NEPRA.com

NAR/TRA - Joint Statement of July 26, 2006

This message will report on today's hearing in the U. S. District Court
of Washington, D.C., regarding our litigation against the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE).

Nepra Launch Stats April 8th, 2006

Click on "Read More" below to see the flight stats for the April 8th lainch.

Planets in Strange Places

Planets in Strange Places

By Trudy E. Bell

Red star, blue star, big star, small star—planets may form around virtually any type or size of star throughout the universe, not just around mid-sized middle-aged yellow stars like the Sun. That’s the surprising implication of two recent discoveries from the 0.85-meter-diameter Spitzer Space Telescope, which is exploring the universe from orbit at infrared (heat) wavelengths blocked by the Earth’s atmosphere.

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Would use some free stuff?

Now that the site is running fairly smooth, I can start adding more things. Would club members like to have a free unlimited yourname@nepra.com email address? How about a free personal website? Would you still be interested if we charged an optional $5 per year on your club dues to help defray the cost of the website? Drop me a line with your comments or questions, or just post a comment below. But most importantly, vote in the poll.

Micro-sats with Macro-potential

Micro-sats with Macro-potential
By Patrick L. Barry

Future space telescopes might not consist of a single satellite such as Hubble, but a constellation of dozens or even hundreds of small satellites, or “micro-sats,” operating in unison.

Such a swarm of little satellites could act as one enormous telescope with a mirror as large as the entire constellation, just as arrays of Earth-bound radio telescopes do. It could also last for a long time, because damage to one micro-sat wouldn’t ruin the whole space telescope; the rest of the swarm could continue as if nothing had happened.

And that’s just one example of the cool things that micro-sats could do. Plus, micro-sats are simply smaller and lighter than normal satellites, so they’re much cheaper to launch into space.

Dan Michael visits Aerotech

On August 4^th, 2003, I had the opportunity to tour Aerotech Inc. new facility in Cedar City, Utah.

When we arrived, it was around 9:30 a.m. Diane Carlson had asked that we come to the offices which are just across the street from the plant. She would then call Gary so he could take us through the facility. After emailing Gary Rosenfield earlier this year, he was kind enough to arrange his schedule to meet with me and personally take me through the facility.

Joint Statement on Appeals Court Decision, February 10, 2006

After nearly seven years of work, we have prevailed in our efforts to remove unnecessary and illegal regulations from the sport rocketry hobby.

TRA/NAR Joint Statement on BATF Litigation

January 18, 2006

This message will outline the current status and progress of our efforts in the U. S. Court of Appeals in Washington, DC.

On Tuesday, January 10. 2006, a hearing was held in the U. S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit regarding our appeal petition. That petition seeks to overturn a District Court finding that ATF has properly and legally classified APCP as an explosive. Both parties filed documents prior to the hearing and those are available for download on the TRA and NAR websites:

Snowstorm on Pluto

There’s a nip in the air. Outside it’s beginning to snow, the first fall of winter. A few delicate flakes tumble from the sky, innocently enough, but this is no mere flurry.

Soon the air is choked with snow, falling so fast and hard it seems to pull the sky down with it. Indeed, that’s what happens. Weeks later when the storm finally ends the entire atmosphere is gone. Every molecule of air on your planet has frozen and fallen to the ground.

NEPRA Meeting Minutes

Date: Jan. 7 2006

Place: Abington Library, Clarks Summit, Ryan Room.

Present: Drake Damerau, Don Whittemore, Eric Salerno, Ed Sopinski, Tim Seaman, Scott Phelan, Eileen Phelan, Joe Piditch, Dan Michael, Andrew Michael, Bob Theobald

Eric Salerno stepped down from the position of Vice President due to his work schedule. Kevin Salerno also is unable to help as Equipment Manager this year, again due to work schedules. Thank you to both of you for all your hard work in the past. This club could not have made it without them!