OKLAHOMA SPACE ALLIANCE

A Chapter of the National Space Society

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Minutes of September Meeting

        Oklahoma Space Alliance met on September, 2013 at the Denny’s on the I-240 access road on the north side just east of Pennsylvania Avenue in southern Oklahoma City. Attending were Steve, Karen and Brian Swift, Tim Scott, Dave Sheely and Syd Henderson.
        We have $972.82 total in our accounts.

        Quote of the month: “The important achievement of Apollo was demonstrating that humanity is not forever chained to this planet and our visions go rather further than that and our opportunities are unlimited.”—Neil Armstrong.

What’s Happening in Space:
        A Trojan-type asteroid has been found in Uranus’s orbit. Our article was from the Sacramento Bee, but the announcement also made national news. 2011 QF99 is fifty kilometers across and is located at Uranus’s L4 (leading) Lagrangian point. [Note: Trojan asteroids have been found for Jupiter, Earth, Mars and Neptune, but permanent Trojans were expected to be impossible for Saturn and Uranus, and 2011 QF99 is expected to remain around Uranus’s L4 point for about 70,000 years.]
        Steve presented a review of Rocket Girl: The Story of Mary Sherman Morgan. She developed stable rocket fuel Hydyne that made possible the Jupiter-C rocket that launched Explorer 1, America’s first successful satellite launch. Explorer 1 discovered the Van Allen belt.
        Busek Co. Wins NASA Contracts for Small Spacecraft Propulsion. Article is at http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=41383.
        We watched a video of an August 7 United Launch Alliance launch of a Delta 4  rocket from Cape Canaveral, shown from any different perspectives. See http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2013/08/ula-delta-iv-launch-wgs-6/ for article.
        Luca Parmitano on the space station drove a rover on the Earth’s surface. See http://www.space.com/22160-space-station-astronaut-drives-rover.html for details.
        Satellites built by Colorado students are set for launch from Vandenberg. The satellites are to explore Earth’s thermosphere, which lies from 50 to 360 miles above the Earth’s surface. [Temperatures in the thermosphere can reach 4500 degrees Fahrenheit, but the air at that altitude is so rarified that it doesn’t contain much heat.—SFH]
        Orbital Sciences launched the LADEE Moon probe, and we watched video of the launch,          
        A frog was thrown from the rocket during the launch of LADEE and we saw video of that too,
        Ariane VA215 was Ariane V’s 57th consecutive successful launch in a row, carrying a EUTELSAT.        
        Virgin Galactic has released video from the first supersonic flight of SpaceShipTwo. We watched video from the tail camera.

Business Meeting:
        Yuri’s Night and the Art contest will be discussed next month,
        We discussed possible alternative meeting places. We’ve met at IHOP, which has adequate space that is not next to the kitchen. Karen suggested Moore. We could try something along the I-35 corridor. Probably not Midwest city.
        We could meet at a library.
        It’s time to start thinking about the Christmas Party. Possibly at a hotel?
                                                                                                        -Minutes by OSA Secretary Syd Henderson

Notes on September 11 OSIDA Meeting

The OSIDA Board meeting was on September 11.  Steve Swift and Syd Henderson attended for OSA. Subjects discussed included the following.

  1. The facility experienced significant storm damage.  57 panes of glass and roof damage occurred.  State is self-insured but Air and Spaceport has $100,000 deductible with State Risk Management.  Budget impact is significant. 
  2. Operations Center is essentially complete.  Roof repair and some minor damage can be completed after occupancy.
  3. New state-of-art Instrument Landing Equipment installed by FAA to meet requirement of USAF.
  4. Ongoing discussions with an interested MRO (Maintenance-Repair-Overhaul) service provider for regional service on turbo-prop aircraft.  Competition is Selina, KS site of old Schilling AFB.
  5. Bill Khourie will attend Commercial Space Transportation Quarterly Meeting in DC.
  6. Possibility of Lightning Prediction and warning system to be located at Air and Spaceport.  OU weather center has expressed interest.
  7. Report on New Mexico Space Summit:  Spaceport America is private facility only with no Federal cost sharing.  No runway or taxiway lights.  12,000 ft. runway.  No current launch corridor.  Scheduling difficulty in using White Sands.  SpaceX talking with White Sands for 1000 ft. grasshopper test.
  8. Bill Khourie will attend International Space Summit in London. 
  9. Business development committee has met and developed objectives and guidelines.  These were not shared.
  10. A building recognition plaque will be prepared for the new operations center.  No information kiosks or pictures are planned at this time.  Info and picture status to be reviewed in future meeting.
  11. OSIDA has been moved from Commerce Department oversight.  To Secretary Science and Technology, Stephen McKeever
  12. Board member Jay Edwards insisted that web site must be updated. 
  13. Jay Edwards stated that Bill Khourie needs more staff.  Dollars are in budget, but Commerce Dept. has not supported more staff.  Secretary of Science and Technology may support additional staff.
  14. Discussion about trying to get a future AUVSI unmanned systems conference to meet in Oklahoma.  Next May conference location is set.  OSIDA can share costs with Commerce Department for booth space.  Oklahoma is usually well represented: Governor and Commerce Department.
  15. Next meeting will be October 16 at the AAR Corporation FBO BUILDING, Will Rogers Airport, Building 6501 S. Meridian.

Notes provided by Steve Swift

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

Copyright �2013 Oklahoma Space Alliance.