From: leech@mahler.cs.unc.edu (Jon Leech)
Newsgroups: sci.space,news.answers
Subject: Space FAQ 13/15 - Interest Groups & Publications
Keywords: Frequently Asked Questions
Date: 24 Jul 92 04:36:19 GMT
Expires: 6 Sep 92 04:36:17 GMT
Followup-To: poster
Organization: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Archive-name: space/groups
Last-modified: $Date: 92/07/24 00:27:06 $

SPACE ACTIVIST/INTEREST/RESEARCH GROUPS AND SPACE PUBLICATIONS

    GROUPS

    AMSAT - develops small satellites (since the 1960s) for a variety of
	uses by amateur radio enthusiasts. Has various publications,
	supplies QuickTrak satellite tracking software for PC/Mac/Amiga etc.

	Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT)
	P.O. Box 27
	Washington, DC 20044
	(301)-589-6062

    ASERA - Australian Space Engineering and Research Association. An
	Australian non-profit organisation to coordinate, promote, and
	conduct space R&D projects in Australia, involving both Australian
	and international (primarily university) collaborators. Activities
	include the development of sounding rockets, small satellites
	(especially microsatellites), high-altitude research balloons, and
	appropriate payloads. Provides student projects at all levels, and
	is open to any person or organisation interested in participating.
	Publishes a monthly newsletter and a quarterly technical journal.

	Membership $A100 (dual subscription)
	Subscriptions $A25 (newsletter only) $A50 (journal only)

	ASERA Ltd
	PO Box 184
	Ryde, NSW, Australia, 2112
	email: lindley@syd.dit.csiro.au

    BIS - British Interplanetary Society. Probably the oldest pro-space
	group, BIS publishes two excellent journals: _Spaceflight_, covering
	current space activities, and the _Journal of the BIS_, containing
	technical papers on space activities from near-term space probes to
	interstellar missions. BIS has published a design study for an
	interstellar probe called _Daedalus_.

	British Interplanetary Society
	27/29 South Lambeth Road
	London SW8 1SZ
	ENGLAND

	No dues information available at present.

    NSS - the National Space Society, formed by the merger of the L-5
	Society and the National Space Institute founded by Von Braun. NSS
	is a pro-space group distinguished by its network of local chapters.
	Supports a general agenda of space development and man-in-space,
	including the NASA space station. Publishes _Ad Astra_, a monthly
	glossy magazine, and runs Shuttle launch tours, Dial-A-Shuttle and
	Space Hotline telephone services. A major sponsor of the annual
	space development conference. Associated with Spacecause and
	Spacepac, political lobbying organizations.

	Membership $18 (youth/senior) $35 (regular).

	National Space Society
	Membership Department
	922 Pennsylvania Avenue, S.E.
	Washington, DC 20003-2140
	(202)-543-1900

    Planetary Society - founded by Carl Sagan. The largest space advocacy
	group. Publishes _Planetary Report_, a monthly glossy, and has
	supported SETI hardware development financially. Agenda is primarily
	support of space science, recently amended to include an
	international manned mission to Mars.

	The Planetary Society
	65 North Catalina Avenue
	Pasadena, California 91106

	Membership $35/year.

    SSI - the Space Studies Institute, founded by Dr. Gerard O'Neill.
	Publishes _SSI Update_, a bimonthly newsletter describing
	work-in-progress. Conducts a research program including
	mass-drivers, lunar mining processes and simulants, composites from
	lunar materials, solar power satellites. Runs the biennial Princeton
	Conference on Space Manufacturing. Developing a Lunar Polar Probe
	for 1992 launch to geochemically map the entire moon and search for
	volatiles which may be frozen at the poles.

	Membership $25/year. Senior Associates ($100/year and up) fund most
	    SSI research.

	Space Studies Institute
	258 Rosedale Road
	PO Box 82
	Princeton, NJ 08540

    SEDS - Students for the Exploration and Development of Space. Founded in
	1980 at MIT and Princeton. SEDS is a chapter-based pro-space
	organization at high schools and universities around the world.
	Entirely student run. Each chapter is independent and coordinates
	its own local activities. Nationally, SEDS runs a scholarship
	competition, design contests, and holds an annual international
	conference and meeting in late summer.

	Students for the Exploration and Development of Space
	MIT Room W20-445
	77 Massachusetts Avenue
	Cambridge, MA  02139
	(617) 253-8897
	email: odyssey@athena.mit.edu

	Dues determined by local chapter.

    SPACECAUSE -  A political lobbying organization and part of the NSS
	Family of Organizations. Publishes a bi-monthly newsletter,
	Spacecause News. Annual dues is $25. Members also receive a discount
	on _The Space Activist's Handbook_. Activities to support pro-space
	legislation include meeting with political leaders and interacting
	with legislative staff. Spacecause primarily operates in the
	legislative process.

	National Office			West Coast Office
	Spacecause			Spacecause
	922 Pennsylvania Ave. S.E.	3435 Ocean Park Blvd.
	Washington, D.C. 20003		Suite 201-S
	(202)543-1900			Santa Monica, CA 90405

    SPACEPAC - A political action committee and part of the NSS Family of
	Organizations. Spacepac researches issues, policies, and candidates.
	Each year, updates _The Space Activist's Handbook_. Current Handbook
	price is $25. While Spacepac does not have a membership, it does
	have regional contacts to coordinate local activity. Spacepac
	primarily operates in the election process, contributing money and
	volunteers to pro-space candidates.

	    Spacepac
	    922 Pennsylvania Ave. S.E.
	    Washington, D.C. 20003
	    (202)543-1900

    UNITED STATES SPACE FOUNDATION - a public, non-profit organization
	supported by member donations and dedicated to promoting
	international education, understanding and support of space. The
	group hosts an annual conference for teachers and others interested
	in education. Other projects include developing lesson plans that
	use space to teach other basic skills such as reading. Publishes
	"Spacewatch," a monthly B&W glossy magazine of USSF events and
	general space news. Annual dues:

		Charter		$50 ($100 first year)
		Individual	$35
		Teacher		$29
		College student $20
		HS/Jr. High	$10
		Elementary	 $5
		Founder &     $1000+
		    Life Member

	United States Space Foundation
	P.O. Box 1838
	Colorado Springs, CO 80901
	(719) 550-1000


    PUBLICATIONS

    Air & Space / Smithsonian (bimonthly magazine)
	Box 53261
	Boulder, CO 80332-3261
	$18/year US, $24/year international

    Final Frontier (mass-market bimonthly magazine) - history, book reviews,
	general-interest articles (e.g. "The 7 Wonders of the Solar System",
	"Everything you always wanted to know about military space
	programs", etc.)

	Final Frontier Publishing Co.
	PO Box 534
	Mt. Morris, IL 61054-7852
	$14.95/year US, $19.95 Canada, $23.95 elsewhere

    Space News (weekly magazine) - covers US civil and military space
	programs. Said to have good political and business but spotty
	technical coverage.

	Space News
	Springfield VA 22159-0500
	703-642-7330
	$75/year, may have discounts for NSS/SSI members

    Space Flight News (monthly magazine) - covers current space activities
	(all nations) in depth and has good historical series on topics like
	early space capsules, cosmonauts, etc. Available by newsstand in the
	US (with several months shipping delay), only by mail elsewhere.

	Subscription Dept.
	Space Flight News Ltd.
	PO Box 100
	Stamford, Lincs, PE9IXQ
	ENGLAND
	#16.20 pounds/year UK and international (surface)
	airmail: #25/year (Europe) #26 (Middle East) #29 (North America) #31
	    (Australia, NZ, Japan)

    Journal of the Astronautical Sciences and Space Times - publications of
	the American Astronautical Society. No details.

	AAS Business Office
	6352 Rolling Mill Place, Suite #102
	Springfield, Va. 22152
	703-866-0020

    GPS World (semi-monthly) - reports on current and new uses of GPS, news
	and analysis of the system and policies affecting it, and technical
	and product issues shaping GPS applications.

	GPS World
	859 Willamette St.
	P.O. Box 10460
	Eugene, OR  97440-2460
	503-343-1200

	Free to qualified individuals; write for free sample copy.

    Planetary Encounter - in-depth technical coverage of planetary missions,
	with diagrams, lists of experiments, interviews with people directly
	involved.
    World Spaceflight News - in-depth technical coverage of near-Earth
	spaceflight. Mostly covers the shuttle: payload manifests, activity
	schedules, and post-mission assessment reports for every mission.

	Box 98
	Sewell, NJ 08080
	$30/year US/Canada
	$45/year elsewhere

    UNDOCUMENTED GROUPS

	Anyone who would care to write up descriptions of the following
	groups (or others not mentioned) for inclusion in the answer is
	encouraged to do so.

	AAS - American Astronautical Society
	AIAA - American Institute of Astronautics & Aeronautics
	World Space Foundation
	Other groups not mentioned above

NEXT: FAQ #14/15 - How to become an astronaut