DragonCon 97 Space/Science Track program review. A personal reminiscence by Avery Davis. As last year, I was again the director of the Space/Science Track of programming. All of the program items took place in Room 5 of the Inforum Convention Center. They were all listed as being one-hour long, but start-times were spaced by 90 minutes. This year, in addition to the programming track, I had also arranged for the presence of a display/exhibit from NASA-Marshall (specifically, they were posters describing the activities of Les Johnson's office). This consisted of nine panels that were each 5' tall by 3' wide. I combined these panels with some tables and arranged for the NSS- Atlanta chapter to man the exhibit. Ed Kramer had provided space in the DragonCon exhibit hall, and as it turned out, the location was right in front of the main entrance to the hall. THURSDAY, June 26 I spent most of my time in the morning getting the NASA exhibit / NSS booth put together. Ben King, the NSS-ATlanta chapter president, was extremely helpful with this. In the afternoon, I made sure the track room was set up with the audiovisual equipment for the first item: SPACE01 06/26/97 1600 What Technology Has Really Spun Off From NASA? An overview of spinoff technology from the space program. Les Johnson I missed most of this due to other distractions, but it seemed to go well, with between one and two dozen attendees. SPACE02 06/26/97 1730 STS-1 and Nostalgia for the Future Personal reminiscences of the first launch of the Space Shuttle in 1981. C.J. Cherryh, Brad Linaweaver, Mark Maxwell, Avery Davis (mod.) Neither Mark Maxwell nor C.J. were able to attend the convention, so this was just Brad and I reminiscing about attending the STS-1 launch while viewing my slides of the event. I also got Brad to autograph my copy of the recent book that he edited, an anthology entitled Free Space, in which he also has a story. About a dozen or so people attended. After this panel, other distractions prevailed so I missed Les's next presentation: SPACE09 06/26/97 1900 Space Science for Everyone! Just how big is the solar System? Why are things "weightless" in orbit? What happens to the human body in space? What's the deal with cosmic rays? Black holes, gamma ray bursters, wormholes...what are these things, really? All these questions plus those of your own will be answered in this interactive presentation. Audience participation required! Les Johnson. FRIDAY 27 SPACE16 06/27/97 1000 Future Space: New NASA Initiatives For The 21st Century Presentation of current, planned and proposed space science, applications and transportation missions being undertaken by NASA. Les Johnson. SPACE03 06/27/97 1130 Using Science Fiction To Teach Science Techniques that can be used in a classroom to stimulate interest in real science by using science fiction. Mozelle Funderburk, Phyllis Boros, Claudia Harmon, April Whitt. This came off exceptionally well. The four ladies on the panel hit it off excellently. SPACE05 06/27/97 1300 Science Resources for the SF Author. Discussion of sources for information, good magazines for ideas, and online resources of scientific information useful for a science fiction writer. This panel underwent several changes of panelist. Actually, an entirely different panel was originally in this timeslot, featuring Mark Maxwell, but when he canceled out, Sandy Clarke volunteered this panel, as well as hosting it. But then, Sandy couldn't make the convention, and I was able to get several of the writers already attending the convention "assigned" to this panel. J. Cameron Thyme and Bill Fawcett actually showed up, and they gave an excellent discussion of sources and resources for writers. SPACE04 06/27/97 1430 Nanotechnology: Science Or Fiction? A presentation on the potential reality of Nanotechnology and how its depictions in Science Fiction are influenced by, or are influencing, Science Fact. Kevin J. Anderson, Thomas K. Martin Kevin Anderson has written several SF stories and novels that feature nanotechnology, but he did not want to give a solo presentation. Tom Martin was brought on as a guest of DragonCon due to his successful Fantasy novels, but he is also a space & science buf, so he agreed to participate on this panel and did his homework for it. The resulting discussion between these two and their interaction with the audience was quite interesting and enjoyable. SPACE06 06/27/97 1600 Life Beyond Earth: Our Own Solar System's Best Bets Where are we most likely to find Life within our Solar System? Will it be Mars, Europa, a comet, or ??? Inge Heyer, Les Johnson I didn't get to see this one, but I understand it was a very enjoyable panel. SPACE07 06/27/97 1730 Women In Science Historically great scientific achievements by women, and how women today can make a career in science. Inge Heyer. I saw most of this, and Inge was well prepared with slides and other material. SPACE08 06/27/97 1900 The Year In Science Game A trivia quiz with prizes! Avery Davis (mod.) I actually had to miss this item. Brian Gardiner and Earl Babbitt with the NSS-Atlanta chapter ran this using materials and prizes supplied by Sandy Clarke. They told me that the had about a dozen participants and a good time was had by all. Instead, I attended the DragonCon banquet, and I got really snookered. That afternoon, Ed Kramer stops me and tells me that I have to make sure Les Johnson attends the banquet, and gives me not only a ticket for him, but also tickets for my wife and myself. So, I go find Les and give him his ticket and the message that Ed really wants him to attend the banquet. Les is kind of mystified, since he already has a ticket to the banquet, so he give the extra ticket to Inge Heyer, who did not already have one. I also told Les that Ed wanted to talk to him. I should have been suspicious because during the awards presentations ceremony at the banquet, Ed introduces Les to present the Georgia Fandom Award, and the recipient was ME! Boy, was I flabbergasted! SATURDAY 28 SPACE14 06/28/97 1000 Beyond Imagining: Recent Observations of the Hubble Space Telescope Truth is stranger than fiction, and the fantastic images from the Hubble Space Telescope certainly prove that. Hear an astronomer from the Space Telescope Science Institute tell you and show you just how fantastic the Universe really is. Inge Heyer. I got to see most of this. Inge really knows her stuff! The presentation was centered around the 35mm slides projected on the room's built-in screen. She showed most of the recent spectacular images that have been in the news in recent months, plus a couple of images that were recognized by fans of Star Trek and Babylon 5. Seems that some of the backdrop nebulae used by these shows were real Hubble images that were quite recent at the time. SPACE10 06/28/97 1130 Space Travel: Near-Term And Far-Out. A discussion of what's on the drawing boards for space transportation in the next century as well as pontification of what the far-future holds (within known physical laws) for space travel. Les Johnson, Thomas K. Martin. Another one I had to miss for various reasons, mainly because of working on the NSS booth. SPACE11 06/28/97 1300 What Do You Do When Cyber Pirates Raise The Virtual Jolly Roger? A discussion of software piracy, hacking and civil liberties on the Internet, including a look at the current state of copyright law on the Internet, featuring: Robert Costner, Executive Director of Electronic Frontiers Georgia; Tom Cross with the 2600 Group; John R. Harris, a partner specializing in Intellectual Property law at JONES & ASKEW, LLP. Tom Cross, John R. Harris, an anonymous hacker, Robert A. Costner (mod.) Nearly two dozen people attended this panel, which turned out to be very interesting. Mr. Harris seemed especially well informed on the current state of intellectual property law. The last minute fourth panelist, a self-proclaimed "cyberpunk", refused to identify himself by name, but did appreciably contribute to the panel. SPACE17 06/28/97 1430 Mars Direct OR Return to The Moon to Stay? A discussion on whether to bypass the Moon and colonize Mars directly. Les Johnson, Thomas K. Martin, Fredrick Mills Actually, I had not planned on Professor Frederick O. Mills being on this panel; someone with a sense of "humor" added him to the panel. Prof. Mills recently finished a book, "The Geometry of Divinity on Earth and on Mars", and claims that the "face" and "pyramids" apparent on photographs of the Martian surface proves that intelligent beings once lived on Mars, and further claims to "demonstrate where their cosmic mandallas are still being created on Earth." He did seem to be in favor of human expeditions to Mars as soon as possible, but didn't participate in the main debate I had intended about the relative desirability of human expeditions to Moon and Mars. Tom Martin proved to be a strong advocate of exploration and settlement of the Moon, while Les Johnson wanted to see missions to both Moon and Mars. SPACE15 06/28/97 1600 The Frontier Thesis and Outer Space. Discusses why space activists, such as Dr. Robert Zubrin, believe that outer space can function as a frontier in the sense of the "Frontier Thesis" set forth by the noted historians Frederick Jackson Turner and Walter Prescott Webb. Forrest Schultz I couldn't stay for this presentation, but Forrest later told me it went really well. SPACE12 06/28/97 1730 The Artemis Project - Luna or Bust. An overview of the Artemis Project to build a commercially funded lunar base. With video presentations & still pictures. Learn how you can be a part of this! Thomas K. Martin I missed this presentation, too, but Forrest stayed for it, and later reported that he found it to be fascinating. SPACE13 06/28/97 1900 The Millennial Project: Realistic or Utopian? Can we colonize the Galaxy in eight easy steps? Find out how Marshall T. Savage proposed to do it in his book, and how the First Millennial Foundation is working to make it happen. Forrest Schultz I did attend this, and passed out the nice 20-something page booklet on The Millennial Project (TMP) to about two dozen attendees. After Forrest gave a basic description of TMP, he led a spirited interactive discussion about it with the audience. SUNDAY 29 SPACE20 06/29/97 1130 Living and Working in Space What Astronauts have to put up with. Includes new slides and video of the Feb. '97 Hubble servicing mission. Inge Heyer SPACE18 06/29/97 1300 National Space Society Open Meeting If you are already a member or if you would just like to find out what we are all about, all are welcome. Avery Davis, Bill Gardiner, Ben King (mod.) about 15 to 20 people attended our meeting, and we maintained a good interactive discussion with the attendees on several topics of interest to space activists. SPACE21 06/29/97 1430 Cryptography and Digital Signatures Georgia and other states have recently passed Digital Signature legislation that allows electronic messages to have the same force of law as paper messages. This is a discussion about strong Cryptography, such as PGP & RSA, and how it can be used to digitally sign email and documents. Topics include Digital Signatures, Digital Envelopes, Digital Force of law, Public Key Database Repositories, Certification Authorities, and the implication on Internet Commerce. Participants will receive a free copy of the new PGP 5.0 military strength "munition" encryption software - not legal for export. Robert A. Costner This panel was scheduled opposite the popular "robot wars" event, so Robert had like one attendee at the start of his panel. I was unable to attend as I had to go back to the exhibit hall and finish taking down the NASA exhibit and prepare it for shipment back to MSFC in Huntsville. SPACE19 06/29/97 1600 Space Solar Power Solar power satellites were once thought to be the final solution to Earth's energy needs. What happened to them, and will they ever become reality? Find out in this presentation on the issues and progress towards the development of space energy resources. Darrell Preble. Darrell had been out of town the whole weekend, and came straight to DragonCon from ending his trip. A lot of the people from the NSS meeting at 1pm returned to hear Darrell's presentation on Solar Power Satellites, and according to him, interest and prospects for SPS are improving. After this panel, I just kind of "hung out" in the convention center, and did actually make myself useful helping Ed Kramer pack up the DragonCon booth and storing it. Later, at 7pm, I attended the staff "dead dog" party, which was in the autograph/foodcourt area of the convention center. Ed had arranged for the caterer to provide a free dinner buffet for the staff featuring two kinds of lasagne (meat and vegetable). It was not a wild party, but very enjoyable, with a number of acquaintances and friends of mine attending, such as Pam Forrester, Robert and Marylin Teague. Mike Jittlov also attended for a while, and gave an autographed copy of his "Wizard" poster to Marylin for her helping his injured friend.