SpaceViews Event Horizon

Obituary: G. Harry Stine, a leading space writer and pioneer of model rocketry, passed away November 2 at the age of 69. Stine, who worked as a rocket engineer and later helped develop safe model rocketry, wrote over 50 fiction and nonfiction titles, including three soon to be published: a revised paperback version of last year's Halfway to Anywhere; Living in Space, an updated version of his Handbook for Space Colonists; and a revised version of his classic The Third Industrial Revolution. A scholarship fund has been established in his name. Donations can be sent to:
     The G. Harry Stine Space Pioneers Memorial Fund
     c/o Bill Stine
     6012 E. Hidden Valley Drive
     Cave Creek, AZ 85331

Space Mirror Troubles: Engineers are working to understand why the Space Mirror, a memorial to fallen astronauts at the Kennedy Space Center, suddenly slipped by ten degrees November 8. The polished black granite memorial is designed to tilt and rotate to track the Sun. However, the memorial tilted ten degrees beyond its limits after routine maintenance. Metal fatigue is one possible cause. The Astronauts Memorial Foundation, which operates the memorial, is studying the situation.

NEAP Announcement Out: SpaceDev, the private company developing the Near Earth Asteroid Prospector (NEAP) mission, released an announcement of opportunity for scientific payloads for the spacecraft November 11. Space is available for up to seven instruments on the spacecraft, which will carry an additional three for SpaceDev. SpaceDev chairman Jim Benson noted that the AO gives universities, scientists, companies and governments a new way to launch their scientific missions. "This unique opportunity to use a private spacecraft offers these customers inexpensive access to space on short notice and also offers quick turn around on experiment results-results in approximately half the time of current missions."

Been There, Done That, Bought the Stamp: The U.S. Postal Service will unveil a new stamp December 10 honoring the Mars Pathfinder mission. The $3 Priority Mail will use one of the first images returned by the mission, showing the lander and rover and the Martian landscape. The first day of issue ceremonies will be held at JPL. "As one of the most significant achievements in the history of America's space program, it is fitting that the Pathfinder Mission be honored on a U.S. postage stamp," said Postmaster General Marvin Runyon.

Sign On To Stardust: Members of the general public can send their names to a comet this month. JPL is accepting up to 300,000 names through the end of this month, which will be etched on a microchip and attached to the Stardust spacecraft, scheduled for launch in 1999 on a mission to the comet Wild-2. Names can be sent to The Planetary Society's office in Pasadena or through the Stardust Web site at http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/.

In Brief: Agence France-Presse reports that Turkish religious officials are sending an official to the United States to consult with NASA regarding the exact timing of the phases of the Moon, to time the exact moment when the holy month of Ramadan begins. "Through this scientific study at NASA, we will be able to know exactly when Ramadan begins, putting an end to disputes over the timing," a Turkish religious official told an Istanbul paper. Different observation techniques have been used to calibrate the lunar calendar, leading to different start dates for Ramadan in different countries... P.O.V. magazine came out with its second annual list of top 100 Web sites in its November issue. NASA's main Web site (http://www.nasa.gov) came in at #89 after being unranked last year. NASA was just below Slate, the Michael Kinsley/Microsoft online magazine, and just above Rough Cut, an online movie publication, in the top 100. No other space-related sites made the top 100 (not even SpaceViews!). Guess it's time to get to work on that redesign...