editor 366-1797
[Note: Jim Trombley has resigned as Vice-President as of March 2012.]
OSA E-mail Addresses and Web Site:
(Replace "at" with @ symbol.)
sswift42 at aol.com (Steve Swift)
jtvt at inbox.com (Jim Trombly)
sydh at ou.edu (Syd Henderson)
ctscott at mac.com (Tim Scott)
cliffclaire at hotmail.com (Claire McMurray)
T_Koszoru at cox.net (Heidi and Tom Koszoru)
john.d.northcutt1 at tds.net (John Northcutt)
lensman13 at aol.com (Steve Galpin)
E-mail for OSA should be sent to [email protected]. Members who wish their e-mail addresses printed in Outreach, and people wishing space-related materials e-mailed to them should contact Syd. Oklahoma Space Alliance website is osa.nss.org/index.html. Webmaster is Syd Henderson.
Other Information
The National Space Society's Headquarters phone is 202-429-1600. Executive Director is Gary Barnhard, <nsshq at nss.org>. The Chapters Coordinator is Bennett Rutledge 720-529-8024. The address is: National Space Society, 1155 15th Street NW, Suite 500, Washington DC 20005 Web page is space.nss.org. For details on the NSS chapters network, see http://space.nss.org/nss-chapters-directory/.
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.
Science Museum Oklahoma (former Omniplex) website is www.sciencemuseumok.org. Main number is 602-6664.
Tulsa Air and Space Museum, 7130 E. Apache, Tulsa, OK 74115.
Web Site is www.tulsaairandspacemuseum.com. Phone (918)834-9900.
The Mars Society address is Mars Society, Box 273, Indian Hills CO 80454. Their web address is www.marsociety.org.
The Planetary Society phone 626-793-5100. The address is 65 North Catalina, Avenue, Pasadena, California, 91106-2301 and the website is www.planetary.org. E-mail is [email protected].
NASA Spacelink BBS 205-895-0028. Or try www.nasa.gov. .
Congressional Switchboard, both Senate & House, is 202/224-3121.
Write to any U. S. Senator or Representative at [name]/ Washington DC, 20510 (Senate) or 20515 [House]. To find contact & other information your congressperson, see www.house.gov/. For senators, use www.congress.org/
OKLAHOMA SPACE ALLIANCE
A Chapter of the National Space Society
MEMBERSHIP ORDER FORM
Please enroll me as a member of Oklahoma Space Alliance. Enclosed is:
___________________ $10.00 for Mem¬bership. (This allows full voting privileges, but covers only your own newsletter expense.) ___________________ $15.00 for family membership
___________________ TOTAL amount enclosed
National Space Society has a special $20 introductory rate for new members ($35 for new international members). Regular membership rates are $45, international $60. Student memberships are $20. Part of the cost is for the magazine, Ad Astra. Mail to: National Space Society, 1620 I (Eye) Street NW, Washington DC 20006, or join at space.nss.org/membership. (Brochures are at the bottom with the special rate.) Be sure to ask them to credit your membership to Oklahoma Space Alliance.
To join the Mars Society, visitwww.marssociety.org. One-year memberships are $50.00; student and senior memberships are $25, and Family memberships are $100.00. Their address is Mars Society, Box 273, Indian Hills CO 80454.
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OSA Memberships are for 1 year, and include a subscription to our monthly newsletters, Outreach and Update. Send check & form to Oklahoma Space Alliance, 102 W. Linn, #1, Norman, OK 73071.
Your Update Editor,
Tom Koszoru
Contact person for Oklahoma Space Alliance is Claire McMurray
PO Box 1003
Norman, OK 73070
Webmaster is Syd Henderson.
Copyright ©2012 Oklahoma Space Alliance.