|
|
Seattle Chapter |
|
|
Special Seattle Chapter Projects NEW!
|
Welcome to the Web site for the Seattle Chapter of the National Space Society.Our chapter mission is to facilitate space activism and all pro-space activities, and to provide a gathering place for space enthusiasts to meet and exchange information and ideas. Next meeting Sunday, February 14, 2010 - 7:00 p.m.Chapter meetings are held at 7:00 PM on the second Sunday of each month at the Museum of Flight at Boeing field. NSS Seattle meetings are free and open to the general public. Our January meeting will be held in the Red Barn classroom (basement). Recent Events:January 2010: Tom Nugent, Project Manager of LaserMotive, will be speaking at the January 10th meeting of the Seattle Chapter of the National Space Society. LaserMotive is a Seattle-based company commercializing laser power beaming to transmit electricity without wires for applications where wires are either cost prohibitive or physically impractical. In November 2009, LaserMotive won a $900K prize in the NASA-sponsored Power Beaming competition, part of the Elevator: 2010 Space Elevator Games. Videos of the competition are available at their Web site http://www.lasermotive.com/blog/?cat=5. November 2009: Ralph Nansen, founder and president of Solar Space Industries, spoke about solar space power. Ralph's new book Energy Crisis: Solution from Space is now available online and in bookstores. Ralph has been involved with space engineering for more than four decades. He's recognized as one of the key leaders in the world to develop, promote, and manage solar power satellites. Ralph authored the 1995 advocacy book Sun Power: The Global Solution for the Coming Energy currently available online at the National Space Society online SSP blog. October 2009: MSNBC science editor Alan Boyle joined us as our guest for the October chapter meeting. Alan’s new book The Case for Pluto: How a Little Planet Made a Big Difference (Wiley, publication October 2009) discusses the history of Pluto’s discovery and subsequent public interest in the small body. Alan also provided some background about the IAU’s decision to demote it “planetoid” in 2006. Alan is the award-winning blogger behind MSNBC’s Cosmic Log. If you missed this talk, he’ll be speaking at the December 1, 2009 Seattle Town Hall meeting. September 2009: Space solar power (SSP) entrepreneur William Maness, CEO of PowerSat Corp., gave a presentation on the business side of SSP. In addition to sharing some technical details of PowerSat's technology concept, Bill also discussed financial and administrative issues involved in the business. He provided insight into the extreme complexity of regulations involved in establishing the SSP industrial infrastructure, such as installing receiving stations in the U.S. and abroad. Bill returned fresh from attending the International Symposium on Solar Energy From Space held in Toronto, Canada, and shared some short clips of the succesful demonstrations there. August 2009: Susan Kaltenbach gave a presentation on the legal aspects of orbital debris. Space law began in the late 1950s as a response to the Sputnik launch, and has its origins in five UN space treaties. The field continues to evolve. Susan discussed several historical events involving orbital debris (including the Iridium 33/Cosmos 2251 collision in February 2009), and how the UN treaties applied to each incident. June 2009: Tanya Harrison of Malin Space Science Systems Systems discussed what we have learned about the geology of Mars by interpreting images from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) MARCI and Context cameras. Tanya's remote presentation from San Diego included a wide variety of images, including some 3D slides. Malin designs, develops, operates, and conducts scientific research with instruments that fly on robotic spacecraft. April 2009: Dr. Dieter Zube gave a talk on the "first cruise missle" - the Fieseler V-1 World War II "Buzz Bomb." Nazi Germany used the V-1 against England in 1944 and 1945. The V-1 buzz bomb was ineffective and expensive; however, so much money was diverted to the program that it helped contribute to the defeat of Nazi Germany. Dr. Zube is a Docent of the Museum of Flight and donated a V-1 to the Museum's exhibits. He is an Engineering Manager at Aerojet. October 2008: Tony Rusi gave a talk titled "Dr. Strange Sat: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Inflatable Devices NC-17" Tony worked for Bigelow on the inflatable hotel based on Transhab, and he was able to provide insight into the concept and applications of inflatables. August 2008: Chris Vancil talked about the NASA Astronaut Glove Competition. The contest is part of the NASA Centennial Challenges program, which encourages independent innovation by presenting a series of technical challenges to the public. A significant monetary prize is awarded in each contest. June 2008: Stephen Metschan, President/CEO of TeamVision Corporation , gave a talk on the Direct Launcher initiative, which proposes using a direct derivative of the existing Space Shuttle system as an alternative to the NASA Ares series of launch vehicles. More information is available at the Direct Launcher Web site at http://www.directlauncher.com. May 2008: Monty Reed of They Shall Walk discussed his LIFESUIT Exoskeleton. The LIFESUIT is a powered gait orthosis (robotic brace) that will give parapelgics and the elderly the ability to walk. The LIFESUIT has several applications for future human space exploration, such as helping astronauts to walk in difficult non-Earth environments. For more information, visit their Web site at http://www.theyshallwalk.org. January 2008: Angie Lepley, President of Tangerine Travel Ltd., gave a presentation on Virgin Galactic subobital tourism. Tangerine Travel is the only travel agency in Washington State accredited to sell suborbital flights on Virgin Galactic. Angie brought a wide variety of Virgin Galactic promotional materials, including a DVD of the Virgin Galactic promotional movie viewable at http://www.virgingalactic.com/flash.html (requires Macromedia Flash Player 8.0). NSS Seattle Announcements and Discussion List
|
|
|
All content (c) the Seattle Chapter of the National Space Society. All rights reserved. |
The NSS Seattle discussion list is open to all space enthusiasts. To join, click 
