SPACE ACTIVIST/INTEREST/RESEARCH GROUPS AND SPACE PUBLICATIONS

    GROUPS

    AIA -- Aerospace Industry Association. Professional group, with primary
        membership of major aerospace firms. Headquartered in the DC area.
        Acts as the "voice of the aerospace industry" -- and it's opinions
        are usually backed up by reams of analyses and the reputations of
        the firms in AIA.

            [address needed]

    AIAA -- American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
        Professional association, with somewhere about 30,000-40,000
        members. 65 local chapters around the country -- largest chapters
        are DC area (3000 members), LA (2100 members), San Francisco (2000
        members), Seattle/NW (1500), Houston (1200) and Orange County
        (1200), plus student chapters. Not a union, but acts to represent
        aviation and space professionals (engineers, managers, financial
        types) nationwide. Holds over 30 conferences a year on space and
        aviation topics publishes technical Journals (Aerospace Journal,
        Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, etc.), technical reference books
        and is _THE_ source on current aerospace state of the art through
        their published papers and proceedings. Also offers continuing
        education classes on aerospace design. Has over 60 technical
        committees, and over 30 committees for industry standards. AIAA acts
        as a professional society -- offers a centralized resume/jobs
        function, provides classes on job search, offers low-cost health and
        life insurance, and lobbies for appropriate legislation (AIAA was
        one of the major organizations pushing for IRAs - Individual
        Retirement Accounts). Very active public policy arm -- works
        directly with the media, congress and government agencies as a
        legislative liaison and clearinghouse for inquiries about aerospace
        technology technical issues. Reasonably non-partisan, in that they
        represent the industry as a whole, and not a single company,
        organization, or viewpoint.

        Membership $70/yr (student memberships are less).

        American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
        The Aerospace Center
        370 L'Enfant Promenade, SW
        Washington, DC 20077-0820
        (202)-646-7400

    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

    ASRI (Australian Space Research Institute Ltd, formerly ASERA). 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.

    ISU - International Space University. ISU is a non-profit international
        graduate-level educational institution dedicated to promoting the
        peaceful exploration and development of space through multi-cultural
        and multi-disciplinary space education and research. For further
        information on ISU's summer session program or Permanent Campus
        activities please send messages to 'information@isu.isunet.edu' or
        contact the ISU Executive Offices at:

        International Space University
        955 Massachusetts Avenue 7th Floor
        Cambridge, MA 02139
        (617)-354-1987 (phone)
        (617)-354-7666 (fax)

    L-5 Society (defunct). Founded by Keith and Carolyn Henson in 1975 to
        advocate space colonization. Its major success was in preventing US
        participation in the UN "Moon Treaty" in the late 1970s. Merged with
        the National Space Institute in 1987, forming the National Space
        Society.

    NSC - National Space Club. Open for general membership, but not well
        known at all. Primarily comprised of professionals in aerospace
        industry. Acts as information conduit and social gathering group.
        Active in DC, with a chapter in LA. Monthly meetings with invited
        speakers who are "heavy hitters" in the field. Annual "Outlook on
        Space" conference is _the_ definitive source of data on government
        annual planning for space programs. Cheap membership (approx
        $20/yr).

            [address needed]

    NSS - the National Space Society. 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 and Space Hotline telephone services. A major sponsor
        of the annual space development conference. Associated with
        Spacecause and Spacepac, political lobbying organizations.

        Membership $20 (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, CA 91106

        Membership $35/year (ask about the unadvertised student rate).

    SSI - the Space Studies Institute, founded by Dr. Gerard O'Neill.
        Physicist Freeman Dyson took over the Presidency of SSI after
        O'Neill's death in 1992. 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.

        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. SE        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. SE
        Washington, DC 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
        PO Box 1838
        Colorado Springs, CO 80901
        (719)-550-1000

    WORLD SPACE FOUNDATION - has been designing and building a solar-sail
    spacecraft for longer than any similar group; many JPL employees lend
    their talents to this project. WSF also provides partial funding for the
    Palomar Sky Survey, an extremely successful search for near-Earth
    asteroids. Publishes *Foundation News* and *Foundation Astronautics
    Notebook*, each a quarterly 4-8 page newsletter. Contributing Associate,
    minimum of $15/year (but more money always welcome to support projects).

        World Space Foundation
        Post Office Box Y
        South Pasadena, California 91301


    PUBLICATIONS

    Aerospace Daily (McGraw-Hill)
        Very good coverage of aerospace and space issues. Approx. $1400/yr.

    Air & Space / Smithsonian (bimonthly magazine) - A glossy magazine,
        generally light reading; the emphasis is much more on aviation than
        on space. Contains information about all events at the National Air
        & Space Museum.

        Box 53261
        Boulder, CO 80332-3261
        $18/year US, $24/year international

    Aviation Week & Space Technology - weekly aerospace trade, emphasis on
        aeronautics but usually has several space-related articles. Rates
        depend on whether you're "qualified" or not, which basically means
        whether you look at the ads for cruise missiles out of curiosity, or
        out of genuine commercial or military interest. Best write for a
        "qualification card" and try to get the cheap rate.

        1221 Ave. of the Americas,
        New York NY 10020
        (800)-525-5003 (International (609)426-7070)
        $82/year US (qualified)
        About $50 if you qualify for the unadvertised student subscription
            rate - I (Jon Leech) got this rate by begging and pleading to a
            McGraw-Hill representative at the SIGGRAPH '92 conference.

    ESA - The European Space Agency publishes a variety of periodicals,
        generally available free of charge. A document describing them in
        more detail is in the Ames SPACE archive in
        pub/SPACE/FAQ/ESAPublications.

    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, student rate ~$49. May have discounts for NSS/SSI members

    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.

    Innovation (Space Technology) -- Free. Published by the NASA Office of
        Advanced Concepts and Technology. A revised version of the NASA
        Office of Commercial Programs newsletter.

    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.

        Henry Spencer comments: WSN and PE have recently (mid-92) mutated
        into much more expensive weekly newsletters, filled mostly with
        stuff that's already available to most sci.space readers in
        sci.space.news. There is still interesting content at times, but the
        signal/noise and benefit/cost ratios have deteriorated pretty badly.
        I can no longer recommend them.

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

    Space (bi-monthly magazine)
        British aerospace trade journal. Very good. $75/year.

    Space Calendar (weekly newsletter)

    Space Daily/Space Fax Daily  (newsletter)
        Short (1 paragraph) news notes. Available online for a fee
        (unknown).

    Space Technology Investor/Commercial Space News -- irregular Internet
        column on aspects of commercial space business. Free. Also limited
        fax and paper edition.

            P.O. Box 2452
            Seal Beach, CA 90740-1452.

    All the following are published by:

        Phillips Business Information, Inc.
        7811 Montrose Road
        Potomac, MC 20854

        Aerospace Financial News - $595/year.
        Defense Daily - Very good coverage of space and defense issues.
            $1395/year.
        Space Business News (bi-weekly) - Very good overview of space
            business activities. $497/year.
        Space Exploration Technology (bi-weekly) - $495/year.
        Space Station News (bi-weekly) - $497/year.

    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
        Other groups not mentioned above

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