NSS Online Report — Issue #11 / February 2001
Inside this issue:
- Plan Now to Be a Part of World Space Week 2001
- NSS Plans to Include Members in Barrier Groups
- NSS at Science and Values Symposium
- Chapter Reports Due February 15
- Final Plans for ISDC 2001 Taking Shape
PLAN NOW TO BE A PART OF WORLD SPACE WEEK 2001
Plan now to conduct a program in your community during World Space
Week, October 4-10. Join NSS Members and chapters and the global space
movement in this special week dedicated to reminding our world that mankind?s
future is beyond the Earth. For more information, program and project ideas,
and to register your participation, email NSSPublicAffairs@aol.com.
BRING SPACE TO A SCHOOL IN YOUR COMMUNITY
One of the easiest and most effective programs to conduct in your
community is to ?Adopt-a-School.? Plan NOW for a kickoff during World Space
Week 2001. NSS has gathered classroom materials and an extensive directory
of educational tools to enable you to become a volunteer resource for a
teacher or school in your community. For more information, visit the ?Space
Educator? under ?Knowledge? at www.nss.org, or email NSSPublicAffairs@aol.com
NSS PLANS TO INCLUDE MEMBERS IN BARRIER GROUPS
NSS has announced plans to the form Roadmap Barrier Work Groups.
These Groups will communicate via the Internet to monitor and discuss the
status of specific Barriers to the Settlement of Space and to provide input
on potential volunteer action to assist in the removal of those Barriers.
Plans call for all 13 of the NSS Barriers to be represented by Work Groups
within approximately 12 months.
The program will begin this Spring with four Work Groups which are
expected to focus on the following Barriers: Lack of Sovereignty & Moon
Treaty, No Economical Launch Capability and Low Launch Vehicle Reliability,
Proposed Passenger Restrictions & Perceived Health Risks, and No Closed Loop
Life Support System. According to NSS Vice President of Public Affairs,
Chris Pancratz, ?These Work Groups will provide every NSS Member with the
opportunity to contribute to the Mission of the Society – ?To Promote Change?
to advance the day when human?s will live and work in space.? Participation
will be open to all NSS members. For more information, watch www.nss.org or
email your request to NSSPublicAffairs@aol.com.
Every NSS member can support the NSS Mission every day by: 1. Share the
Vision with everyone you meet; 2. Be a voter and communicate with your
legislators; 3. Invest in space-related companies; 4. Ask others to join
the Society.
NSS AT SCIENCE AND VALUES SYMPOSIUM
NSS Senior Vice President Jeffrey Liss, Chicago Space Frontier L5
chapter President William Higgins, and planetary geologist and NSS member
Diana Challis will be the presenters at an Benedictine University Symposium
on Science and Values on the topic of “Settling the Solar System” in Lisle,
Illinois, on Thursday, March 1. NSS members in the area are invited to attend
the symposium, which starts at 7:30 pm in the Presentation Room at the Krasa
Student Center, 5700 College Road, in Lisle. For further information, call
630/829-6161.
CHAPTER REPORTS DUE FEBRUARY 15
In order to meet our IRS reporting schedule on activities in 2000,
completed chapter reports are needed at NSS Headquarters by February 15,
2001. Need help? Call one of the Chapters coordinators listed in Ad Astra or
contact Sherry Wilson at NSS HQ at nssmembers@aol.com or 202-543-1900.
FINAL PLANS FOR ISDC 2001 TAKING SHAPE
I just wanted to give you all a heads up on the spectacular event
that NSS’s 2001 International Space Development Conference in Albuquerque
next memorial Day weekend is shaping up to be. The ISDC will include special
symposia and tours that you may never be able to get again, each of which
alone might justify your trip. Already more than 135 top-flight speakers are
scheduled. This is a truly international event with speakers from the U.S.,
Japan, Russia, the U.K., Canada, Germany, Iran, France, the Netherlands,
Australia, and Malaysia. Organizations represented include NASA centers, the
European Space Agency, U.S. and European aerospace contractors, the U.S. Air
Force, national laboratories, and several university research departments.
Your host and Honorary Chair will be HARRISON SCHMITT, Apollo 17
geologist-astronaut, former U.S. Senator and an NSS Governor. Astronauts
JOHN YOUNG and BUZZ ALDRIN and “2001” actor KEIR DULLEA also will be
present. A free CD ROM of the proceedings will be distributed to ISDC
registrants at the Conference.
I also wanted to alert you that (i) the newspapers have said that air
fares are likely to increase sharply on account of fuel costs, and (ii) the
headquarters hotel, the Albuquerque Hilton, is not that large, so early
airplane and hotel bookings are strongly recommended. Another urgent reason
for booking airline seats early, apart from price, is that there are not that
many flights in and out of Albuquerque, especially at the most ideal hours
and especially departing eastbound on Monday afternoon. (Consider taking the
Monday afternoon and early evening Santa Fe excursion, spending the night
back in Albuquerque and leaving Tuesday.) We would hate to see any of you who
really would enjoy this special ISDC get shut out because you can’t get seats.
A quick day-by-day summary of SOME of the programming is below,
followed by Hotel information. All speakers and topics can be found on the
ISDC 2001 web site at www.isdc2001.org. Looking forward to seeing all (or
most) of you there. It’s going to be a stimulating, informative, worthwhile,
great event.
Jeffrey Liss
NSS Sr. Vice President and Member of the Conference Coordinating Committee
TOURS:
WEDNESDAY, MAY 23:
— (1) Southern New Mexico: Space Hall of Fame, White Sands Missile Range
(including the site of the Trinity A-test), Very Large Array Radio Telescope
(all day Wednesday and Thursday; overnight Wednesday in Alamogordo, NM) ***
Dates CHANGED from Jan/Feb Ad Astra.***
Important Note for Non-U.S Citizens: Foreign nationals must submit an
official visit request through their country’s military attache in
Washington, D.C., by 2/15/01 requesting a visit to the U.S. Army White Sands
Missile Range (WSMR). Purpose of visit is an unclassified tour on May 24,
2001. List Debbie Bingham, WSMR Public Affairs, as the point of contact.
THURSDAY, MAY 24:
— (2) Roswell, NM (all day).
— (3) Air Force Starfire Optical Range (Albuquerque, night).
*** Date CHANGED from January/February issue of Ad Astra.***
— (3) Air Force Starfire Optical Range (Albuquerque, night).
— (4) Star Party in the Manzano Mountains (near Albuquerque, late night)
FRIDAY, MAY 25:
— (5) Air Force Satellite Control Facility [U.S. citizens only] plus
National Atomic Museum [no restrictions] (Albuquerque,
afternoon).
— (6) Institute of Meteoritics and Meteorite Museum (Albuquerque,
afternoon).
Important Note for Non-U.S. Citizens:
FOR GOVERNMENT SPONSORED VISITS TO THE STARFIRE OPTICAL RANGE:
Foreign government employees and foreign contractors must go through their
embassy in Washington, D.C. to submit a visit request, by April 22, 2001, to
Linda Stillman at the fax and address given below.
FOR NON-GOVERNMENT SPONSORED VISITS TO THE STARFIRE OPTICAL
RANGE: The following foreign disclosure requirements MUST be followed for all
non-government sponsored foreign visits to AFRL/DE (including the Starfire
Optical Range) on Kirtland AFB, NM. A non-government sponsored visit is one
in which a non-U.S. citizen has the need to visit an AFMC organization on
Kirtland AFB, NM, and does not represent his/her government. Examples
include: Non-U.S. citizens who work for a U.S. contractor or University, or
non-U.S. citizens who are employed by a foreign University and have no
association with their government. No embassy sponsorship is required;
however, a visit request must be received in the following format. A letter
that is on letterhead from the visitor’s employer, signed by an individual
from the security or personnel office, or a Department Head of the visitor’s
organization, (NOT THE VISITOR) must be faxed or mailed to the Foreign
Disclosure Officer (FDO) at least 10 working days prior to the start of the
visit. The information required is as follows: 1. Full name of the visitor;
2. Nationality (provide Alien Registration Number if a Permanent Resident);
3. Date of birth; 4. Position and title of the visitor; 5. The USAF hosts’
name, office symbol, phone number, and fax number (It is important to have
ALL of this information in order to process the visit without unnecessary
delays); 6. Purpose of the visit and date (s) of visit.
“Purpose” is an unclassified tour of the Starfire Optical Range, Air
Force Research Lab (AFRL)/DES on May 24, 2001; Starfire Optical Range contact
is Jim Brown, (505)846-5836. The embassy in Washington, D.C. should fax the
request to (505) 846-8817 or mail it to: Linda Stillman, AFRL/DEOS (FDO),
3550 Aberdeen Ave. SE, Kirtland AFB, NM 87117-5776. NOTE: Canadian nationals
may submit a visit request with the above procedures if they are non-
government sponsored AND if they are government representatives or Canadian
contractors since the visit is Unclassified. These are known as Directly
Arranged Visits (DAV).
SATURDAY, MAY 26:
— (7)Model Rocket Launch (Albuquerque, morning).
MONDAY, MAY 28:
— (8) Historic Santa Fe, NM (afternoon and evening).
— (9) Very Large Array (Magdalena, NM, afternoon)
ALSO: Free transportation to Albuquerque’s Old Town area and Lodestar
Planetarium.
PROGRAM SESSIONS:
THURSDAY, May 24: Special Symposia
ASTROGEOLOGY SYMPOSIUM — Part I: Developed by the University of New Mexico
Institute of Meteoritics. Leading experts, including those who have planned
and analyzed missions from Apollo onward, have been assembled to
discuss: “What we thought we knew before we went there, what we learned when
we got there, and what we still need to learn when we get back there.” Seven
afternoon presentations will cover: Mercury and the MESSENGER Mission;
Venus; Mars; the Jovian Satellites; Saturn’s Mini Solar System; Asteroids;
and Comets. (The Lunar Geology program is Friday morning.) Presenters
include: RONALD GREELEY (ASU), ANN SPRAGUE (U Arizona Lunar & Planetary Lab),
DON BROWNLEE (U Washington), JOSEPH VEVERKA (Cornell), STEPHEN SAUNDERS
(JPL), MICHAEL CARR (U.S. Geological Survey), TOBIAS OWEN (U Hawaii).
SPACE DEVELOPMENT ENTREPRENEUR SEMINAR: Sponsored by Technology Ventures
Corporation. Leading venture capitalists will offer information on how to
create a successful business plan. Potential entrepreneurs can submit a
business plan for review by the venture capitalists and four plans will be
selected for formal presentation and critique.
SPACECRAFT SAFETY ENGINEERING SYMPOSIUM: Developed by the System Safety
Society. Topics include system safety for the aerospace manager, root cause
analysis in a high consequence environment, risk management, reliability
engineering, breakthrough means of lightning protection, the System Safety
Analysis Handbook, and software system safety analysis.
FRIDAY, MAY 25: Leaving Earth
ASTROGEOLOGY SYMPOSIUM — Part II: The Moon: HARRISON SCHMITT (“Perspectives
from the Lunar Surface; and Origin and Evolution of the Moon”); WILLIAM
MUEHLBERGER (“Apollo Explorations of the Moon: Perspectives from Mission
Control”); and BRAD JOLLIFF (“The Lunar Science Initiative: New Views of the
Moon”).
LAUNCHERS AND PROPULSION: Presentations on NASA, industry, Air Force and
German (ROCKOT) programs, including a panel discussion of Reusable Launch
Vehicle concepts and technologies, MIDES, liquid nitrogen as propellant,
spaceports, space elevators and tethers
OTHER SESSIONS: include Space Industrialization, Space Law, Commercial
Policy, International Policy. The Space Law and Commercial Policy sessions
will include treaty proposals, non-U.S. perspectives, legal regimes for
asteroid mining, a re-examination of the “common heritage” principle, and
commercialization principles.
NSS ROADMAP PROJECT BRAINSTORMING (3:00 pm): The objective of this special
FREE session, open to all ISDC attendees and NSS Members, is to provide an
opportunity for activists, enthusiasts, chapter members and all others
interested in furthering the NSS Mission, to share and develop new ideas for
local projects. For more information, or to RSVP for the session, contact
NSSPublicAffairs@aol.com.
(Under consideration is a special MOON ROCK CERTIFICATION COURSE for
teachers, to qualify them to handle lunar samples. If arranged, details will
be posted on the NSS web site.)
FRIDAY LUNCHEON: “20th Anniversary of STS-1” featuring STS-1 commander JOHN
YOUNG and members of the mission control team.
FRIDAY DINNER: “Progression of Manned Spaceflight” featuring astronauts
HARRISON SCHMITT (Apollo 17); SID GUTIERREZ (Shuttle); ED LU (Mir and ISS).
SATURDAY, MAY 26: International Space Station & Earth Orbital Activities
SPECIAL COMMEMORATION: “2001” IN 2001: A special session on “2001: Then and
Now”, including a presentation by NSS Governor Frederick Ordway III, the
film’s technical director, concerning how the future space technologies
depicted in the film were “devised” during the writing of the novel and the
screenplay. Also included: a free showing of “2001: A Space Odyssey” and a
special short film of behind the scenes on the “2001” set.
“2001” DINNER: Featured speakers: actor Keir Dullea (astronaut Dave Bowman),
Dan Richter (Moonwatcher, the apeman), Frederick Ordway III and renowned
space artist Robert McCall. A videotaped message from the author of “2001,”
Arthur C. Clarke, will also be presented.
ASTEROID/COMET WORKSHOP: More than 18 presenters from top research
institutions in the U.S., Russia, and Japan. Topics include asteroid impacts
(tsunamis, Tunguska analysis, climatic changes), missions to comets and
asteroids , discovery and warning methodologies
SPACE STATION AND ADVANCED EARTH ORBITAL SYSTEMS: Updates on ISS assembly
missions and experiments. Space tourism/entertainment session, sessions on
Air Force space programs and space system test and evaluation, modular and
inflatable spacecraft, satellite design. More than 3 dozen presenters.
MARS SIMULATION: A simulation of a medical emergency on Mars will
investigate issues expected to be encountered on a Martian base and in
mission control (results presented Sunday).
EDUCATION WORKSHOPS — Part I: 18 presentations over Saturday and Sunday)
and Children’s Program (two days of hands-on activities and space science
lessons). Pre-conference space-related projects and contests for the kids —
see web page for rules and details.
SATURDAY LUNCHEON: “Space Tourism”, Apollo astronaut and NSS Governor Buzz
Aldrin.
SUNDAY, MAY 27: The Moon and Mars
“LUNAR HELIUM-3, A 21ST CENTURY ENERGY ALTERNATIVE”: HARRISON SCHMITT will
chair the session, a comprehensive look at where we stand and where we can
(or cannot) go next. Presenters include: JON SVED (Astrium), GEORGE MILEY
and H. MOTOTA (U Illinois), GERALD KULCINSKI, JOHN SANTARIUS, MICHAEL
ZALEWSKI (U Wisconsin), JEFFREY VAN CLEVE (Cornell), CARL GRILLMAIR (SIRTF
Science Center), MARK HANNA (Ball Aerospace)
LUNAR EXPLORATION MISSIONS AND TECHNOLOGIES featuring presentations by U.S.,
Japanese, and European scientists.
MARS: including presentations on Mars exploration by ROBERT ZUBRIN (NSS
Director and President of the Mars Society) and an overview of NASA’s plans
for Mars exploration by ROBERT GOUNLEY of JPL (NSS Director), as well as
presentations on selection of Mars landing sites, rovers, the search for
life, etc. The results of the Mars medical emergency simulation will be
reported.
EDUCATION WORKSHOPS — Part II.
NSS AWARDS BANQUET
MONDAY, MAY 28: Beyond the Moon and Mars (Ad Astra)
MULTI-TRACK PROGRAMS: Missions and technologies to explore the Outer Planets
and beyond, nuclear propulsion systems, Earth-based and space-based
astronomy, Deep Space I experiences. Including presenters from JPL, NASA
Marshall, U Virginia, Los Alamos, Syzgyz, Inc. and ESG Elektroniksystem-und
Logistik GmbH. Program ends at noon.
HOTEL AND REGISTRATION
The Albuquerque Hilton’s ISDC rate is $85 plus tax per night, single-
quadruple occupancy. Call Hilton Reservations Worldwide, toll free: 1-800-
445-8667. Mention the ISDC to receive this rate. For more accurate
information about vacancies and cancellations, we suggest calling the Hotel
directly: 505/884-2500. Southwest Airlines offers a 10% discount (with some
exceptions) to ISDC attendees. To request the discount, call 1-800-433-5368
and mention code R2355.
THE ISDC 2001 REGISTRATION FORM is available at:
www.isdc2001.org/register.htm.
A secondary form for tour sign-ups will be sent to conference registrants.
