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March 30, 2005

2005 Science Fiction Writing Competition

Please let your chapter members know about this writing competition for young people!

To: National Space Society Chapter Presidents
From: Amanda Moore, NSS Representative to the United Nations
(moore.al@usa.net)
Re: Science Fiction Writing Competition for 12-14 year olds and 15-17 year
olds


At the request of NSS Executive Director George Whitesides, I am the “national Focal Point” for NSS for the science fiction writing competition held by EURISYS, in cooperation with NAROM (the Norwegian Centre for Space-Related Education) and UNESCO. There are two competitions: one for 12-14 year olds and 15-17 year olds. The deadline for entries is May 15th, 2005. George wants to make this competition as big as possible, so we hope you will take the following steps to help get the word out:

1. Contact local junior high and high schools, tell them about the competition and forward the 2-page “Science Fiction Writing Competition” from Eurisys to them by fax or email. It is available from www.eurisy.asso.fr by clicking on the box with the same title.
2. Let the schools know that the best story in each group submitted to NSS by May 15th will be awarded the first prize of $500.00. 2nd and 3rd consolation prizes in each age group will also be awarded.
3. Make follow-up calls to the schools encouraging the participation of their students.

Please email me if you have any questions or need additional information. Please also share any ideas for further publicity.

Thank you in advance for your efforts.

Posted by apsmith at 04:13 PM | Comments (1)

March 17, 2005

2005 Space Legislative Conference

From Cliff McMurray:

Dear Fellow NSS Leader,

Please share the following message with your chapter members, and anyone else in the space advocacy community you think might be interested, as soon as possible.


INVITATION TO ALL NSS CHAPTER MEMBERS

I’m writing to invite you to join us in Washington on May 17-18 to carry our pro-space message directly to your Senators and Congressmen. At the National Space Society's Third Annual Legislative Conference, we will visit the offices of your U.S. Representatives and Senators, and speak with them directly on the importance of space development and access. As citizen lobbyists, we will represent the members of NSS and other citizens concerned with our future in space, presenting specific proposals for legislation and funding that will bring the creation of a spacefaring civilization closer to reality. The greater our participation, the more seriously our representatives will take our concerns and recommendations.

The NSS Legislative Conference is your opportunity to actively participate in your country's government, supporting budget decisions and legislative action that affect what you really care about. Registration for this event is $50 until May 1, $75 thereafter, and $25 for students. More information, and the registration form, can be found at www.nss.org/legislative/

We’ve scheduled this event in conjunction with the NSS annual conference, so that you can combine trips and also see Burt Rutan and the many other space leaders scheduled for the 2005 International Space Development Conference. (More info on that below).

In the past two years, we’ve seen more progress on space issues in Congress than we’ve seen in many years. NASA finally has a mandate to break humans out of low earth orbit and send them once again on great exploratory voyages to the Moon and Mars, and on into interplanetary space. Equally important, legislation has been passed that will give the fledgling space tourism industry the stable legal platform, and the freedom from excessive regulation, that it will need to open up access to space all of us, not just the fortunate few who manage to get their astronaut wings from NASA. We have more reason to hope for a bright future in space than we’ve had in a very long time. And all this progress is due in no small measure to the fact that the members of NSS and other space advocacy groups made their voices heard. In our prior Legislative Conferences, we've visited the offices of hundreds of Senators and Congressmen, and told them how important their support for this legislation was.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that the gains we’ve made still stand on very shaky footing, and could yet be reversed. Congress is looking at record deficits, and looking for places to cut the federal budget that will provoke the least outcry from their constituents. The NASA budget has historically been one of those “safe” places to make cuts. We need to make certain that NASA’s new mandate doesn’t get derailed before the ink is even dry on the first paper studies to turn it into reality. But saving the NASA budget isn’t enough. Space must be opened up to commercial activity that will lower the cost of access to everyone, so we also need to make certain that the Congressmen who want tighter regulation of commercial launchers don’t manage to pass legislation that will strangle the space tourism industry before the first paying passenger ever gets off the ground. Finally, we must make sure Congress takes steps to involve the private sector in NASA’s Moon-Mars initiative.

The fight for a wider, brighter future for humanity in space goes on. In addition to overcoming the force of gravity, to get off the earth we also need to beat the force of bureaucracy. We need your help in that fight. And there’s an additional incentive for you to join us in Washington this year. Stay for the rest of the week, and you can participate in the 2005 International Space Development Conference. Speakers at this year’s ISDC include X-Prize winner Burt Rutan, NASA Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems Rear Admiral Craig Steidle, Virgin Galactic President Will Whitehorn, Aldridge Commission member Dr. Paul Spudis, X-Prize Foundation and Zero-Gravity Corp. founder Dr. Peter Diamandis, Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart, Sea Launch LLC President Jim Maser, and many more. For more information about ISDC, visit http://isdc.nss.org/2005/

I know you’re as committed as I am to the cause of a spacefaring civilization. Aside from being humanity’s best hope for a prosperous future, there’s no greater adventure. Join me in Washington, and we’ll make that message heard on Capitol Hill.

Cliff McMurray
2005 Legislative Conference Chairman

Posted by apsmith at 03:01 PM

March 09, 2005

New NASA Public Service Announcement

The following has been released by NASA:

http://anon.nasa-global.speedera.net/anon.nasa-global/exploration/Reach.mpg

- it's a 30 second clip for "Moon, Mars and Beyond". Consider it for your next public display or chapter meeting!

Posted by apsmith at 07:11 AM

March 03, 2005

April 12th 2005 - Yuri's Night, Free Registration for NSS Chapters

Check out this quarter's issue of Ad Astra to see NSS's support of Yuri's Night, a 5 year old effort to have people around the world celebating space every April 12th!  This email is to invite all NSS chapters to join the party and host a social, dance party or a star party in your city!  We already have events in 22 cities in 11 countries including the Seattle Space Needle and at the Outpost- (the famed Astronaut bar) in Houston.  Go to www.yurisnight.net to learn more about this exciting new event. This year Yuri's Night will be bigger and better then ever!  We have a bunch of new party organizers and some exciting radio, entertainment and give away possibilities in the works!

Register now as an official party and get your dot on the party map, full access to our on-line Mission Control Center (MCC), advice for how to throw a party, monthly organizer chats on the 1st Tuesday of the month and eligibility for giveaways and prizes.  All NSS chapter events will have their $25 registration fee waived through the generosity of a grant from NSS HQ. 

Just reply to this email with your name, city, and email address (plus any details on what you are planning) and we will add you to the party!

TO REGISTER: Answer the questions at the bottom of this email and send it back to sandra@yurisnight.net to get added to the list. Then, we will send you your log in and password to the Mission Control Center (mcc.yurisnight.net), where you can fill in details about your party as they become available!!!

Loretta Hidalgo

PS special shout out to Larry Evans and the OCSS, who have been supporting Yuri's Night LA since 2001!

---------------------------Fill out and return to sandra@spacegen.org -------------------------

Party Information (required)

Organizer's Name:

E-mail address:

Desired new/Current MCC user name:

City:

State/Province:

Country:

Plans or ideas for your event:

 

Expected number of participants:   2-50        50-500        500+

Posted by apsmith at 04:16 PM