by James Poinsett Sr.

♦ Rex opened the meeting and welcomed everyone. He then talked about the Apollo memorabilia he brought and put on display. He also brought a telescope to look at the Apollo landing sites after the meeting.
♦ Prasad conducted the voting for next year’s board of directors. The slate was the same as this years except for a new secretary, John Miller. The proposed board was approved unanimously by the members present, 30 – 0.
♦ Dave and Jen talked about their trip to the Yerkes Observatory.
♦ Speaker James Chen spoke about his book on finding the Apollo landing sites.
♦ The celestial navigation course is all set, 15 students total.
♦ Bill reported that New Jersey’s moon rocks are missing. There will be moon chips on display at the museum during the Apollo anniversary display.
♦ Our June meeting at the Planetarium will feature a new show about the moon landing.
♦ Discussion about spaceflight and humanity sparked by the book by Martin Rees, “On The Future”
  • It took 12 years to go from Sputnik to Apollo
  • 50 years later Apollo is still the high point
  • In the 60s NASA was 4% of the US budget, now it is only .6%
  • Since Apollo we have been restricted to low earth orbit and NASA is constrained by risk
  • Robotic technology has blossomed
  • Besides China, the future lies with private funds and companies.
  • An active discussion followed
♦ From outreach
  • Communiversity was a success
  • 10 Libraries are expecting a summer program
  • Watch the calendar for upcoming events.
♦ From the observatory
  • There will be solar observing Memorial Day weekend
  • Needed maintenance will be discussed at the board meeting
♦ There will be a board meeting May 28th in the Dome room in Peyton Hall.