Minutes of ERPS General Meeting #266
21 August 2003
The President called the meeting to order at 8:25 PM. Members present were
Stewart Cobb, Sean Lynch, David Masten, Pierce Nichols, Michael Wallis and
Chris Winter.
Reports and discussion on agenda items were as follows:
DOCUMENTATION
-------------
Chris Winter
Nothing to report
INFOTECH
--------
Sean Lynch
Nothing to report
LIAISONS
--------
Michael Wallis
Drew Miller, of Concord, CA, sent in a participating membership. He had
earlier made a $50 donation.
Michael will probably not be able to attend the October COMSTAC meeting
due to workload. Dave M does plan to attend.
The California Space Authority sent the usual materials. Budgets are a
concern, since they are being constricted by the stagnant economy -- as are
we all.
Michael will be flying to Toronto for Worldcon soon. He still has no
definite schedule for his talk, but he will work something out.
LOGISTICS
---------
Sean Lynch
Nothing to report
PUBLIC AFFAIRS
--------------
Michael Wallis
Nothing to report
TREASURER
---------
Rick Eversole
We have money.
CHIEF SCIENTIST
---------------
Kevin Bollinger
Nothing to report
FLIGHT CONTROLS
---------------
Dave Masten
Nothing to report
PROPELLANTS/SPARGER/FF
----------------------
Pierce Nichols
Dave W's Teacart FF apparatus is achieving lower temperatures, approaching
the optimum 40 degrees below zero.
REGULATORY
AFFAIRS
-------
Dave Weinshenker
Nothing to report
SAFETY
------
Dave Masten
Safety is AOK.
TESTING
-------
Dave Masten
The test stand at the Rocket Ranch is rready to go.
The new data acquisition system has been put into the yellow box.
The kernel for the DAS software has to be recompiled for (version?) 586,
versus 686.
**** PROJECTS
Composites
----------
Kevin Bollinger
Nothing to report
Gizmocopter
-----------
Dave Masten
See Flight Controls, above.
KISS
----
Dan Solvin
Nothing to report
POGO
----
Dave Masten
The Solidworks model is complete. The vehicle's weight budget still has a
couple of pounds to spare.
Dave M raised a concern about engine throttling.
SMARTFLIGHT
-----------
Dave Weinshenker
Someone mentioned that a Web site <lunar.org> -- if it still exists --
carries a list of launches in the Bay Area.
Spike
-----
Sean Lynch
Spike awaits an engine prototype, which is being designed.
New Business
------------
Stewart Cobb gave what amounts to a lecture on GPS technology. Among other
interesting facts, he reported that Serantel (sp?) has teamed up with
another company to introduce a postage-stamp-size GPS receiver.
Once again we are hunting for a new place to hold meetings. We will meet
at Austin's again, but the consensus was that while the food is still
great, the service has deteriorated to unacceptable levels. Members (or
lurkers) can assist by recommending a restaurant. We need to know:
* Does the restaurant have a separate meeting room which can be closed
off by a curtain or door so that we can converse easily. (Absent this,
since it is not a common feature, is there a quiet area of the main
room?)
* Is there a surcharge for reserving the meeting room (if there is one)
or a gratuity added to the bill for low numbers of people? If so, how
much?
* Is the location accessible? Ideally, it would be near an expressway
near the middle of the Bay Area (frex 101 on the Peninsula) and have
plenty of parking.
* Are the prices reasonable? In this context, reasonable means about
$10 for a sandwich and drink, less than $25 for a full dinner with
dessert.
* Do they -- without having "relatiffs now livink in Nazi Chermany" --
provide a separate check for each individual?
Meeting #266 adjourned (at 9:10 PM, IIRC). The next meeting will take place
21 August 2003 at Austin's, 1616 West El Camino Real, Mountain View. To
reach it, take 101 to Shoreline Blvd. Follow Shoreline west to El Camino
Real. Turn right and go past four streets. Mariposa is the fourth; Austin's
is right on the corner.
Respectfully submitted,
Chris Winter
Secretary, ERPS
+++ PLEASE ADVISE THE SECRETARY OF ANY ADDITIONS OR CORRECTIONS TO THESE
MINUTES +++
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