"Perhaps no agency, more than NASA, has confronted the reality of the austere budget environment. Over the last few years, NASA has transformed itself from an agency that had assumed large annual budget increases, to one that now assumes a flat to negative funding horizon. I applaud the agency for getting out front of this dilemma..."
-- Sen. Christopher Bond
With these words of praise, chairman Christopher Bond (R-MO) of the Senate VA/HUD Appropriations Subcommittee opened an April 5 hearing on NASA's FY 1996 budget request. Bond is a "strong supporter for NASA's efforts," as were the other subcommittee members present: Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Richard Shelby (R-AL), and Robert Bennett (R-UT).
NASA is requesting $14.26 billion, a decrease of $203.7 million from current-year spending. It has been asked by the Administration to take a cut of $5 billion from its expected budget profile over the next five years. Daniel Goldin, the agency's administrator, reported that five separate reviews had taken or were taking place on different aspects of the space agency's activities. By mid-May, Goldin expects to have an initial assessment on whether or not the agency could achieve the five-year reduction through cuts in infrastructure alone. If not, he promised to come back to the subcommittee with NASA's priorities for program cuts. Bond concurred with Mikulski when she urged that NASA's analysis be "done in time to give guidance to the House and, certainly, to the Senate." If the analyses were not available in time to mark up the subcommittee's bill, she warned, "we will move without them."
Shelby raised concerns about how NASA's field centers would fare under the downsizing, especially Marshall Space Flight Center in his home state. Goldin was "cautiously optimistic" about preserving the primary centers, although he was doubtful that they could all be cut evenly. "Survival of a center is not the issue," he declared. It is "survival of the American economy."
Mikulski described NASA as part of the nation's effort to "create wealth and jobs," rather than just redistribute them. Jobs, she said, are "what people are looking for from NASA." She then questioned the Administration's policy of "fencing off" the space station budget from any of the reductions. Goldin praised having a stable station budget as "the single biggest, most important characteristic" in the program's progress, adding that "to change the funding at this point could be its demise." Mikulski cautioned that singling it out "makes it a very clear target." Goldin vowed, "Somehow, some way, no matter what happens...this station is going to be built."
Bond made no mention of decreasing the NASA budget further; he said the agency had "given at the office," and made greater reductions than he would have asked for. "We appreciate what you've done," he assured Goldin.
The Clementine spacecraft, feared lost or destroyed after a software bug crippled it last May, has been partially revived and is returning test data, according to mission control officials.
Controllers operating out of the "Bat Cave", the former warehouse and Clementine mission control facility in Alexandria, Virginia, were able to gain full control of the spacecraft on April 10. Five days later, they were able to orient the spacecraft's solar panels towards the Sun to give it enough power to take test images. Controllers report no problems with any of the spacecraft subsystems despite being dormant for nearly a year.
According to the mission team, the spacecraft has about 200 meters/second of fuel left on board that could be used to alter the spacecraft's trajectory. Several ideas for an extended mission are currently being examined.
Clementine was launched on January 25, 1994. The BMDO spacecraft spent two months in a polar orbit around the Moon, returning 1.5 million high-resolution images and other scientific data. The spacecraft was undergoing a series of orbital maneuvers on May 7, 1994, when a software bug caused an attitude-control thruster to stick open, spinning up the spacecraft and venting most of its maneuvering fuel. The accident caused planners to scrub a scheduled flyby of the near-Earth asteroid Geographos in late August 1994.
A group of astronomers, using Hubble Space Telescope images, have discovered up to 60 new objects residing in the Kuiper Belt beyond the orbit of Neptune.
The team, lead by Anita Cochran of the University of Arizona, carefully combined nearly three dozen images of the same 4-arcminute square field taken with Hubble's Wide Field/Planetary Camera 2 in late August last year, removing the images of stars and galaxies. The remaining objects on the images where then processed to remove image artifacts, leaving behind the Kuiper Belt objects.
These results imply that there may be as many as 100 million objects of magnitude 28 or brighter (about the size of Comet Halley) in the Kuiper belt.
The Kuiper Belt, named after the late planetary astronomer Gerard Kuiper, is a belt of small, icy objects in the outer solar system. This belt may be the source for many of the short period comets that travel through the inner solar system.
The June launches of the space shuttles Atlantis and Discovery have been changed to accomodate delays in the launch of a new Russian module for the Mir space station, with Discovery now launching before Atlantis.
Discovery, scheduled to launch in late June, has been moved up to a launch date of June 8. The mission will deploy a new Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS), to be used to relay communications between the ground controllers and the shuttle and other orbiting spacecraft. The mission, originally scheduled to last 8 days, may be cut down to 5 days to better accomodate the new schedule.
Atlantis is now scheduled to launch no earlier than June 19, with June 24 considered to be the likely launch date. The Atlantis mission will be the first of seven dockings between the shuttle and the Russian Mir space station, as part of the international space station program. The Atlantis crew on launch will include two Russian cosmonauts, who will releive the current Mir crew of two cosmonauts and American astronaut Norman Thagard. The three will return on the Atlantis with the rest of the shuttle crew.
The change in launch order is due to delays in the launch of Spektr, a new science module for the space station. The module is now scheduled for launch in late May. Russian Space Agency officials have requested that the module be in place for a month before the Atlantis is launched, to permit the crew to carry out scientific activities using the new module.
Engineers at Orbcomm are working to salvage two communications satellites launched in early April, as current and future investors wait nervously for the outcome of their work.
The Orbcomm 1 satellite encountered a problem with its subscriber communications subsystem on April 15. Previously, its sister satellite, Orbcomm 2, suffered a problem with its uplink receiver, used to receive commands from the ground. Both problems are preventing the satellites to be put to commercial use.
Officials at Orbcomm, a subsidiary of Orbital Science Corporation, state that they are actively working on the problem, and hope to know by early May whether the problems can be corrected. They state that all other spacecraft systems, including the deployable folded mast antenna and the circular solar arrays, are working normally.
The problems with the $10 million satellites have biven some investors cause for concern. Teleglobe, a Montreal-based company, is awaiting the results of the repair efforts before deciding to exercise a $70 million option investment option in Orbcomm. The company, which has already invested $10 million, has stated that they will likely exercise their option and are confident the spacecraft can be made operational.
The planet Neptune continues to surprise astronomers with its unusually dynamic atmosphere, as recent Hubble Space Telescope images of the planet reveal new cloud formations in the planet's atmosphere.
Hubble images revealed the formation of a new "dark spot" in the planet's northern hemisphere, similar to the dark spot in the southern hemisphere discovered by Voyager 2 when it flew by the planet in August 1989. That dark spot had disappeared when Hubble last looked at the planet last year.
The dark spots are believed to be holes in Neptune's methane cloud deck, which can provide astronomers with a peek to lower levels of the atmosphere. Both spots are accompanies by high, white, cirrus-type clouds, believed to be formed when gas goes over the top of the dark spot and is cooled.
These findings suggest that Neptune's atmosphere is far different from the Earth's atmosphere, or the atmospheres of most other planets and satellites in the solar system. The level of dynamicism seen in Neptune's atmosphere requires a great deal of energy, usually provided by the Sun, but Neptune receives only 1/900th the flux per unit area as the Earth, and 4/9th as much as Uranus, which has very few cloud features. This suggests that Neptune has some sort of powerful internal heat source driving the atmosphere.
The C.I.S. manned space station Mir with cosmonauts Commander Vladimir Dezhurov, Flight Engineer Gennady Strekalov and Cosmonaut Researcher Norm Thagard, will be appearing in the evening skies April 15th to May 4th and then reappear in the pre-dawn skies May 27th to June 16th.
Amateur radio operators can log into the Mir 'Packet' (R0MIR-1) BBS on 145.550 MHZ. The cosmonauts also use this frequency to talk to amateur radio operators on the ground during their off-hours.
For exact times and locations to see the space station over your backyard call MN MIRWATCH Coordinator Ben Huset at (612) 639-9109. This info is also available on the MN SFS computer BBS at (612) 459-0892 (300-14,400 baud)
You can look for Mirwatch and other great space stuff on the web at: http://www.skypoint.com/subscribers/benhuset
As is becoming common in Russian space flight, Norm's stay on board Mir will be extended. Delays in launching the Spektr module, which was originally scheduled for launch last February before Norm's flight, is now scheduled for May 20. The shuttle that will return Norm won't be launched till a month after Spektr arrives.
Norm has noted that what the mission control thinks what is aboard Mir isn't always true. He found some un-documented clamps that he had to remove to make room for one of his experiments. Also, a roll of tape that he had planned to use was tossed into the trash by the previous crew because they said it didn't work. He has also noted that there is no accurate record to where something is stored aboard Mir. Sometimes they have even had to call a cosmonaut at home on the ground and ask *him* where he put something a few months ago aboard Mir. He has also noted the shortage of storage space aboard Mir.
The 2nd shower on Mir, which didn't work, was removed to make room for a gyrodyne but due to the lack of the proper wrench, a hammer had to be used to remove it.
Writing Mirwatch has really changed: in the past I would have to
watch hours of Russian TV news and comb tech journals for a paragraph or
two mention of Mir activities. Now there are weekly 15 minute summaries
of Mir activities every Friday at 10:30 am CDT on NASA Select TV, plus
10-minute TV press conferences from time to time from Mir. There are
several reports posted weekly on the internet at:
http://spacelink.msfc.nasa.gov/Spacelink.Hot.Topics/Mir.18/
Background info is at:
http://www.msfc.nasa.gov/mol/mir/mir.html
Here is a sample of part of a Mission Status Report:
Friday, March 24, 1995, 8 a.m. CST
With the transition from one crew to the next complete, the cosmonauts have shifted to the work schedule they will be on for the next 90 days. The routine on Mir closely resembles the workday in Moscow. The crew's day begins at 8 a.m. Moscow time. [note: there is no daylight saving time shift aboard Mir like there is in Moscow so during the summer the clocks don't match.] The first two hours, which resemble the traditional post-sleep period in the Shuttle program, are set aside for the cosmonauts to have time to wash up, eat breakfast, and prepare for the day's work.
The workday runs from 10 a.m. - 7 p.m., with breaks for lunch and exercise for each crew member. After dinner, the crew prepares its reports on the day's activities and reviews the plan for the next work day. From 10 p.m.- 11 p.m., the crew members have personal time, followed by the start of their 9-hour sleep period.
This schedule will be altered for events such as the arrival of the Progress and Spektr modules and the scheduled spacewalks in May.
In other Mir news:
ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter will fly with cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergej Avdeev aboard EUROMIR 95 which is scheduled for launch August 22, 1995 and will carry 41 European experiments of scientists from various ESA member states. This mission will be the longest mission ever flown by a non Russian astronaut and will feature the first space walk (Extra Vehicular Activity) by an ESA astronaut.
Astronaut Shannon W. Lucid, Ph.D., will be the second American to be a crew member during a five-month stay aboard Russia's space station Mir in 1996. Jerry M. Linenger (Commander, Medical Corps, USN) will be the third American to fly to the orbital laboratory, also in 1996.
You haven't been to a space conference this year? You have, but heard nothing about how we can change space FROM a federal program TO a place for commercial activity?
Have we got the conference for you!!! Mark your calendar, register, and reserve a seat.
The SPACE FRONTIER FOUNDATION, SPACE STUDIES INSTITUTE, and the CALIFORNIA SPACE DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL announce the Space Frontier Foundation's fourth annual conference:
SPACE FRONTIERCON IV:
SPACE - FICTION OR FRONTIER?
October 6 - 8, 1995
Los Angeles, CA
Last year we discussed how we, Apollo's Children, must take back the dream of space settlement and commercial utilization. This year, we continue this theme, reporting on why there is new excitement in the space community, excitement that can be shared by all of us. Learn about bold new commercial initiatives, increased support within Congress for extending American enterprise into space.
Planned topics and activities include:
| until June 1st | $50 |
|---|---|
| June 2nd - Sept. 15 | $60 |
| after Sept. 15 | $70 |
| BANQUET TICKET: | $50 |
This is just the first notice for this conference, and more will follow as we finalize hotel and meal prices, and additional activities. It's just that we feel this conference is too important to delay its announcement until all administrative details are completed. WE WANT YOU THERE...YOU'LL WANT TO BE THERE, RATHER THAN HEAR ABOUT WHAT YOU MISSED!
To register, please send a check payable to the Space Frontier Foundation to: Space Frontier Foundation, 16 First Avenue, Nyack, NY 10960. So we may keep you informed of breaking news, please provide: Name, mailing address, day and evening phones, fax, and e-mail address.
Remember, if you are unsatisfied with the pace of space development, if you think that shuttles circling the Earth 300 miles up is not much advancement after traveling 240,000 miles to the Moon over 25 years ago...YOU WILL ENJOY THIS CONFERENCE.
The Hubble Space Telescope has been one of the most productive yet one of the most controversial telescopes ever built. It has revealed black holes in faraway galaxies, provided detailed images of Jupiter after the Shoemaker-Levy 9 collision, and has caused us to reconsider our views of the age and origin of the universe. Yet, it suffered from years of delays and cost overruns before launch, and once on orbit the spherical aberration in its mirror marked it as one of the greatest engineering snafus in modern history. It took the most complex shuttle mission in history to restore the telescope to a condition approaching its original specifications. How did such a simple concept -- placing a telescope high above the atmosphere -- evolve into such a complex, troubled-plagued project? Robert W. Smith provides some of the answers to these questions in his book The Space Telescope.
The concept of a telescope placed in orbit to avoid the aberrating effects of the atmosphere was not a new one. In 1946 astronomer Lyman Spitzer, Jr., proposed in a paper for the new RAND Corporation that a telescope placed in space would have numerous advantages over groundbased telescopes. It was not until Sputnik, though, that proposals for orbiting observatories were taken seriously, and not until the mid-1960s that a large orbiting telescope was seriously considered. Years of wrangling within NASA meant that the proposed Large Space Telescope (which would later lose the Large name as the telescope aperture shrunk and efforts to appease Congress intensified) did not begin to receive funding until the mid-1970s. What followed was years of cost overruns, delays, and other problems not unfamiliar to other NASA projects.
Smith provides an even-handed, academic, approach to the subject. He discusses all aspects of the project, from design concerns to the creation of the Space Telescope Science Institute to the efforts by scientists, engineers, and NASA officials to lobby Congress for funding (even including asking DC Comics to write a Superman comic which featured the then-named LST!). Written in 1989, before the launch of the HST, an afterword in later editions covers the launch and subsequent problems with the telescope, but concludes before the repair mission is launched. This book provides a good contrast to Eric Chaisson's insider's view of the project in his book The Hubble Wars, not to mention the not-dissimilar feats of engineering required to build the Palomar telescope as described by Ronald Florence in The Perfect Machine. Hubble may not be the perfect machine, but it has survived its troubles and tribulations to give us a new window on the universe.
Our April lecture was given by our own Bruce Mackenzie, past president of the Boston chapter, and member of the Space Studies Institute. Bruce has been working on a project to design a model lunar base. His April presentation, which gave us a of glimpse of how that lunar base might get started, was titled "Bootstrapping Space Communities with a miniature Lunar Mine, Rotating Tethers and Regolith Rockets".
Given that it makes sense to establish space settlements, Bruce suggests that we should begin with "an inexpensive manufacturing and transportation system which can use Lunar or asteroidal material to enlarge its own manufacturing capability" as well as support the building of structures in space and in orbit. The aluminum, iron and silicon can be extracted for metal production, and oxygen can be removed from the rocks as well.
A common scenario to accomplish this goal uses human workers and a great deal of heavy equipment. Between the price per payload to import that equipment and the harsh working environment, this solution has significant drawbacks.
Bruce's model incorporates three technologies to establish small, unmanned mining camps with inexpensive transportation systems to 'deliver the goods': rotating tethers, micro-rovers, and regolith rockets.
Rotating tethers work "like a bucket-brigade, a series of tethers can throw mining equipment from Earth orbit to the Lunar surface, and catch raw materials coming back". These tethers are a favorite subject of Bruce's. Per his handout, his tether designs would also:
The design involves at least one rotating tether and possibly three habitats/greenhouses suspended from the axial core to counterbalance the activity on the tether. Arriving spacecraft or payloads would be 'caught' by the tether, then later being 'thrown' off in the desired directions.
Bruce proposes sending miniature tele-operated rovers to the moon (or asteroids) at about 10 kg per unit. Although small, these machines can work long, hard hours without complaint. These micro-rovers would sift lunar regolith and load it into a spacecraft (like the Regolith Rocket).
The Regolith Rocket takes payloads of lunar soil to awaiting manufacturing sites, using some of its dirt payload for reaction mass to launch and maneuver with. To quote Bruce's handout, the propulsion works like this: "the reaction mass is 'fluidized regolith', the finest regolith particles suspended in a gas so they act as a fluid. Energy is provided by preheating the particles. A small quantity of liquid hydrogen is injected into the rocket combustion chamber. It vaporizes on contact with the hot particles," thus expanding and accelerating the particles out of the nozzle.
Bruce presented a 6 phase plan to implement this model, culminating in human space settlements. Thank you, Bruce!
Volume 1, Issue 2 of SETIQuest magazine is now available. This issue contains the following topics:
SETIQuest is the magazine of SETI research and bioastronomy. For your free copy of Vol 1 No 1 and information on how to subscribe to SETIQuest, send e-mail with your regular mailing address to: sqinqnet@pixelacres.mv.com
Or write to:
SETIQuest MagazineAtlantis was rolled to the VAB on Apr 20 and was mated with the external tank and SRBs on Apr 21. Launch is to be no earlier than Jun 19. Atlantis should be on pad 39A by Apr 26; Discovery could be on pad 39B by May 11.
The SCA 905 carrier aircraft returned Columbia to Kennedy Space Center on Apr 14. It was stored in Vehicle Assembly Building Bay 2 pending availability of a parking space in the Orbiter Processing Facility. On Apr 21 it was towed to OPF Bay 3 after that bay was vacated by Atlantis.
The docking time of Progress M-27 was 2100 UT on Apr 11, not 2300 UT as I reported last week. Included in Progress M-27's cargo was a small geodetic satellite built by Kayser-Threde for the Geoforschungszentrum Potsdam, Germany. GFZ-1 is a 21 cm diameter, 20 kg sphere covered with laser retroreflectors. It was ejected from Mir's science airlock on Apr 19 and given the international designation 1986-17JE. I don't have the time of ejection yet. GFZ-1's orbit was 92.34 min, 383 x 394 km x 51.6 deg on Apr 20.
ESA's ERS-2 Earth Resources Satellite was launched on Apr 21 by Ariane flight V72. The spacecraft, built by Dornier for the European Space Agency, will be operated in tandem with ERS-1. It is based on Matra's SPOT bus, and carries a hydrazine engine for precise orbit control. ERS-2 has a 10-m long SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) for C-band radar imaging of the Earth. Its primary mission is to study the sea surface and polar ice. The SAR is linked to an Active Microwave Imager instrument; also carried are a radar altimeter for wave heights, the ATSR Along Track Scanning Radiometer for sea surface temperatures, and the PRARE orbit determination experiment. These are all similar to experiments aboard ERS-1; ERS-2 also carries a new GOME global ozone monitoring experiment. ERS-2 entered a 100.56 min, 783 x 786 km x 98.6 deg orbit.
According to Michelle Lyle of Arianespace, this V72 launch and the preceding V71 launch both used the H-10+ third stage. An enhanced third stage, the H-10-3, was first used on V70 and will be phased in to eventually replace the H-10+. The Ariane is usually flown to geostationary transfer orbit; flights to sun-synchronous orbits are rarer, and usually carry secondary microsatellite payloads. No secondary payloads were carried on this latest mission.
Ariane Polar Flights
Date Flight Model Payload Secondary Orbit
km x km x deg
1986 Feb 22 V16 AR1 Spot Viking 824 x 825 x 98.8
1990 Jan 22 V35 AR40 Spot 2 ASAP 1 825 x 825 x 98.7
1991 Jul 17 V44 AR40 ERS-1 ASAP 2 776 x 782 x 98.5
1992 Aug 10 V52 AR42P Topex ASAP 3 1316 x1331 x 66.1
1993 Sep 26 V59 AR40 Spot 3 ASAP 4 816 x 818 x 98.7
1995 Apr 21 V72 AR40 ERS-2 783 x 786 x 98.6
EUTELSAT's Hot Bird 1 satellite has been on station at 12.5 deg E since Apr 9. Brasilsat B2, launched on the same Ariane flight, reached its 60.9 deg W station on Apr 7.
Intelsat 705 is now at 56 deg W. Meanwhile, during April Intelsat 507 left its GEO position at 56.5 deg E and by Apr 21 was at 48E drifting 0.2 deg per day W.
The AMSC-1 mobile communications satellite has reached geostationary altitude. On Apr 11 it raised its orbit from 367 x 40142 km x 25.6 deg to 10064 x 40165 km x 9.0 deg. By Apr 16 the orbit was 35666x 40110 km x 0.92 deg, and by Apr 19 it was circularized at 35759 x 35797 km x 0.1 deg, drifting 0.1 deg per day eastward over 102 deg W.
Date UT Name Launch Vehicle Site Mission INTL.
DES.
Mar 22 0409 Kosmos-2310 Kosmos-3M Plesetsk LC132 Navigation 12A
Mar 22 0618 Intelsat 705 Atlas IIAS Canaveral LC36B Comsat 13A
Mar 22 1645 Kosmos-2311 Soyuz-U Plesetsk LC43 Recon 14A
Mar 24 1405 DMSP 24547 Atlas E Vandenberg SLC3 Weather 15A
Mar 28 1000 Gurwin-1 ) Start Plesetsk LC158 Technology FTO
UNAMSAT ) Comsat FTO
EKA-2 ) Dummy FTO
Mar 28 0618 Eutelsat HB1 ) Ariane 44LP Kourou ELA2 Comsat 16B
Brasilsat B2 ) Comsat 16A
Apr 3 1348 Orbcomm 1 ) Pegasus L1011 VAFB/PAWA Comsat 17A
Orbcomm 2 ) Comsat 17B
Microlab 1 ) Science 17C
Apr 5 1116 'Ofeq-3 Shaviyt Palamchim Technol. 18A
Apr 7 2347 AMSC-1 Atlas IIA Canaveral LC36A Comsat 19A
Apr 9 1934 Progress M-27 Soyuz-U Baykonur LC1 Cargo 20A
Apr 19? GFZ-1 - Mir Geodesy 8617JE
Apr 21 1344 ERS-2 Ariane 40 Kourou ELA2 Rem Sensing 21A
Mar 10 Kosmos-2280 Deorbited Mar 15 Progress M-26 Deorbited over Pacific Mar 18 Endeavour Landed at Edwards AFB Mar 18 Kosmos-2244 Deorbited Mar 22 Soyuz TM-20 Landed in Kazakhstan Apr 3 Kosmos-2137 Reentered Apr 4 Kosmos-2290 Deorbited over Pacific
Orbiters Location Mission Launch Due OV-102 Columbia OPF Bay 3 STS-73 Sep 21 OV-103 Discovery OPF Bay 2 STS-70 Jun? Under review OV-104 Atlantis VAB Bay 1 STS-71 Jun? Under review OV-105 Endeavour OPF Bay 1 STS-69 Jul 20 ML/SRB/ET/OV stacks ML1/ ML2/RSRM-44/ET-71 VAB Bay 3 STS-70 ML3/RSRM-45/ET-70/OV-104 VAB Bay 1 STS-71
An updated version of the calendar is available from JPL.
* indicates changes from last month's calendar
Since its discovery in 1930, Pluto has been the most mysterious, enigmatic planet in the solar system. Its small size and great distance from the Earth have made it difficult to study the planet from Earth-based telescopes, leaving us with only tantalizing hints about the planet: brightness variations which may be evidence for patches of ice and rock on its surface, a moon with a diameter half that of Pluto, and a tenuous atmosphere which may soon collapse. To better understand the planet, and to complete the spacecraft reconnaissance of the solar system, scientists and engineers in NASA and academia are working on Pluto Express, a project to send small robotic probes to Pluto within the next ten to fifteen years. Jeff will discuss the scientific benefits, technical challenges, and political hurdles of a flyby mission to Pluto.
Quasars are the most energetic sources of radiation in the universe, turning the entire mass of a star into energy every year, and often emitting powerful beams of matter at almost the speed of light. I've been studying quasars using both ground based telescopes and orbiting satellites, and will talk about the different kinds of quasars we see and the ideas we have about what the observations mean.
Much closer to home, I'll also give an update on Phase I of the International Space Station Program, which involves visits by the US Space Shuttle to the Russian Mir orbital station.
Look for more information about Chip's talk in a future issue of SpaceViews.
The Boston chapter of the National Space Society elected officers for the 1995-1996 term at its April meeting. The new officers and directors of the chapter are:
| President: | Larry Klaes | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vice-President: | Bill Corker | ||||||
| Treasurer: | Roxanne Warniers | ||||||
| Secretary: | | Board of Directors: | Jeff Foust
| Drew LePage
| Bruce Mackenzie
| |
The officers will meet at 6:30pm on Thursday, May 4, to discuss plans for the year. Anyone interested in working on chapter activities or otherwise helping plans this year's events is encouraged to attend. Refreshments will be served.
The Boston celebration of Astronomy Day will be held at the Museum of Science on Saturday, May 6. Boston NSS plans to have a table at the event to provide information about space and about the NSS. If you are interested in helping out in any fashion, please contact Larry Klaes at lklaes@aol.com.