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President's Message: Three Years

by Steve Bartlett

This is my last President's Message for the Odyssey. For the past three years, I and the other members of the Board have done our best to keep your NSS chapter active in space activities, involved with the community, and effective in getting the message out about the benefits of space exploration and development. Perhaps most importantly, we've tried to give you, the members, your money's worth as part of the organization.

Have we succeeded? What could we do better?

For your membership, you get

Twelve issues of the Odyssey,
A chapter website (www.oasis-nss.org),
Free tours of space facilities,
Public space lectures,
Star parties
A chapter picnic,
An information hotline (310-364-2290)
Chapter projects (including the building of a full-scale working model of the Mars Exploration Rover),
Information on upcoming space activities in the L.A. area,
Access to space scientists and engineers,
Letter writing campaigns to political and industry leaders on space-related issues, and
The chance to meet with the public and educate them about space

Personally, I think that for fifteen dollars that's a pretty good bargain. I hope that you do as well and that you'll continue your membership and encourage your friends to join as well. After all, an organization succeeds only as long as it keeps a healthy and active membership.

The past three years have seen great triumphs and great tragedies in the space arena, from the first private human spaceflights aboard SpaceShip One and the successful landings of two rovers on the surface of Mars to the loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia and her crew. We've been witness to a presidential initiative for lunar and Mars exploration, the orbiting of Saturn by the Cassini probe, the discovery of dozens of extrasolar planets, the flight of the first Chinese astronaut, and, just yesterday (as I write this) the Mach 10 flight of the X-43A scramjet vehicle off the California coast.

I hope that you've found that OASIS has kept you involved and aware and interested in what's happening in space in that time. I also hope that we've advanced your own goals of putting more human into space on a routine basis. If we have succeeded, great. If not, please let the next chapter President know what we can be doing better to satisfy you. And if you can lend a him a hand in moving us all into space, please go so. It's a big job and no one can do it alone.