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starship-design: FW: SpaceViews -- October 1998 -- from Boston NSS [part 2 of 2]
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Sent: Monday, October 05, 1998 8:08 PM
Subject: SpaceViews -- October 1998 -- from Boston NSS [part 2 of 2]
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[continued from part 1]
The Mars Underground Emerges:
The Founding Convention of the Mars Society
by Keith Cowing
Introduction
Boulder, Colorado has been the temporary base camp for
Earthbound Martians for more than a decade. Every few summers, they
roll into town for one in a series of "Case for Mars" conferences
wherein a diverse mixture of scientists, engineers, and space
enthusiasts (the so-called "Mars Underground") have gathered to keep
the dialog going -- even if NASA had apparently lost interest.
This summer there was another Mars meeting in Boulder. Unlike
all previous meetings, this one came in the wake of the new and
exciting information from Mars: the Mars Pathfinder landing and the
Mars Global Surveyor mission. Add in the residual excitement from the
ALH84001 discoveries, and Mars was a hot topic for the first time
since the Viking days
This summer, the Mars Underground finally came out of hiding -
with a vengeance.
The Attendees
The attendees came from both predictable and unpredictable
backgrounds. While the overwhelming portion of the participants were
white males 25-50 with scientific or engineering backgrounds, there
was a surprising number of females, children, the elderly, and people
of color. Indeed, I'd say that there was more diversity than I had
expected to see -- and was very pleased to see this. It was this
diversity of backgrounds, all drawn together by an interest in Mars,
which made this conference special.
Once you got beyond the obvious categories, you really saw
some spectacular diversity. Political backgrounds ranged from left to
right, from environmentalists and feminists to archconservative
nationalists and libertarians. One common characteristic was
pervasive and made all other characteristics of secondary importance:
these people are explorers, visionaries, and pioneers. Whether or not
they actually have the ability or opportunity to go to Mars themselves
was irrelevant: this crowd represented the broad mix needed to make it
possible for humans to walk on Mars.
By the end of the conference, it certainly became clear to me
that the white male bias was misleading, and possibly only a temporary
phenomenon. These people were all Martians. While the word has yet to
get out to everyone, it is now well on its way thanks to this event.
The Organizers
The organizers consisted of Bob Zubrin, his entire family, and
just about anyone in Boulder he could arm twist into helping. While
there were the inevitable (minor) glitches here and there the
organizers managed to pull off a comfortable, friendly gathering, one
where the participants joined in whenever needed to help make things
work. I guess you could say everyone helped organize and run his
meeting -- and it showed. Something needed to emerge from this
conference and everyone seemed to feel that they were going to help
craft that outcome.
The Presentations and the Presenters
Presentations covered the entire range of topics you'd expect
at a conference on Mars -- plus quite a number you would not. Notable
among the speakers were astronauts John Young and Scott Horowitz;
former NASA Exploration Office head Mike Griffin; JPL Mars mission
scientists Matt Golombek and Mike Manning; extremeophile biologist
Penny Boston; NASA Ames scientists Chris McKay, Carol Stoker, and
Larry Lemke; Mars Society founder Bob Zubrin; and Space Frontier
president Rick Tumlinson.
Topics covered living off the land, mission design, propulsion
technologies, colonization sociology, politics, and the arts. With an
attendance of 600 and several hundred presenters, this had to be the
highest presenter to participant ratio I have ever seen! With so many
presentations, there were often 5 or more simultaneous sessions
underway. I eventually found myself surfing sessions so as to try and
get a representative flavor of the whole event. A visit to the Mars
Society website is perhaps the only fitting way to truly appreciate
the breadth of topics discussed.
Having attended innumerable scientific and technical meetings,
I was immediately struck at how well attended each and every session
was. Rooms were frequently filled beyond capacity, people were very
polite, and every effort was made to stay on schedule. Night sessions
were equally jammed. The biggest surprise was that the very last
session of the meeting was heavily attended. These people wanted to
drink in as much about Mars as they possibly could.
Diversity Breeds Controversy
There was certainly no shortage of opinions expressed at this
conference - which is what made it so interesting. Meetings of
traditional organizations such as the AIAA or AAS can be so
orchestrated and sanitized that they can be sleep inducing. This
crowd was spontaneous and interactive on and off stage.
Perhaps the most dynamic event was the evening session held on
Terraforming. As far as I am able to tell, with 600 people in the
auditorium, this was the largest single assembly of people ever
convened to discuss the deliberate alteration of another planet.
Although the organizers had intended to have a range of opinions
represented on the panel, last minute changes resulted in a panel that
was generally pro-terraforming.
The most extreme example of the pro-terraformers was Lowell
Woods from Stanford University. His blatantly pro-America, manifest
destiny inspired message that humans had an obligation to terraform
Mars got the audience going. While some panel members sought to soften
Woods views, many people remained extremely opposed to Woods and let
their feelings be known. Overall, the premise of all remarks was not
if to terraform; rather it was more an issue of when and how.
By the time the night was over it became abundantly clear that
the Mars Society represented a very nice cross section of all of the
electorate. It also became clear that the Society has growing pains
ahead as it strives to become a truly international organization, not
one with an Americentric focus and base of support.
The Rally Cry
The meeting ended with a banquet followed by an organizing
rally. Once the attendees had been given an introduction to the
avowed aims of the Mars Society, they all voted unanimously to approve
its charter. This was followed by an open microphone organizing rally
where the enthusiasm and diversity of the attendees once again became
evident. This was then followed by a splintering off of people into
chapters organized by geography, which ranged from Mozambique to
Washington DC. When the university began to close the doors for the
evening, these groups moved out into the darkness and continued to
organize.
The Outcome -- And The Road Ahead
Within a few days people had settled back at home and the
email and web activity started. For my part, I updated my Whole Mars
Catalog so as to have a Mars Society hot button on every page.
Meanwhile, the Mars Society website leapt into action and has been
constantly updated ever since. Local chapters and focus groups set up
mailing lists and the email traffic began. Now, two months after the
event, things have settled down a bit. This is to be expected -- the
initial hoopla spawned at the meeting has collided with the reality of
what everyone had waiting for them back home.
As with all nascent political organizations (make no doubt,
politics is at the core of what the Mars Society is all about), the
challenge before the Society is to transform the heady enthusiasm of
campaign rallies into the drudgery of going door to door. This aspect
of the task is not as glamorous or immediately satisfying, but it is
what will be required if the Mars Society is to awaken and focus the
public's interest such that real changes can be made.
Based upon what I saw in Boulder, I have to say that kilo for
kilo, this crowd has the highest energy density I have ever seen in a
space oriented organization, energy which will suit them well as they
tackle the big tasks ahead.
Keith Cowing is editor of NASA Watch, The Astrobiology Web, and The
Whole Mars Catalog.
Spaceweek Organizers Sought
by Spaceweek
Pro-space individuals and organizations are invited to help
put a global "spotlight" on space via Spaceweek, an annual event
consisting of many simultaneous activities and media coverage.
"Space needs its Earth Day," said Dennis Stone, volunteer
President of Spaceweek International Association (SIA), a non-profit
organization based in Houston. "By cooperating in an annual media
event, the pro-space community can demonstrate grass roots support for
space."
Spaceweek is now celebrated during the first full week of
March of each year. In 1999, this will be March 7-13. It was moved
two years ago to these new dates to impact education. "During the old
Spaceweek dates in July, we completely missed the schools. Now
Spaceweek benefits the classroom at the same time it involves the mass
public in space," Stone said.
The following help is needed across the pro-space community:
* Individuals to serve as city, regional, and state Spaceweek
coordinators
* Organizations to hold special public space events during
Spaceweek
* Help in encouraging teachers to use space in the classroom
during Spaceweek
Events held during Spaceweek have included space exhibits,
star parties, model rocket launches, space festivals, etc. It can be
a simple as helping a library feature space books that week, or as
bold as organizing and publicizing a space-theme parade. For
additional ideas on events your organization can hold, please see
www.spaceweek.org.
Coordinators are needed to encourage groups in their area to
hold events, and to help attract media coverage. To serve as a
coordinator, please notify SIA of your desired geographical region via
email to admin@spaceweek.org. We will let you know if that area is
available.
If your group holds an event during Spaceweek, please notify
SIA by early January of the planned location, date, time, and
description via email to admin@spaceweek.org. SIA encourages event
holders to report attendance and media coverage after Spaceweek is
over.
SIA is an independent, non-advocacy, non-membership
organization founded in 1981 solely to promote participation in
Spaceweek by the entire space community. It does not promote any
single company, country, policy, etc. Rather, the messages sent out
during Spaceweek are determined by the event organizers themselves.
To help encourage teachers to use space during Spaceweek, SIA
recently created the Spaceweek Activities Guide. The guide, available
at www.spaceweek.org, includes science and math activities using the
excitement of space that can be easily tailored by K-12 teachers.
*** Book Reviews ***
by Jeff Foust
Just Visiting This Planet
Just Visiting This Planet: Merlin Answers More Questions About
Everything Under the Sun, Moon, and Stars
by Neil de Grasse Tyson
Main Street Books (Doubleday), 1998
softcover, 336 pp., illus.
ISBN 0-385-48837-8
US$12.95/C$17.95
Since the late 1970s Stardate, a magazine published by the
McDonald Observatory of the University of Texas, has featured a
question-and-answer column written by "Merlin", an omniscient visitor
from the Andromeda Galaxy. Since 1983 the column has been written by
Neil de Grasse Tyson, now the director of the Hayden Planetarium in
New York City. "Just Visiting This Planet" is a collection of
Merlin's answers to a variety of questions about all aspects of
astronomy.
The answers here range from a couple of pages down to a single
word ("No"), providing just enough information to answer the questions
without going to excessive detail. The writing style is intended to
be witty, and it succeeds, although it can excessively flip (like the
several single-word answers.) Most of the topics covered in the book
are pretty basic, if frequently-asked, but for someone looking for
witty, readable answers to astronomy questions, "Just Visiting This
Planet" will be an enlightening read.
Two Physics Books
Time: A Traveler's Guide
by Clifford A. Pickover
Oxford University Press, 1998
hardcover, 285pp., illus.
ISBN 0-19-512042-6
US$25.00
Is time travel possible? The question probes the heart of our
understanding -- or lack thereof -- of time and space. Clifford A.
Pickover explores the topic in detail in "Time: A Traveler's Guide".
Using a science-fiction story involving three would-be time travelers
in 21st century New York, Pickover describes the physics which
explains why time travel may or may not be possible. Pickover doesn't
shy away from using physics equations to explain various concepts, but
the dialogue among the characters in the story helps explain the
concepts at a level an interested layman can understand. You'll be no
closer to building a time machine at the end of this book, but you'll
have a good feel for the various physics concepts behind time and
space.
Geons, Black Holes, and Quantum Foam: A Life in Physics
by John Archibald Wheeler with Kenneth Ford
W. W. Norton, 1998
hardcover, 380pp., illus.
ISBN 0-393-04602-7
US$27.95/C$39.99
John Archibald Wheeler is probably best known for the name he
gave to a body with gravity so strong that not even light can escape:
a "black hole". However, Wheeler has played a key role in physics
throughout the 20th century, from this work on the Manhattan Project
to various topics in physics research. This autobiography provides a
somewhat non-linear look at his life -- starting with his work shortly
before and during the war, before going back to his childhood -- and
his research. Anyone interested in Wheeler's life and work will find
this book a must-read.
*** NSS News ***
Upcoming Boston NSS Events
Thursday, October 15, 7:30pm
545 Main Street, Cambridge (Tech Square), 8th floor
"Mission Control Cambridge: NASA's New X-Ray Telescope"
by Jonathan McDowell, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
The Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility is NASA's next Great
Observatory. It is scheduled to be launched on the Shuttle in early
1999 and will provide the sharpest ever pictures of stars and galaxies
seen in X-rays. AXAF will be controlled and operated by the AXAF
Science Center, from a mission control center in Kendall Square,
Cambridge. Astronomers from all over the world have already planned
observations for the first year of AXAF operations.
Boston NSS September Lecture Summary
by Lynn Olson
Chris Carberry, a driving force behind the new NSS Speakers
bureau, presented "Space: A Revolution About to Begin" at the
September meeting of the Boston Chapter of the National Space Society.
The main points were: (1) how space technology affects us now on
earth, (2) private ventures, (3) public ventures (e.g. NASA), (4)
obstacles to the advancement of the space cause, and (5) speculation
about the future.
The space progam has produced technology which effects us
every day, such as medical diagnostics and smoke detectors. NASA
estimates there are over 30,000 spin offs from the space program which
are used in the general economy. One study estimates that we have
gotten back $15 in benefits for every dollar expended in the space
progam.
Private ventures are the way that space directly enters the
economy. In addition to the major aerospace companies there are a
variety of small companies entering the space marketplace with
innovative technologies which may greatly lower the cost of doing
business in space. The CATS (Cheap Access to Space) prize and X-Prize
provide encouragement for some of these efforts. The satellite
communications industry seems to be exploding with ventures put
forward by Bill Gates and Craig McCaw, Motorola, and others.
With the advance of private industry, what is the role of NASA
or other publicly funded organizations? One is to push the
technological envelope, to test technology which may be too risky for
private enterprise, such as single state to orbit vehicles. Another
is to explore, to satisfy human curiosity. Missions to Mars,
telescopes to peer deep into the past, and other scientific missions
fit this mold.
Some of the primary obstacles to space advances are
regulatory, especially the impact on space business as we move out
into space. The "Moon Treaty" makes property rights in space unclear.
While licensing exists for launch of commercial space vehicles, there
has been no provision for return, making it difficult for companies
developing reusable launch vehicles
Kistler, in fact, is starting its testing program in Australia
because of this issue. Space enthusiasts need to make their opinions
on regulations known to people in the government.
This talk is one which may be given to local groups to promote
the visibility of space in the community. The NSS Speaker's Bureau
is looking for volunteers to call libraries to set up talks, support
speakers at talks, and to give talks to local groups. Other talks with
slides have also been prepared.
*** Regular Features ***
Jonathan's Space Report No. 373
by Jonathan McDowell
[Ed. Note: Go to http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~jcm/space/jsr/jsr.html for
back issues and other information about Jonathan's Space Report.]
Shuttle and Mir
Gennadiy Padalka and Sergey Avdeev have completed one month in space,
continuing their mission on the Mir orbital station. On Sep 15 they put
on spacesuits, depressurized the PKhO compartment of the Mir core module
and entered Spektr at 2000 UTC. They reconnected some cables for the
solar panel steering mechanism and closed the hatch at 2030 UTC.
The PKhO was then repressurized.
Discovery has been connected to the external tank and boosters in
High Bay 1 of the Vehicle Assembly Building. It was rolled out
to pad 39B on Sep 21.
Recent Launches
* Ariane launches PAS 7
Arianespace successfully launched an Ariane 44LP rocket on Sep 16,
placing the PAS 7 satellite in orbit. PAS-7 was built by Space
Systems/Loral and is a FS-1300 class satellite with 14 C-band and 30
Ku-band transponders. It is owned by Panamsat, whose Galaxy 10 satellite
was destroyed in an Aug 27 launch failure. The Ariane 44LP has two
solid PAP boosters and two liquid PAL boosters attached to the Ariane 4
first stage. The H-10-3 liquid hydrogen fuelled third stage completed
its burn 18 min after launch. The PAS 7 satellite separated 21 min after
launch into a supersynchronous 140 x 54755 x 7.0 deg transfer orbit - I
believe this is the first time that an Ariane launch has used the
supersynchronous technique. On Sep 18, PAS 7 was in a 10082 x 54599 km x
2.2 deg orbit after initial burns of its Marquardt R-4D liquid apogee
motor.
PAS series satellites:
Type Launch v. Launch date 1998 position
PAS 1 GE Series 3000 Ariane 4 1988 Jun 15 Atlantic 44.9W
PAS 2 Hughes HS-601 Ariane 4 1994 Jul 8 Pacific 169.0E
PAS 3 Hughes HS-601 Ariane 4 1994 Dec 1 Launch failure
PAS 4 Hughes HS-601 Ariane 4 1995 Aug 3 Indian 68.5E
PAS 3R Hughes HS-601 Ariane 4 1996 Jan 12 Indian 91.5E
PAS 6 Loral FS-1300 Ariane 4 1996 Aug 8 Atlantic 43.2W
PAS 5 Hughes HS-601HP Proton 1997 Aug 28 Atlantic 58.0W
PAS 7 Loral FS-1300 Ariane 4 1998 Sep 16 Indian 68.5E
(planned)
* Orbital Sciences launches Orbcomms
Eight more Orbcomm satellites were launched on Sep 23. The Orbital
Sciences L-1011 Stargazer aircraft took off from Wallops Flight Facility
at 1610 UTC and flew to the drop point at around 37.0N 72.0W. 12 km over
the Atlantic Ocean (this guesstimate location is based on info courtesy
of Keith Stein). The Pegasus XL was dropped at 1706 UTC and the winged
first stage ignited its Alliant solid motor 5 seconds later. The three
solid Pegasus XL stages fired successfully to place the payload stack in
a 254 x 446 km x 45.0 km orbit. The Primex Aerospace HAPS-Lite hydrazine
upper stage then made a burn to increase apogee to around 800 km, and
the stack coasted for about 44 minutes until a second HAPS burn
circularized the orbit. The eight Orbcomm satellites were then deployed
over a 15 minute period into an 810 km near-circular orbit. Finally, the
HAPS stage made a final burn to deplete its fuel, lowering its perigee
by 100 km. The mission profile was similar to previous Orbcomm launches,
except that the Pegasus third stage apogee is significantly lower, with
a correspondingly larger HAPS burn.
* Globalstar failure
In my description of the Zenit launch failure I said that Yuzhnoe
officials provided incorrect information about the progress of the
mission to Globalstar. A more recent Globalstar statement implies that
both Yuzhnoe's and Globalstar's people simply misinterpreted the noisy
data available to them. This is by no means the first time that a launch
success has been announced and later retracted - it happened several
times in the early days of the space program, and more recently the
Landsat 6 satellite was even cataloged by Space Command for a while
before it was discovered to be in a submarine orbit. North Korea,
meanwhile, has not yet acknowledged that its satellite never reached
orbit.
Table of Recent Launches
Date UT Name Launch Vehicle Site Mission
INTL.
DES.
DES.
Aug 2 1624 Orbcomm FM13 ) Pegasus XL Wallops Comsat
46A
Orbcomm FM14 ) Comsat
46B
Orbcomm FM15 ) Comsat
46C
Orbcomm FM16 ) Comsat
46D
Orbcomm FM17 ) Comsat
46E
Orbcomm FM18 ) Comsat
46F
Orbcomm FM19 ) Comsat
46G
Orbcomm FM20 ) Comsat
46H
Aug 12 1130 MERCURY Titan 4A Canaveral SLC41 Sigint
F02
Aug 13 0943 Soyuz TM-28 Soyuz-U Baykonur LC1 Spaceship
47A
Aug 19 2301 Iridium SV03) CZ-2C/SD Taiyuan Comsat
48A
Iridium SV76) Comsat
48B
Aug 25 2307 ST-1 Ariane 44P Kourou Comsat
49A
Aug 27 0117 Galaxy X Delta III Canaveral SLC17B Comsat
F03
Aug 30 0031 Astra 2A Proton Baykonur Comsat
50A
Aug 31 0307 Kwangmyongsong 1 Taepo Dong Musudan Test
F04
Sep 8 2113 Iridium SV77) Delta 7920 Vandenberg SLC2 Comsat
51E
Iridium SV79) Comsat
51D
Iridium SV80) Comsat
51C
Iridium SV81) Comsat
51B
Iridium SV82) Comsat
51A
Sep 9 2029 Globalstar FM5 ) Zenit-2 Baykonur Comsat
F05
Globalstar FM7 ) Comsat
F05
Globalstar FM9 ) Comsat
F05
Globalstar FM10) Comsat
F05
Globalstar FM11) Comsat
F05
Globalstar FM12) Comsat
F05
Globalstar FM13) Comsat
F05
Globalstar FM16) Comsat
F05
Globalstar FM17) Comsat
F05
Globalstar FM18) Comsat
F05
Globalstar FM20) Comsat
F05
Globalstar FM21) Comsat
F05
Sep 16 0631 PAS 7 Ariane 44LP Kourou Comsat
52A
Sep 23 0506 Orbcomm FM21 ) Pegasus XL/HAPS Wallops I Comsat
53A
Orbcomm FM22 ) Comsat
53B
Orbcomm FM23 ) Comsat
53C
Orbcomm FM24 ) Comsat
53D
Orbcomm FM25 ) Comsat
53E
Orbcomm FM26 ) Comsat
53F
Orbcomm FM27 ) Comsat
53G
Orbcomm FM28 ) Comsat
53H
Current Shuttle Processing Status
_________________________________
Orbiters Location Mission Launch Due
OV-102 Columbia OPF Bay 3 STS-93 Jan ?
OV-103 Discovery LC39B STS-95 Oct 29
OV-104 Atlantis Palmdale OMDP
OV-105 Endeavour OPF Bay 1 STS-88 Dec 3?
MLP2/RSRM-68/ET-98/OV-103 LC39B STS-95
Space Calendar
by Ron Baalke
[Ed. Note: visit http://newproducts.jpl.nasa.gov/calendar/ for the
complete calendar]
Oct ?? - Kitt Peak National Observatory's 40th Birthday (1958)
Oct ?? - Space Memorabilia Auction, Beverly Hills, California
Oct 01 - Asteroid 236 Honoria at Opposition (10.5 Magnitude)
Oct 01 - Asteroid 1998 SG2 Near-Earth Flyby (0.217 AU)
Oct 01 - Kuiper Belt Object 1992 QB1 at Opposition (39.906 AU - 23.1
Magnitude)
Oct 01 - NASA's 40th Birthday (1958)
Oct 01-03 - 1998 National Aerospace Conference, Dayton, Ohio
Oct 01-03 - Pushing The Envelope III: From The Mountains Of Earth To The
Mountains Of The Moon, Houston,
Texas
Oct 02 - STEX/ATEx Taurus Launch
Oct 02 - Meteorite Lecture, Greenbelt, Maryland
Oct 02 - 4th Annual Toys, Games and Multimedia Workshop: Playing Among The
Planets 98, Pasadena, California
Oct 02-03 - Astro Assembly 98, North Scituate, Rhode Island
Oct 03 - Asteroid 1998 QO52 Closest Approach To Earth (0.489 AU)
Oct 04 - Moon Occults Jupiter
Oct 04 - Asteroid 185 Eunike at Opposition (10.9 Magnitude)
Oct 04 - Asteroid 532 Herculina at Opposition (10.7 Magnitude)
Oct 04 - Asteroid 1998 ST27 Near-Earth Flyby (0.220 AU)
Oct 04 - Kuiper Belt Object 1993 SB at Opposition (30.112 AU - 22.9
Magnitude)
Oct 04 - Great Debate In 1998: The Nature Of The Universe, Washington DC
Oct 04-09 - Optical/IR Interferometry Workshop, Flagstaff, Arizona
Oct 05 - Asteroid 14 Irene at Opposition (10.6 Magnitude)
Oct 05 - Asteroid 6852 (1985 CN2) Closest Approach To Earth (1.334 AU)
Oct 05 - Asteroid 1997 WU22 Closest Approach To Earth (1.353 AU)
Oct 05 - Venus Revealed Lecture, New York, New York
Oct 05-07 - Workshop on Emerging Scatterometer Applications, Noordwijk, The
Netherlands
Oct 05-07 - 5th International Conference On Remote Sensing for Marine and
Coastal Environments, San Diego,
California
Oct 05-07 - Bulges Mini-Workshop: When And How Do Bulges Form and Evolve?,
Baltimore, Maryland
Oct 05-09 - Solar Wind 9 Conference, Nantucket, Massachusetts
Oct 06 - Comet P/1998 QP54 Perihelion (1.885 AU)
Oct 06 - Kuiper Belt Object 1996 RQ20 at Opposition (38.550 AU - 22.9
Magnitude)
Oct 07 - Eutelsat-W2/ Sirius-3 Ariane 4 Launch
Oct 07 - Asteroid 1998 SB15 Near-Earth Flyby (0.127 AU)
Oct 07 - Asteroid 5255 Johnsophie Closest Approach To Earth (1.746 AU)
Oct 07 - Kuiper Belt Object 1997 SZ10 at Opposition (30.617 AU - 23.5
Magnitude)
Oct 07 - Kuiper Belt Object 1995 QZ9 at Opposition (33.987 AU - 22.9
Magnitude)
Oct 08 - Hot Bird 5 Atlas 2AS Launch
Oct 08 - Asteroid 1998 PG Near-Earth Flyby (0.247 AU)
Oct 08 - Asteroid 5051 (1984 SM) Closest Approach To Earth (1.116 AU)
Oct 08 - Ejnar Hertzsprung's 125th Birthday (1873)
Oct 08-11 - 5th Annual Enchanted Skies Star Party, Socorro, New Mexico
Oct 09 - Moon Occults Aldebaran (Daylight Occultation)
Oct 09 - Draconids Meteor Shower Peak
Oct 09 - Asteroid 1998 QC1 Near-Earth Flyby (0.181 AU)
Oct 09 - Kuiper Belt Object 1996 SZ4 at Opposition (29.285 AU - 22.7
Magnitude)
Oct 09 - Radarsat Lecture, Greenbelt, Maryland
Oct 09-11 - 7th Space Frontier Conference, Los Angeles, California
Oct 10 - Comet McNaught-Hughes Closest Approach to Earth (1.707 AU)
Oct 10 - 15th Anniversary (1983), Venera 15 Venus Orbit Insertion
Oct 11 - Asteroid 1994 TF2 Near-Earth Flyby (0.275 AU)
Oct 11 - Asteroid 1998 FR11 Near-Earth Flyby (0.346 AU)
Oct 11 - Asteroid 1620 Geographos Closest Approach To Earth (1.011 AU)
Oct 11 - Asteroid 6904 (1990 QW1) Closest Approach To Earth (1.294 AU)
Oct 11 - Asteroid 5731 Zeus Closest Approach To Earth (1.610 AU)
Oct 11 - 30th Anniversary (1968), Apollo 7 Launch
Oct 11 - Wilhelm Olbers' 240th Birthday (1758)
Oct 11-16 - 30th Annual Meeting Of the Division For Planetary Sciences,
Madison, Wisconsin
Oct 12 - Mars Polar Lander Arrives At Kennedy Space Center
Oct 12 - Asteroid 1990 BA Closest Approach To Earth (0.815 AU)
Oct 12 - Asteroid 6020 Miyamoto Closest Approach To Earth (1.219 AU)
Oct 12-14 - 9th Annual October Astrophysics Conference, College Park,
Maryland
Oct 12-16 - Workshop On Dust In The Interstellar Medium, Bern, Switzerland
Oct 13 - Asteroid 1998 QP63 Near-Earth Flyby (0.392 AU)
Oct 13 - Asteroid 1998 RR2 Closest Approach To Earth (0.584 AU)
Oct 13 - Asteroid 7655 Adamries Closest Approach To Earth (1.412 AU)
Oct 13 - British Interplanetary Society's 65th Birthday (1933)
Oct 14 - NEAR, Trajectory Correction Maneuver #15 (TCM-15)
Oct 14 - Comet Lovas 1 Perihelion (1.692 AU)
Oct 14 - Asteroid 1036 Ganymed Closest Approach To Earth (0.464 AU)
Oct 14 - Asteroid 1998 ST4 Closest Approach To Earth (0.947 AU)
Oct 14 - Asteroid 6893 (1983 RS3) Closest Approach To Earth (1.222 AU)
Oct 14 - 15th Anniversary (1983), Venera 16 Venus Orbit Insertion
Oct 14-16 - ESO Conference on Chemical Evolution From Zero to High Redshift,
Garching, Germany
Oct 14-16 - 9th International Conference On Adaptive Structures and
Technologies, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Oct 14-16 - Inspection 98, Houston, Texas
Oct 15 - Asteroid 6047 (1991 TB1) Near-Earth Flyby (0.375 AU)
Oct 15 - Comet C/1998 M6 (Montani) Perihelion (5.970 AU)
Oct 15 - STARDUST Lecture, Pasadena, California
Oct 15 - Chuck Yeager Lecture, Washington DC
Oct 15-20 -[Sep 25] Mid-Atlantic Star Party, Central North Carolina
Oct 16 - Moon Occults Mars
Oct 16 - Comet Klemola Closest Approach to Earth (1.522 AU)
Oct 16 - Asteroid 4339 Almamater Closest Approach To Earth (0.816 AU)
Oct 16 - STARDUST Lecture, Pasadena, California
Oct 16 - Aerosels And Climate Lecture, Greenbelt, Maryland
Oct 16-18 - 20th Custer Astronomy Jamboree, Southold, New York
Oct 17 - Iridium 11 Delta 2 Launch
Oct 17 - Comet C/1998 P1 (Williams) Perihelion (1.162 AU)
Oct 17 - Asteroid 44 Nysa at Opposition (9.8 Magnitude)
Oct 18 - Asteroid 1998 OX4 Near-Earth Flyby (0.177 AU)
Oct 18 - 5th Anniversary (1993), STS-58 Launch, Space Lab Sciences 2
Oct 18-25 - 15th Annual Okie-Tex Star Party, Fort Davis, Texas
Oct 19 - UHF-F9 Atlas 2A Launch
Oct 19-22 - 1st International Conference On Mars Polar Science and
Exploration, Houston, Texas
Oct 19-23 - Chapman Conference On Space Based Radio Observations at Long
Wavelengths, Paris, France
Oct 20 - ARD/ MAQSAT 3 Ariane 503 Launch
Oct 20 - Asteroid 1991 PM5 Closest Approach To Earth (0.951 AU)
Oct 20 - Asteroid 7006 (1981 ER31) Closest Approach To Earth (1.615 AU)
Oct 20 - Kuiper Belt Object 1996 TP66 at Opposition (25.403 AU - 20.7
Magnitude)
Oct 20-22 - Workshop On Space Exploration and Resources Exploitation
(ExploSpace), Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy
Oct 20-23 - International Conference On The Universe As Seen By ISO, Paris,
France
Oct 21 - Globalstar-4 Zenit 2 Launch
Oct 21 - Orionids Meteor Shower Peak
Oct 21 - Asteroid 1996 TR6 Closest Approach To Earth (0.586 AU)
Oct 21 - Asteroid 457 Alleghenia Closest Approach To Earth (1.552 AU)
Oct 21-23 - 2nd International Workshop On The Retrieval of Bio- and
Geo-Physical Parameters From SAR Data For
Land Applications, Noordwijk, The Netherlands
Oct 21-23 - Remote Sensing Applications Conference, Logan, Utah
Oct 22 - SCD-2/Wing Glove Pegasus XL Launch
Oct 22 - Asteroid 409 Aspasia Occults SAO 75073 (9.9 Magnitude Star)
Oct 22 - Kuiper Belt Object 1996 TQ66 at Opposition (33.604 AU - 21.9
Magnitude)
Oct 22-24 - EVN/JIVE VLBI Symposium #4, Dwingleoo, The Netherlands
Oct 23 - Saturn at Opposition
Oct 23 - Asteroid 6841 Gottfriedkirch Closest Approach To Earth (1.585 AU)
Oct 23-24 - Workship On TeV Astrophysics On Extragalactic Sources,
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Oct 23-25 - Blackwater Falls Astronomy Weekend, Davis, West Virginia
Oct 24 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #55 (OTM-55)
Oct 24 - Asteroid 1998 SU27 Near-Earth Flyby (0.112 AU)
Oct 24 - Asteroid 1998 SC15 Near-Earth Flyby (0.314 AU)
Oct 24 - Mars Exploration Teachers Workshop, Pasadena, California
Oct 25 - Deep Space 1 Delta 2 Launch
Oct 25 - Daylight Savings - Set Clock Back 1 Hour (USA)
Oct 25 - Asteroid 106 Dione at Opposition (10.7 Magnitude)
Oct 25 - Asteroid 2099 Opik Closest Approach To Earth (0.492 AU)
Oct 26 - Asteroid 20 Massalia at Opposition (8.8 Magnitude)
Oct 26 - Asteroid 674 Rachele at Opposition (11.0 Magnitude)
Oct 26-29 - Annual Meeting Of The Geological Society Of America, Toronto,
Canada
Oct 26-29 - 34th International Telemetering Conference, San Diego,
California
Oct 26-29 - 20th Space Simulation Conference, Annapolis, Maryland
Oct 26-30 - 6th Huntsville Modeling Workshop: The New Millennium
Magnetosphere, Guntersville, Alabama
Oct 27 - Asteroid 1998 QK56 Near-Earth Flyby (0.285 AU)
Oct 27 - Asteroid 1989 NA Closest Approach To Earch (1.524 AU)
Oct 27 - 25th Anniversary (1973), Canon City Meteorite Fall (Hit Garage)
Oct 27-30 - Symposium On Solar Physics With Radio Observations, Kiyosato,
Japan
Oct 28 - Asteroid 7358 (1995 YA3) Closest Approach to Earth (0.438 AU)
Oct 28 - Asteroid 1508 Kemi Closest Approach to Earth (1.201 AU)
Oct 28-29 - First International Workshop On Radiowave Propagation Modelling
For SatComm Services at Ku-Band
and Above, Noordwijk, The Netherlands
Oct 28-30 - Defense & Civil Space Programs Conference, Huntsville, Alabama
Oct 29 - STS-95 Launch, Discovery, Spacehab-SM
Oct 29 - Progress M-40/Znamya-2.5 Soyuz U Launch (Russia)
Oct 29 - Tethys Occults PPM 145101 (6.6 Magnitude Star)
Oct 29 - Comet C/1998 M1 (LINEAR) Perihelion (3.110 AU)
Oct 29 - Asteroid 1994 TA Closest Approach to Earth (15.923 AU - 23.7
Magnitude)
Oct 29-Nov 01 - 8th Annual Meeting Of The American Association Of Variable
Star Observers (AAVSO), Cambridge,
Massachusetts
Oct 30 - Fengyun-1C Long March 4B Launch (China)
Oct 30 - Afristar/ GE-5 Ariane 4 Launch
Oct 30 - Kuiper Belt Object 1996 TL66 at Opposition (34.099 AU - 20.4
Magnitude)
Oct 30 - Mars Pathfinder Lecture, Greenbelt, Maryland
Oct 30-31 - NOAA Meeting On Satellites In Our Everyday World, Seattle,
Washington
Oct 31 - Moon Occults Jupiter
Oct 31 - Asteroid 6 Hebe Occults GSC 6255-1346 (9.2 Magnitude Star)
Oct 31-Nov 06 - IEEE/AIAA Digital Avionics Systems Conference, Bellevue,
Washington
==================================
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