CONTACTING NASA, ESA, AND OTHER SPACE AGENCIES/COMPANIES
Many space activities center around large Government or International
Bureaucracies. In the US that means NASA. If you have basic information
requests: (e.g., general PR info, research grants, data, limited tours, and
ESPECIALLY SUMMER EMPLOYMENT (typically resumes should be ready by Jan. 1),
etc.), consider contacting the nearest NASA Center to answer your questions.
EMail typically will not get you any where, computers are used by
investigators, not PR people. The typical volume of mail per Center is a
multiple of 10,000 letters a day. Seek the Public Information Office at one
of the below, this is their job:
NASA (The National Aeronautics and Space Administration) is the
civilian space agency of of the United States Federal Government.
It reports directly to the White House and is not a Cabinet
post such as the military Department of Defense. Its 20K+ employees
are civil servants and hence US citizens. Another 100K+ contractors
also work for NASA.
NASA CENTERS
NASA Headquarters (NASA HQ)
Washington DC 20546
(202)-358-1600
Ask them questions about policy, money, and things of political
nature. Direct specific questions to the appropriate center.
NASA Ames Research Center (ARC)
Moffett Field, CA 94035
(415)-694-5091
Some aeronautical research, atmosphere reentry, Mars and Venus
planetary atmospheres. "Lead center" for Helicopter research,
V/STOL, etc. Runs Pioneer series of space probes.
NASA Ames Research Center
Dryden Flight Research Facility [DFRF]
P. O. Box 273
Edwards, CA 93523
(805)-258-8381
Aircraft, mostly. Tested the shuttle orbiter landing
characteristics. Developed X-1, D-558, X-3, X-4, X-5, XB-70, and of
course, the X-15.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
Greenbelt, MD 20771
[Outside of Washington DC]
(301)-344-6255
Earth orbiting unmanned satellites and sounding rockets. Developed
LANDSAT.
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
California Institute of Technology
4800 Oak Grove Dr.
Pasadena, CA 91109
(818)-354-5011
The "heavies" in planetary research probes and other unmanned
projects (they also had a lot to do with IRAS). They run Voyager,
Magellan, Galileo, and will run Cassini, CRAF, etc. etc.. For
images, probe navigation, and other info about unmanned exploration,
this is the place to go.
JPL is run under contract for NASA by the nearby California
Institute of Technology, unlike the NASA centers above. This
distinction is subtle but critical. JPL has different requirements
for unsolicited research proposals and summer hires. For instance in
the latter, an SF 171 is useless. Employees are Caltech employees,
contractors, and for the most part have similar responsibilities.
They offer an alternative to funding after other NASA Centers.
A fact sheet and description of JPL is available by anonymous
FTP in
ames.arc.nasa.gov:pub/SPACE/FAQ/JPLDescription
NASA Johnson Manned Space Center (JSC)
Houston, TX 77058
(713)-483-5111
JSC manages Space Shuttle, ground control of manned missions.
Astronaut training. Manned mission simulators.
NASA Kennedy Space Flight Center (KSC)
Titusville, FL 32899
(407)-867-2468
Space launch center. You know this one.
NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC)
Hampton, VA 23665
[Near Newport News, VA]
(804)-865-2935
Original NASA site. Specializes in theoretical and experimental
flight dynamics. Viking. Long Duration Exposure Facility.
NASA Lewis Research Center (LeRC)
21000 Brookpark Rd.
Cleveland, OH 44135
(216)-433-4000
Aircraft/Rocket propulsion. Space power generation. Materials
research.
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC)
Huntsville, AL 35812
(205)-453-0034
Development, production, delivery of Solid Rocket Boosters, External
Tank, Orbiter main engines. Propulsion and launchers.
Michoud Assembly Facility
Orleans Parish
New Orleans, LA 70129
(504)-255-2601
Shuttle external tanks are produced here; formerly Michoud produced
first stages for the Saturn V.
Stennis Space Center
Bay St. Louis, Mississippi 39529
(601)-688-3341
Space Shuttle main engines are tested here, as were Saturn V first
and second stages. The center also does remote-sensing and
technology-transfer research.
Wallops Flight Center
Wallops Island, VA 23337
(804)824-3411
Aeronautical research, sounding rockets, Scout launcher.
Manager, Technology Utilization Office
NASA Scientific and Technical Information Facility
Post Office Box 8757
Baltimore, Maryland 21240
Specific requests for software must go thru COSMIC at the Univ. of
Georgia, NASA's contracted software redistribution service. You can
reach them at cosmic@uga.bitnet.
NOTE: Foreign nationals requesting information must go through their
Embassies in Washington DC. These are facilities of the US Government
and are regarded with some degree of economic sensitivity. Centers
cannot directly return information without high Center approval. Allow
at least 1 month for clearance. This includes COSMIC.
The US Air Force Space Command can be contacted thru the Pentagon along with
other Department of Defense offices. They have unacknowledged offices in
Los Angeles, Sunnyvale, Colorado Springs, and other locations. They have
a budget which rivals NASA in size.
ARIANESPACE HEADQUARTERS
Boulevard de l'Europe
B.P. 177
91006 Evry Cedex
France
ARIANESPACE, INC.
1747 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Suite 875
Washington, DC 20006
(202)-728-9075
CENTRE NATIONAL D'ETUDES SPATIALES (CNES) [the French space agency]
2, place Maurice Quentin
F-75039 Paris Cedex 01, FRANCE
phone 33 (1) 45.08.75.00
EARTH OBSERVATION SATELLITE COMPANY (EOSAT)
7500 Forbes Boulevard
Lanham, MD 20706
(800)-344-9933 (Landsat Applications Group)
p
EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY (ESA)
955 L'Enfant Plaza S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20024
(202)-488-4158
NATIONAL SPACE DEVELOPMENT AGENCY (NASDA)
4-1 Hamamatsu-Cho, 2 Chome
Minato-Ku, Tokyo 105, JAPAN
asuzuki@rd.tksc.nasda.go.jp (Public Relations Office)
SOYUZKARTA
45 Vologradsij Pr.
Moscow 109125
USSR
SPACE CAMP
Alabama Space and Rocket Center U.S. SPACE CAMP
1 Tranquility Base 6225 Vectorspace Blvd
Huntsville, AL 35805 Titusville FL 32780
(205)-837-3400 (407)267-3184
Registration and mailing list are handled through Huntsville -- both
camps are described in the same brochure.
Programs offered at Space Camp are:
Space Camp - one week, youngsters completing grades 4-6
Space Academy I - one week, grades 7-9
Aviation Challenge - one week high school program, grades 9-11
Space Academy II - 8 days, college accredited, grades 10-12
Adult Program - 3 days (editorial comment: it's great!)
Teachers Program - 5 days
SPACE COMMERCE CORPORATION (U.S. agent for Soviet launch services)
504 Pluto Drive 69th flr, Texas Commerce Tower
Colorado Springs, CO 80906 Houston, TX 77002
(719)-578-5490 (713)-227-9000
SPACEHAB
600 Maryland Avenue, SW
Suite 201 West
Washington, DC 20004
(202)-488-3483
SPACE INDUSTRIES, INC.
101 Courageous Dr. 711 W. Bay Area Blvd. #320
League City, TX 77573 Webster, TX 77598
(713) 538-6000
I'm not certain which of these two addresses is correct.
SPOT IMAGE CORPORATION
1857 Preston White Drive,
Reston, VA 22091
(FAX) (703)-648-1813 (703)-620-2200
OTHER COMMERCIAL SPACE BUSINESSES
Vincent Cate maintains a list with addresses and some info for a variety
of companies in space-related businesses. This is mailed out on the
space-investors list he runs (see the "Network Resources" FAQ) and is also
available by anonymous ftp from furmint.nectar.cs.cmu.edu (128.2.209.111) in
/usr2/anon/space-companies.
NEXT: FAQ #7/13 - Schedules for space missions, and how to see them