Sunday, December 13, 2015

General Announcements

Two general announcements, the first regarding our annual chapter elections.

Our chapter elections were held during our October meeting (Oct 15th, 2015) with most officers re-elected.  The exception being that yours truly (James Short, aka Tabren James) was elected the new chapter vice president.  Former vice president, Bill Ellis has agreed to continue in the role of "guest speaker" coordinator and assistant to the new vice president.

Secondly, due to scheduling issues for several officers, there will be no meeting for December (originally scheduled for December 17th, 2015).  Any chapter members needing to contact officers over the holiday season are free to call the chapter president (Jim Barnard - 303-791-6068), chapter vice president (James Short 720-822-4600) or our NSS ambassador (Perry - 303-249-0639).

I also wish to remind members that we do have a Facebook presence as "Denver Space Society" for the sharing of news and articles of interest and that work continues for the establishment of a chapter Internet domain (tentatively www.denverspacesociety.org) that will, with any luck, be up and running for the new year.

Our next scheduled chapter meeting will be on January 21st, 2016.  Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah everyone!


Monday, June 15, 2015

Farewell to "The Voice of Apollo"

It is with deep sorrow that the space development and activism community says goodbye to one of the space race's icons, Jack King, known to many as "The Voice of Apollo".  Mr. King died on June 11, 2015 at a hospice facility not far from the Kennedy Space Center, a fitting place for him to be when it came time.

The passing of Mr. King reenforces in my mind my dedication to space activism and development.  His iconic voice was, for many years, an inspiration to many, including myself.  It is time for younger voices to raise up and echo his legacy.  We are at "... minus ten and counting ..."  with the future weighing upon our shoulders.

Farewell, Mr. King ... your spirit dances amongst the stars, we'll be there soon!

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

A Sad Salute to a Fallen Hero

It is with heavy heart that I send word of the passing of a great American hero, Dale Allan Gardner.  Captain Gardener served the United States with honor and distinction, first as a Naval aviator, then as an astronaut, and finally as a leader in our space defense forces and alternate energy technology development.

Captain Gardner was born in 1948 in Fairmont, Minnesota and graduated from the University of Illinois with a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Physics.  He served proudly as one of our first F-14 pilots in the first operational F-14 squadron, VF-1.  He later served on the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Enterprise and was selected as an Astronaut Candidate in January of 1978.

  Gardner logged 337 hours and 225 orbits in space, serving aboard STS-8 in 1983 and STS-51A in 1984, the latter of which consisted of him performing a spacewalk using NASA's new MMU (Manned Maneuvering Unit) which allowed him to conduct the first space salvage operation.

Gardner's passing touches close to our chapter as after his departure from NASA he served as Deputy Chief Space Control Operations at Cheyenne Mountain AFB before redeploying as Deputy Director Space Control at Peterson AFB.  He concluded his service to his country and humanity as the Associate Director of Renewable Fuels Science and Technology at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado.

He was laid to rest in the Evergreen Cemetery, Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Memorial contributions may be sent in his name via the Pikes Peak United Way, 518 N. Nevada Ave., Colorado Springs, Colorado 80903.

Farewell, honored hero ... and safe flight amongst the stars.