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by Avery Davis
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avery@mindspring.comAvery Davis - Personal Homepage
The following are my opinions on directions and activities for NSS Atlanta. PRIMARY CONSIDERATIONS: 1. Always keep in mind that our primary goal is creating a spacefaring civilization. 2. Utilize the three-pronged approach of our parent organization: A. Education (NSS) B. Legislation (Spacecause) C. Election (Spacepac) 3. Institutional survival: we must retain members and attract new ones. This is a volunteer organization; thus we must strive to keep the experience of participating in chapter activities as pleasant as possible or else people will vote with their feet and the chapter will collapse. In every activity the chapter contemplates, we need to make sure the participants at least feel some appreciation if the task is unpleasant. Preferably a tangible reward or recognition should be arranged. ACTIVITIES Activities should be selected and arranged to be pleasant, enjoyable, fun, satisfying, rewarding, and educational. They also need to be exciting enough to encourage NSS (national) members in the Atlanta area to also join the chapter. I would like for us to look for opportunities to provide useful services for the local community so we can establish our credentials as a community service volunteer organization. We must be on the alert for opportunities to pursue the three-pronged approach. Education is, I think, the most important (at least in the long term), and will give us the best opportunities for activities that are also fun and rewarding. Many activities that I would like to pursue are cooperative with other groups and organizations, which I will discuss below. At any activity or event in which we participate, we need to find ways to pursue all three prongs, plus recruiting new members. Lets work on a list of potential activities for NSS Atlanta. Here are some of my ideas: Sponsor a scholarship of a lump sum for a College tuition plus a week a Space Camp, with the scholarship to be awarded on a suitable basis such as an essay contest, and funds raised by an appropriate fund raising activity; Joint activities with other groups, either NSS Atlanta joins the other group's activity or vice versa or something different for both; Visit a local attratction as a group, such as Fernbank's planetarium or IMAX theater, or Sci-Trek's museum; Take a trip, such as a shuttle launch tour, a convention (such as the International Space Development Conference in Orlando, FL, in May 1997), the Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, or the Challenger Center in Chattanooga. STRATEGIC ALLIANCES AND PARTNERSHIPS I think that joint activities with other groups and organizations can be very beneficial to our goals, and can give us a "force multiplier" effect. We can also offer resources and expertise for the benefit of these others as an incentive for their cooperation. In many cases, there will be mutually beneficial activities. 1. Science Fiction Fandom: SF Conventions have always been fertile recruiting grounds for space activists, and SF professionals have always been involved in the leadership of NSS and its antecedents, NSI and L-5. At conventions, we can sponsor and suggest program items (forums, panels, speakers, movies, etc.), man information tables, and take advantage of other opportunities as they present themselves. One upcoming convention we should be active at is on the June 29 weekend in 1997: DragonCon. In fact, I am the Director in charge of the Space/Science Programming Track of Dragoncon. I am definately planning on at least an open NSS meeting, and would like ideas and support for other space activism program items, and possible speakers. SF Magazines frequently will have articles about scientific issues, and in the past few years, ANALOG magazine has run many articles about alternative and innovative spacecraft, launcher and propulsion technologies. If you are not familiar with ANALOG, check out the current issue on any good magazine stand. 2. Other space activist organizations: There are a number of these, such as The Planetary Society, Space Frontier Foundation, and SETI League. The NSS website, www.nss.org, has a page with links to several of these. One I would like to take a close look at is the First Millennial Foundation, which is based on promoting the concepts in the book, The Millennial Project, by Marshall T. Savage. 3. Model Rocketry: I don't have a contact with a model rocketry group, but I think its members would be very receptive to our message. We could also sponsor model rocket launch activities for publicity. We could also put them in touch with some Hams I know and together they could put together a radio telemetry payload for a large model rocket, which would be very rewarding for both of them. 4. Amateur Radio: I am an amateur radio operator, and I encourage everyone interested in space exploration to consider becoming a Ham. Certainly, most recent astronauts and cosmonauts have, because of late most humans in orbit are Hams. Here are some of the space opportunities in amateur radio: SAREX & Mir: The Shuttle Amateur Radio EXperiment (SAREX) is where the shuttle astronauts communicate with terrestrial Hams during a mission. Much of this operation consists of pre-arranged contacts set up to allow school children to talk live to astronauts on orbit. NSS has missed out on a ton of great publicity by not participating in SAREX contacts with local schools. Shuttle crew/Hams also have opportunities for random contacts, and for much of the time when an astronaut is not available to operate the radio, the equipment is in a "robotic" mode and acts as a simple BBS on a wireless LAN (this is a mode Hams call "packet radio"). The Hams on Mir operate in a similar fashion using similar modes and frequencies. Usually, the downlink is 145.55 MHz. AMSAT & OSCAR: The AMateur SATellite Corp. (AMSAT) builds Orbiting Satellites Carrying Amateur Radio and is able to get them launched practically for free. They have been doing this since the early 60's, and their latest spacecraft, currently in final assembly in Orlando, is a pretty good size comsat. STARS: Sci-Trek Amateur Radio Society (see discussion under "5. Sci- Trek"). Balloon-a-tics: Some hams launch "space" missions using weather balloons, using Amateur Radio for telemetry and video transmission. Usually, these have just Amateur Radio payloads, but sometimes they also have scientific, educational or space/engineering experiments. For example, a group in Huntsville has launched a series of balloons that included engineering experiments related to developing a capability for launching rockets from high altitude balloons. Balloons launched from Huntsville usually land somwhere between Rome and Marietta, so Hams from metro Atlanta usually participate in payload recovery efforts. This typically involves a "radio-sport" hidden transmitter hunt, and can be a lot of fun. There is an alliance between space activists, model rocketry and Amateur Radio in Huntsville, AL, with the HALO project. See the press release: SPACE GROUP TO LAUNCH FIRST AMATEUR ROCKET INTO SPACE FROM ATOP A HIGH ALTITUDE BALLOON ON SATURDAY, MARCH 22 Also, see the web site for the HALO SL-1 Home Page. Legislation & Regulation: Many Hams are sympathetic to NSS goals, and will sign petitions and write letters if asked. It would be neat to have a high level agreement between Ham lobbyists and Spacecause lobbyists, especially since there are many similar areas of interest. Right now, Hams are fighting for frequency allocations for space communications. With the pro-space educational and promotional uses the Hams already make of their space communication frequency allocations, the NSS should already be aiding the Hams lobbying effort. An article in the June 1995 issue of QST magazine, p.44, "A Trip Through the Teaching Universe", describes how a small-town Missouri school teacher has used enthusiasm for space exploration and amateur radio to greatly enhance the effectiveness of education at her school and has won $155,000 in grants to fund a school project on "Building the First City on Mars". I would like to see NSS Atlanta a part of something similar in the Atlanta area. 5. Amateur Astronomy: I am a member of the Atlanta Astronomy Club, and most AAC members are sympathetic to the promotion of space exploration. While we might recruit a few members and get some petition signatures from amateur astronomers, we should look for areas where we can mutually benefit, and this will fit the three prongs of the NSS approach. Politically, the astronomy community is looking for ways to improve the quality of outdoor lighting to reduce light pollution, so here is an obvious area for quid-pro-quo. Astronomers are also very interested in education. Locally, the AAC has had success with CNN in the Science & Technology Week feature, in which Star Parties and observing sessions are depicted. A joint observing session between AAC and NSS Atlanta could have a space exploration slant with a satellite spotting contest. 6. Sci-Trek: We should be able to realize mutual opportunities for educational activities. They did fund the equipment for a fine Amateur Radio station (STARS: Sci-Trek Amateur Radio Society) which gives the Amateur Radio community a tremendous opportunity for positive publicity. This relates to the discussion under "2. Amateur Radio", above. Possibly, Sci-Trek might be able to offer NSS Atlanta free or low- cost meeting facilities. I called Sci-Trek and got the impression that their meeting rooms are typically available to paying sponsors or at a stiff rental rate. The Sci-Trek education director has limited access to the meeting rooms. I think that if we had an educational activity, the Sci-Trek education director would be willing to obtain one of the meeting rooms for our use. 7. Fernbank Science Center may be willing to provide meeting facilities. Also may be willing to help us with educational activities and in making contacts with local schools. 8. Local schools: A. Primary and secondary - SAREX is an obvious possibility, but I am sure we could come up with other activities; B. Technical & scientific colleges & universities - we need to brainstorm some activities we could do with them, and we need to find a contact with SEDS (Students for the Exploration and Development of Space). 9. Local business, especially Hi-Tech and Aerospace. We might find a generous corporate sponsor. Possibilities include Lockheed-Martin (Marietta), Rockwell (Duluth), and Scientific-Atlanta (Norcross). In addition, we all need to maintain some familiarity with the industry. Reading Ad Astra magazine is a good start, but I also read Aviation Week and Space Technology, and occasionally I see a copy of Space News. These are not cheap to subscribe to, so maybe we can come up with a magazine pool or exchange for chapter members.Back to Homepage