Minutes of ERPS General Meeting #283
27 May 2004
THIS MEETING WAS POSTPONED ONE WEEK beyond the normal date because key
members were in Washington, DC for COMSTAC.
The President called the meeting to order at 8:40 PM. Members present were
Rick Eversole, Sean Lynch, Dave Masten, Pierce Nichols, Gerald Nordley,
Adrian Tymes, Michael Wallis, David Weinshenker, and Chris Winter.
Reports and discussion on agenda items were as follows:
DOCUMENTATION
-------------
Chris Winter
A correction to entry in previous minutes: Henry Spencer paid for his 2004
CD-ROM.
Nothing else to report
INFOTECH
--------
Sean Lynch
Nothing to report
LIAISONS
--------
Michael Wallis
The ERPS party at Baycon will take place Friday night. Pierce will run it,
with Adrian helping out.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS
--------------
Michael Wallis
COMSTAC reports:
Pierce reported that, because the current method of calculating expected
casualty value ("E-sub-c") is less than optimum, the FAA is considering
changing to a better method.
Michael reported that HR 3752, The Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act
of 2004, passed the House of Representatives in March on a 400:1 vote.
(There was no commentary about the lone dissenter.) The companion Senate
bill, S1260, was reported out of committee but is currently stalled on the
floor. Supporters hope to get it passed by the full Senate before the
session ends in July.
There is a variety of AST documents available. A report on the suborbital
market is currently being prepared.
NASA's Centennial Challenges panel meets June 15-16. The members want to
talk about the ERPS F.A.S.T. concept, having heard about it recently from
several quarters.
Michael will probably be contributing to one of the COMSTAC subcomittees.
TREASURER
---------
Rick Eversole
Rick needs estimated budgets from all project leads ASAP so he can prepare
the overall budget for next fiscal year.
He is working to complete this year's annual report so it can be published
on the Web site.
CHIEF SCIENTIST
---------------
Kevin Bollinger
Nothing to report
FLIGHT CONTROLS
---------------
Dave Masten
See the entry for Gizmocopter.
PROPELLANTS/SPARGER/FF
----------------------
Pierce Nichols
Dave W reported that Freezewheel Mark I assembly is nearly complete, and
he has an oscillator to drive the stepper motor(s) running.
REGULATORY
AFFAIRS
-------
Dave Weinshenker
Nothing to report
SAFETY
------
Dave Masten
Safety is AOK.
TESTING
-------
Dave Masten
Pierce will deliver a report at the next meeting on the status of our
facilities at the Rocket Ranch.
**** PROJECTS
Composites
----------
Kevin Bollinger
Nothing to report
Gizmocopter
-----------
Dave Masten
Dave M can reliably communicate with the IMU now. The problem was timing:
Poll requests were being sent too often. Unable to complete its reply, the
IMU would hang or otherwise discombobulate.
A build server is being assembled to facilitate code compilation, and Dave
M is designing a graphical interface for the users (GIFTU).
KISS
----
Dan Solvin
Nothing to report
POGO
----
Dave Masten
Nothing to report
SMARTFLIGHT
-----------
Dave Weinshenker
A L.U.N.A.R. launch will take place Saturday at Livermore, one-thousand-
foot ceiling notwithstanding.
Spike
-----
Sean Lynch
Nothing to report
NEW BUSINESS
============
Based on his participation in Stratofox, Sean delivered a report on the
recent CSXT launch of a 21-foot tall, 10-inch diameter rocket called
GoFast. The rocket reached a confirmed height of 77 miles, making it the
first amateur rocket flight to reach space. It ended up with all 42 inches
of its nosecone buried in a talus slope. However, there was not much damage
and all equipment was recovered intact. A good summary of the mission is on
the ARRL Web site. (See the ERPS list for URL.) Also, there will most
likely be a documentary soon. Stratofox significantly enhanced its
reputation with this tracking job.
Meeting #283 adjourned at 9:40 PM. The next meeting will take place on 3
June at the Denny's on Bowers Avenue in Santa Clara. Watch the list for
full driving directions.
Respectfully submitted,
Chris Winter
Secretary, ERPS
+++ PLEASE ADVISE THE SECRETARY OF ANY ADDITIONS OR CORRECTIONS TO THESE
MINUTES +++
_______________________________________________
ERPS-list mailing list
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://lists.erps.org/mailman/listinfo/erps-list
