Join us for our Monthly NSS North Houston Space Society (http://NorthHoustonSpace.org) meeting. Connect with others who are excited about exploring the cosmos, learning how to use the resources of space to improve human life, and who want to go and spread humanity to the rest of the universe.

The meeting will be on Saturday, July10, 2021 at 2PM (CDT) ONLINE Via ZOOM:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85216600533

(Our meetings are usually the first Saturday of the month except for July (4th of July), December (library open house), and January (New Years). During January, July, December, the meetings are on the 2nd Saturday of the month.)

Agenda:
2:00 PM – Opening Remarks – Nathan Price
2:10 PM – Recent Space News – Greg Stanley
2:30 PM – Technology Needs and Innovations for Space Exploration – Dr. Kumar Krishen
3:30 PM – Q&A
3:45 PM -Share your personal space experiences since the last meeting. Rocket Launches, Other Meetings, Research, etc.
4:00 PM – End of Meeting

About the Our Featured Speaker: Dr. Kumar Krishen

Dr. Kumar Krishen holds the appointment of Adjunct Professor at the University of Houston, USA, Honorary Distinguished Professor at the Amity University Haryana, India, and Honorary Professor at the Delhi Technological University, India. His academic degrees are from Kansas State University (Ph.D. and M.S.-Phi Kappa Phi, Eta Kappa Nu & Sigma Xi honors), Calcutta University (M. Tech and B. Tech- Gold &   Silver Medals), and Jammu and Kashmir University (B.A.- Highest Univ. Merit) in electronics, electrical engineering, radio physics, physics, and mathematics.  Dr. Krishen taught and guided research at Kansas State University before joining Lockheed in 1969 as Staff Scientist.  Dr. Krishen was with NASA from February 1976 to September 2018 and held key positions in Advanced Programs in Earth Observations, Science Payloads, Experiment Systems, Tracking & Communications, Mission Support, New Initiatives, Exploration Integration and Science and technology research and development.  Dr. Krishen has served as Chief Technologist for Johnson Space Center (JSC) and represented JSC as the Principal Technologist on the NASA Council on Science and Technology. 

Dr. Krishen served at Virginia Tech as University Fellow for Technology Transfer, Office of Special Initiatives, and Visiting Professor on a special NASA assignment.  He has also served as Adjunct Professor at Rice University. Authoring more than 170 technical papers/reports/proceedings, Dr. Krishen is a Fellow of the Society for Design and Process Science (SDPS), Fellow and Distinguished Speaker of the Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers (IETE), and an Assoc. Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).

Dr. Krishen is listed in Who is Who in the World, Who is Who in America, Who is Who in Science and Technology, Men of Achievement, Personalities of America, and 2000 Outstanding People of the 20th Century and was commissioned “Honorary Texan” by Texas Governor Rick Perry in 2001. Dr. Krishen is the recipient of many awards and honors from universities, industry, and NASA including the NASA Exceptional Service Medal.  Dr. Krishen was nominated by Governor George W. Bush and confirmed by the State Senate of Texas to the Texas Board of Licensure for Professional Medical Physicists in 1999 and continued to serve on this Board under Governor Perry’s administration till 2011. 

About the Meeting

Meetings are open to all age groups and interest levels. Come explore with us the potential that developing and exploring space has to better life here on earth and to open up new frontiers creating new perspectives that can help enrich the human experience.

The Vision of NSS is people living and working in thriving communities beyond the Earth, and the use of the vast resources of space for the dramatic betterment of humanity.

The Mission of NSS is to promote social, economic, technological, and political change in order to expand civilization beyond Earth, to settle space and to use the resulting resources to build a hopeful and prosperous future for humanity. Accordingly, we support steps toward this goal, including human spaceflight, commercial space development, space exploration, space applications, space resource utilization, robotic precursors, defense against asteroids, relevant science, and space settlement oriented education.

Website:  http://NorthHoustonSpace.org
MeetUp: https://www.meetup.com/Future-North-Houston-National-Space-Society-Chapter/
FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/NssNorthHoustonSpaceSociety/

Join us for our Monthly NSS North Houston Space Society (http://NorthHoustonSpace.org) meeting. Connect with others who are excited about exploring the cosmos, learning how to use the resources of space to improve human life, and who want to go and spread humanity to the rest of the universe.

The meeting will be on Saturday, June 5, 2021 at 2PM (CDT) ONLINE Via ZOOM:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85216600533

Agenda:
2:00 PM – Opening Remarks – Nathan Price
2:10 PM – Recent Space News – Greg Stanley
2:30 PM – Mahsa Esfandabadi – Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture (SICSA)
3:30 PM – Q&A
3:45 PM -Share your personal space experiences since the last meeting. Rocket Launches, Other Meetings, Research, etc.
4:00 PM – End of Meeting

SICSA BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW

The Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture (SICSA) is a unique research, design, and teaching entity that sponsors and directs the world’s only MS-Space Architecture program. The organization was founded in 1987 with a $3 million endowment gift provided by Japan Shipbuilding Industry Foundation Chairman Ryoichi Sasakawa, the largest foreign gift ever received by the University of Houston. SICSA’s central mission is to plan and implement programs that will advance peaceful and beneficial uses of space and space technology on Earth and beyond. Many of these activities address extreme terrestrial environments. SICSA is internationally recognized for its leadership in the field of space architecture. Numerous SICSA graduates have embarked upon productive and successful careers in government and corporate aerospace organizations worldwide. 

About the Speaker:

Mahsa Esfandabadi is a SICSA graduate of 2020, a previous research assistant at Dr. Olga Bannova’s lab. Now she is on the Space Architecture Technical Committee (SATC-AIAA) education board following her earlier experiences as a university professor. She will present SICSA’s student projects about human-centered structures in orbit, on the surface of the moon and Mars, or far and beyond. 

About the Meeting

Meetings are open to all age groups and interest levels. Come explore with us the potential that developing and exploring space has to better life here on earth and to open up new frontiers creating new perspectives that can help enrich the human experience.

The Vision of NSS is people living and working in thriving communities beyond the Earth, and the use of the vast resources of space for the dramatic betterment of humanity.

The Mission of NSS is to promote social, economic, technological, and political change in order to expand civilization beyond Earth, to settle space and to use the resulting resources to build a hopeful and prosperous future for humanity. Accordingly, we support steps toward this goal, including human spaceflight, commercial space development, space exploration, space applications, space resource utilization, robotic precursors, defense against asteroids, relevant science, and space settlement oriented education.

Website:  http://NorthHoustonSpace.org
MeetUp: https://www.meetup.com/Future-North-Houston-National-Space-Society-Chapter/
FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/NssNorthHoustonSpaceSociety/

Presentations:

Additional Resources Referenced in Presentations

• Where is Mars Perseverance Now? https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/mission/where-is-the-rover/
• Serenity https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0303461/
• Fire Arrows https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huolongjing
• Siege of Kaifeng (Bianjing) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_siege_of_Kaifeng
• Qian Xuesen钱学森 (Father of Modern Chinese Rocketry) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qian_Xuesen
• Expanse MCRN Xuesen: https://expanse.fandom.com/wiki/Xuesen
• Dong Fang Hong 1 – DFH-1 1970-34A NRAD #4382 https://www.space-track.org/
• Fanhui Shi Weixing (recoverable test satellite) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanhui_Shi_Weixing
• 2016 White paper on China’s Space Activities http://english.www.gov.cn/archive/white_paper/2016/12/28/content_281475527159496.htm
• United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs – Space For The Sustainable Development Goals: https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/space4sdgs/index.html

Join us for our Monthly NSS North Houston Space Society (http://NorthHoustonSpace.org) meeting. Connect with others who are excited about exploring the cosmos, learning how to use the resources of space to improve human life, and who want to go and spread humanity to the rest of the universe.

The meeting will be on Saturday, May 1, 2021 at 2PM (CDT) ONLINE Via ZOOM:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85216600533

Tentative Agenda:
2:00 PM – Opening Remarks – Nathan Price
2:10 PM – Recent Space News – Greg Stanley
2:30 PM – China’s Space Program – Ben Huset
3:30 PM – Q&A
3:45 PM -Share your personal space experiences since the last meeting. Rocket Launches, Other Meetings, Research, etc.
4:00 PM – End of Meeting

About our Featured Speaker: Ben Huset

Ben is a lifelong promoter of space travel and space technology, through such organizations as:
* Minnesota Space Frontier Society as Exec Dir.,
* MN Astronomical Society as President,
* National Space Society as Regional Director,
* Mars Society as 4 time MDRS crew member,
* Moon Society as a MDRS crew member,
* MarsCon as two time Con Chair, 23x Science Room Director and regular speaker,
* MiniCon as 15x Science Room Director and frequent speaker,
* ConVergence as 12x Science Room Director and frequent speaker. He has worked for decades in IT, including working for NASA and FAA contractors. When not behind a keyboard and mouse, he can usually be found behind a camera. Ben has taken hundreds of thousands of pictures of local and other events. His pictures can be found on his Facebook page as well as web sites of those events he photographs. He has a private pilot’s license and amateur radio license. He is also involved in local independent short films production in MN.

About the Meeting

Meetings are open to all age groups and interest levels. Come explore with us the potential that developing and exploring space has to better life here on earth and to open up new frontiers creating new perspectives that can help enrich the human experience.

The Vision of NSS is people living and working in thriving communities beyond the Earth, and the use of the vast resources of space for the dramatic betterment of humanity.

The Mission of NSS is to promote social, economic, technological, and political change in order to expand civilization beyond Earth, to settle space and to use the resulting resources to build a hopeful and prosperous future for humanity. Accordingly, we support steps toward this goal, including human spaceflight, commercial space development, space exploration, space applications, space resource utilization, robotic precursors, defense against asteroids, relevant science, and space settlement oriented education.

Website:  http://NorthHoustonSpace.org
MeetUp: https://www.meetup.com/Future-North-Houston-National-Space-Society-Chapter/
FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/NssNorthHoustonSpaceSociety/

Presentations

Highlights from Overview

Highlights from News

Highlights from Beyond Earth Orbit Mission Challenges

Join us for our Monthly NSS North Houston Space Society (http://NorthHoustonSpace.org) meeting. Connect with others who are excited about exploring the cosmos, learning how to use the resources of space to improve human life, and who want to go and spread humanity to the rest of the universe.

The meeting will be on Saturday, April 3, 2021 at 2PM (CDT) ONLINE Via ZOOM:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85216600533

Tentative Agenda:
2:00 PM – Opening Remarks – Nathan Price
2:10 PM – Recent Space News – Greg Stanley
2:30 PM – Beyond Earth Orbit Mission Challenges – George A Salazar
3:30 PM – Q&A
3:45 PM -Share your personal space experiences since the last meeting. Rocket Launches, Other Meetings, Research, etc.
4:00 PM – End of Meeting

Beyond Earth Orbit Mission Challenges – George A Salazar
Since the Mercury Program, the intricacy of human spaceflight has increased considerably. As we venture further into space with humans, the complexity of spacecraft systems required to support human missions to the Moon and Mars will increase dramatically. Many technologies will be critical to these deep space missions. However, it’s not just the technology that is important but also keeping the astronauts both physiologically and psychologically healthy will be of utmost importance to ensure mission success. This presentation provides an overview of the evolution of human spaceflight, system complexity, and many of the challenges for future deep space mission success. The importance of sound systems engineering and human systems integration critical for these future missions will also be covered.

About the Featured Speaker: George A Salazar
Mr. George Salazar is currently serving at NASA’s Johnson Space Center as the Human-computer Interface Technical Discipline Lead.  He also serves as the Displays and Controls Subsystem Manager for the Commercial Crew Program. 

Mr. Salazar has over 35 years of experience in telemetry, communications, speech control, command and data handling, audio, displays and controls, intelligent lighting, project management, and systems engineering. He has been involved with the design of advanced telemetry, voice recognition and intelligent systems, for which he has received various patents. He served as the subsystem manager for the space shuttle modular auxiliary data system – a system designed to acquire space shuttle engineering data. He also was involved with the development of the Space Station internal audio system as well as development of the command and data handling flight computers and the command and telemetry computers for the spacecraft version of the X-38 spacecraft crew return vehicle. He also was the systems engineer for the hardware development of the Space Shuttle cockpit avionics upgrade to provide more insight into the health and status of the space shuttle. He led several advanced avionics technology concept investigations for the next generation space programs. He received his Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Houston and his Masters of Science in Systems Engineering from Southern Methodist University.  His passion is sharing knowledge with students—reaching out to well over 16,000 students through speaking engagements, tutoring, and mentoring.

About the Meeting

Meetings are open to all age groups and interest levels. Come explore with us the potential that developing and exploring space has to better life here on earth and to open up new frontiers creating new perspectives that can help enrich the human experience.

The Vision of NSS is people living and working in thriving communities beyond the Earth, and the use of the vast resources of space for the dramatic betterment of humanity.

The Mission of NSS is to promote social, economic, technological, and political change in order to expand civilization beyond Earth, to settle space and to use the resulting resources to build a hopeful and prosperous future for humanity. Accordingly, we support steps toward this goal, including human spaceflight, commercial space development, space exploration, space applications, space resource utilization, robotic precursors, defense against asteroids, relevant science, and space settlement oriented education.

Website:  http://NorthHoustonSpace.org
MeetUp: https://www.meetup.com/Future-North-Houston-National-Space-Society-Chapter/
FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/NssNorthHoustonSpaceSociety/

2:00 PM – Opening Remarks – Nathan Price
2:10 PM – Recent Space News – Greg Stanley
2:30 PM – “Left Brains for the Right Stuff: Computers, Space, and History” – Hugh Blair-Smith
3:30 PM – Q&A
3:45 PM -Share your personal space experiences since the last meeting. Rocket Launches, Other Meetings, Research, etc.
4:00 PM – End of Meeting

Featured speaker: Hugh Blair-Smith
Author of “Left Brains for the Right Stuff: Computers, Space, and History“

What made the Space Race possible? What made it necessary? How close a race was it? And what did it achieve? The answers involve the history of three technologies—rockets, navigation, and computers—and how they were woven together by systems engineers to make Apollo and the Space Shuttle, significant contributions to winning the Cold War. Left Brains for the Right Stuff traces the Space Race to its end in 1975.

Author Hugh Blair-Smith, a part-time Cape Codder since 1946 and full-time since 2005, was a staff engineer at MIT’s Instrumentation (later Draper) Laboratory from 1959 through 1981. He and many colleagues created one answer to the long-sought quest for “a moral equivalent to war.” Half a century later—after mixed adventures with digital-tech startups—he created a rigorous computer self-check that rode back to the Moon in the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. He is now working on a sci-fi novel.

Join us for our Monthly NSS North Houston Space Society (http://NorthHoustonSpace.org) meeting. Connect with others who are excited about exploring the cosmos, learning how to use the resources of space to improve human life, and who want to go and spread humanity to the rest of the universe.

The meeting will be on Saturday, March 6, 2021 at 2PM (CDT) ONLINE Via ZOOM:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85216600533

Tentative Agenda:
2:00 PM – Opening Remarks – Nathan Price
2:10 PM – Recent Space News – Greg Stanley
2:30 PM – “Left Brains for the Right Stuff: Computers, Space, and History” – Hugh Blair-Smith
3:30 PM – Q&A
3:45 PM -Share your personal space experiences since the last meeting. Rocket Launches, Other Meetings, Research, etc.
4:00 PM – End of Meeting

Featured speaker: Hugh Blair-Smith
Author of “Left Brains for the Right Stuff: Computers, Space, and History“

What made the Space Race possible? What made it necessary? How close a race was it? And what did it achieve? The answers involve the history of three technologies—rockets, navigation, and computers—and how they were woven together by systems engineers to make Apollo and the Space Shuttle, significant contributions to winning the Cold War. Left Brains for the Right Stuff traces the Space Race to its end in 1975.

Author Hugh Blair-Smith, a part-time Cape Codder since 1946 and full-time since 2005, was a staff engineer at MIT’s Instrumentation (later Draper) Laboratory from 1959 through 1981. He and many colleagues created one answer to the long-sought quest for “a moral equivalent to war.” Half a century later—after mixed adventures with digital-tech startups—he created a rigorous computer self-check that rode back to the Moon in the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. He is now working on a sci-fi novel.