Minutes of February 2022 Oklahoma Space Alliance Meeting
Oklahoma Space Alliance met February 12, 2022 at the McMurray’s house in Norman, Oklahoma. Attending in person were Clifford and Claire McMurray. Tim Scott, Dave Sheely, and Syd Henderson. Russ Davoren attended by Zoom. OSA President Clifford McMurray presided over the meeting. He did an Update discussing links to material covered in the meeting and this is online at http://osa.nss.org/Update2202.pdf so I’ll cover the details that aren’t covered there.
We are losing our ability to see Near-Earth Asteroids at dawn or sunset due to satellite constellations. This is wanted to be able to see an asteroid on a collision course.
One proposed new launch system uses a sled to achieve speed so it can launch. As far as we know, no spacecraft has ever been launched in this way.
We read a Wired,com article on Stratolaunch, which may be back from the dead.
We watched a video on Rocket Lab’s Neutron rocket, “Neutron the Next Generation Rocket.” It stands forty meters high and is seven meters in diameter. It uses the Archimedes engine. Aim is for 24-hour turnaround.
We watched a United Arab Emirates video on their Mars mission which is studying Mars’s aurora (!). [If I remember, Mars doesn’t have a full-fledged planetary magnetic field, but does have magnetic patches.]
Heinz is coming out with a Marz Ketchup, which uses tomatoes grown in simulated Mars conditions, or simulated Martian tomatoes, or something other peripherally to do with Mars. Maybe. Makes me wonder why I haven’t seen Mars bars lately. Maybe they’re dissolving them into Ketchup.
We watched several episodes of “This Week in Space,” Including a Viper Moon Lander test.
GOES-West photographed the cataclysmic volcanic eruption in Tonga.
Hubble has passed its billion second anniversary.
Russ mentioned that Fox (I assume the entertainment network) has a show called Xploration Station on Saturday morning. I’m looking for a showing.
We currently have $958.96 in checking and $257 in cash for a total of $1215.92.
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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