‘Tis the season! While we still mourn the loss of our long-time Chapter hostess (and NSS CEO!) Anita Gale, our holiday tradition continues. Ken and Nancy Bowen have graciously volunteered their home to host our Christmas social on the evening of December 7th beginning at 5 pm.
We’re planning a low-key evening with finger appetizers, Subway mini-sandwiches, and Nancy may just cook up a batch of her nearly-world-famous chicken & dumplings! She’s also a virtuoso at the piano, so be prepared for some Christmas carols at the fireplace. We’re also planning to have some videos such as “From the Earth to the Moon” playing in their study, and it will be a good time for conversation. Those of you who were looking forward to hearing Ken, a veteran of Project Apollo and the Shuttle program, before we had to cancel November’s meeting due to illness will have the chance to engage with him in person!
This is a big Chapter outreach event, and guests are welcome. We’re especially inviting the members and friends of our North Houston Chapter to join us down in Pearland Saturday evening. There’s no charge to attend, but if you’d like to contribute a side dish and/or dessert, or a small financial contribution, we will accept with thanks.
Ken and Nancy live in the Green Tee subdivision of Pearland, about five miles west of I-45 at Scarsdale Boulevard. We really do need to have some idea of how many of you want to come, and they’d prefer not to have their home address published on the Internet…but if you RSVP to info@nss-houston-moon.org we’ll send their address along with detailed directions.
Again, we’re looking forward to more activity in 2025, and so we’d love to have you join us and bring along some new faces. As of right now our meeting dates for 2025 haven’t yet been scheduled, but we expect for our first meeting to be held in mid-February.
See you Saturday!
November Chapter Meeting CANCELLED
In our meeting announcement for the November meeting, which was to feature the return of Apollo program veteran Kenneth Bowen, we mentioned that his appearance was subject to his state of health. This evening Ken came down with flu-like symptoms including chills and fever, and out of abundance of caution the Clear Lake Area Chapter is cancelling this November meeting.
We apologize and hope to feature Ken again some time early next year after he has a chance to rest and recover. While his symptoms are not serious, any illness at the age of 92 has to be taken very seriously.
At the present time our December Christmas social which is planned to be held in the home of Ken and his wife Nancy is still on our calendar. We hope that they can both be ready to receive guests by that time. Currently our social is scheduled for Saturday, December 7th, from 5 pm to 9 pm. We plan to feature finger foods and refreshments, with an ongoing showing of the Tom Hanks miniseries From the Earth to the Moon along with Nancy’s playing at her piano. Their home is in the Green Tee section of Pearland, off of Scarsdale Boulevard/Yost Road west of the Gulf Freeway. Detailed directions will be emailed to those who RSVP. Members from the North Houston Chapter are welcome as well. Please let us know if you plan to come!
Again, we apologize for the short notice and for any inconvenience, but we trust that you understand.
Annual Meeting October 2024…
Can the Clear Lake Area Chapter Continue?
It’s time for some straight talk about the future of our local Chapter. I know that our lives are all full of distractions, and that we’ve lost key members to the Grim Reaper and other perils.
We did cancel our June meeting due to forecast inclement weather. However, both the August and the September meeting failed to gather a quorum of members. If our upcoming annual meeting this coming Tuesday, October 15th, also fails to gather a quorum, I’m going to be forced to look into officially downgrading our Chapter to an Outpost.
I really don’t want to do that. We’re squarely in the heart of manned spaceflight activity for this nation. But, with rare exceptions, we’ve failed to make any connections with today’s space professionals.
We do have planned activities coming up. For next month, on November 19th, if his health permits my father Kenneth Bowen will return and share some of his memories of the Apollo and Shuttle programs…and this time, cross your fingers, we’ll do so with a better audio/visual and recording setup. And while we’ll never be able to replace Miss Anita Gale’s legendary hospitality, my parents have also volunteered to host us in their home for a Christmas season get-together on December 7th. Our friends from the North Houston chapter are welcome to join us for that, as well!
So let’s hope that we can see some of the faces which may not have graced our conference room in months, or years. The Clear Lake Area Chapter will meet on Tuesday, October 15th in the conference room of the Bay Area Community Center in Clear Lake Park beginning at 6:30 p.m. The address is 5002 NASA Road 1; Seabrook, Texas. The Community Center is north of NASA 1, away from the lake; enter through the side door adjacent to the parking lot as the main entrance may be locked after 5:00 p.m. A Zoom meeting option will also be available for the Chapter business portion of the meeting; information is posted below and on our Chapter web site.
We will be voting on Chapter officers and directors at this meeting, and we are looking for some new blood! So we welcome your input, your nominations, and your future participation. Remember, candidates for Chapter office must be, or must agree to become, members in good standing of both the National Space Society and the Moon Society. Director eligibility is as listed:
- President (currently held by Eric Bowen)
- Vice President (currently held by Doug Hall)
- Treasurer (currently held by Jay Lewchanin)
- Secretary (currently vacant—volunteers?)
- Director, Position 1 (currently held by Marianne Dyson)
- Director, Position 2 (currently held by Keith Dauzat)
- Director, Position 3 (vacant)
For the Director position, Position 1 must be held by a member of BOTH the National Space Society and the Moon Society. Position 2 must be held by a member of the National Space Society, and Position 3 must be held by a member of The Moon Society.
This meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. and run to just before nine (when the facility closes). The business portion should start about 7 p.m. We’re planning to offer a few light refreshments and bottled water; your own contributions are also welcome of course!
Eric Bowen is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Clear Lake Area Chapter Annual Meeting
Time: Oct 15, 2024 07:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
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Meeting ID: 861 1411 0778
Passcode: 029746
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Clear Lake Area Chapter Meeting: September 17th, 2024
The Clear Lake Area Chapter will meet on Tuesday, September 17th in the conference room of the Bay Area Community Center in Clear Lake Park beginning at 6:30 p.m. The address is 5002 NASA Road 1; Seabrook, Texas. The Community Center is north of NASA 1, away from the lake; enter through the side door adjacent to the parking lot as the main entrance may be locked after 5:00 p.m. A Zoom meeting option will also be available for the Chapter business portion of the meeting; information is posted below and on our Chapter web site.
At this meeting nominations will open for Chapter officers to be voted on during next month’s meeting on October 15th. Candidates for Chapter office must be, or must agree to become, members in good standing of both the National Space Society and the Moon Society. Director eligibility is as listed:
- President (currently held by Eric Bowen)
- Vice President (currently held by Doug Hall)
- Treasurer (currently held by Jay Lewchanin)
- Secretary (currently vacant—volunteers?)
- Director, Position 1 (currently held by Marianne Dyson)
- Director, Position 2 (currently held by Keith Dauzat)
- Director, Position 3 (vacant)
For the Director positions, Position 1 must be held by a member of BOTH the National Space Society and the Moon Society. Position 2 must be held by a member of the National Space Society, and Position 3 must be held by a member of The Moon Society.
Nominations of eligible members will also be accepted via email to info@nss-houston-moon.org up through 11:59 p.m. on October 11th, 2024. Nominations will reopen at the October business meeting just prior to the vote. Nominations require a second, or two concurring email nominations from separate individuals.
Our meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. and run to just before nine (when the facility closes). We’re planning to offer a few light refreshments and bottled water; your own contributions are also welcome of course!
Eric Bowen is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Clear Lake Area NSS/Moon Society Chapter Meeting
Time: Sep 17, 2024 06:30 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
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Meeting ID: 864 6382 5819
Passcode: 437358
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Clear Lake Area Chapter Meeting Tuesday, August 20th, 2024!
The Clear Lake Area Chapter will meet on Tuesday, August 20th in the conference room of the Bay Area Community Center in Clear Lake Park beginning at 6:30 p.m. The address is 5002 NASA Road 1; Seabrook, Texas. The Community Center is north of NASA 1, away from the lake; enter through the side door adjacent to the parking lot as the main entrance may be locked after 5:00 p.m. A Zoom meeting option will also be available for the Chapter business portion of the meeting; information is posted below. Also, please see the attached meeting documents.
Our meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. and run to just before nine (when the facility closes). We’re planning to offer a few light refreshments and bottled water; your own contributions are also welcome of course!
Zoom Meeting Info is at the bottom of this post.
In Memoriam
Larry Jay Friesen, Ph. D.
Clear Lake Area Chapter Director, Position 3, emeritus
Chapter Scientist
Larry Friesen was born on September 7, 1946, to Eric and Dorothy Friesen. He was the oldest of their four children. His formative years were all spent in Kansas — Wilson (until age 8), LeRoy (age 8-11), and Clay Center (through high school as an honor roll student), and then college at the University of Kansas.
As the Space Age emerged in the late 50s and early 60s, Larry became fascinated with outer space. That interest led him to be a leader in the Clay Center Community High School science club, where he and other members spent time building and launching small rockets. He was gifted in science and math, obtaining his B.S. in Physics from University of Kansas, where he graduated in three years and was the recipient of a prestigious Summerfield Scholarship which paid for his undergraduate tuition. He was awarded scholarships to Rice University in Houston, Texas, where he received his Master’s and Ph.D. degrees in Astrophysics.
In college, one of his fellow scholarship hall residents recalled that he “read encyclopedias for entertainment.” He loved history and was interested in the origins of the world wars and would philosophize about such things with anyone who would listen.
It was his dream to be the first man on the moon. Although he did not achieve that goal, much of his professional career as an aerospace engineer was spent working for NASA contractors at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. He worked on space shuttle glide patterns and how space junk collisions could cause damage to spacecraft.
Larry’s nephews and nieces remembered Larry’s deep love of space and often playing SolarQuest with him during the Christmas holidays. Growing up, they always thought of him as their “space uncle with multiple degrees doing something for NASA.” They remember Larry helping them identify constellations. They recalled his giving them “cool science toys and a complete engineering manual for the Space Shuttle.”
He loved to have philosophical conversations with family members. Topics ranged from reasons why space junk is hard to clear and a critique of things he saw in popular science fiction shows — “well, if you really had to design a warp drive….”
Farewell and Godspeed, Larry. We hope that you have that warp drive ready for us when we get there…
Zoom Meeting Info:
Eric Bowen is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Clear Lake Area NSS & Moon Society Chapter Meeting
Time: Aug 20, 2024 06:30 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
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Meeting ID: 833 9448 8043
Passcode: 637876
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Meeting ID: 833 9448 8043
Passcode: 637876
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UPDATE: September 2023 Meeting CANCELED
Unfortunately, I experienced car trouble on the way home from work which prevents me from making tonight’s meeting. I apologize for this and for the short notice, but it was unavoidable. The October 17th business meeting should still go off as planned, and in accordance with our bylaws you may still submit your nominations for candidates for Chapter officers and directors via email to info@nss-houston-moon.org up until 11:59 p.m. on October 13th.
Clear Lake Area Chapter meeting: Tuesday the 19th, 6:30 p.m.
The Clear Lake Area Chapter will meet on Tuesday, September 19th in the conference room of the Bay Area Community Center in Clear Lake Park beginning at 6:30 p.m. The address is 5002 NASA Road 1; Seabrook, Texas. The Community Center is north of NASA 1, away from the lake; enter through the side door adjacent to the parking lot as the main entrance may be locked after 5:00 p.m. The conference room is on the right down the hall as you come in that side entrance door. A Zoom meeting option will also be available; the information is given below.
We’re expecting that Mr. Dave Cheuvront will come and share with us on the legislative outreach efforts of NSS, with emphasis on success stories and the ways in which you, personally, can get involved!
Our meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. and run about two hours. We’re planning to offer a few light refreshments and bottled water; your own contributions are also welcome of course!
At this meeting nominations will open for chapter officers and directors for 2024. Nominations will also be accepted via email to info@nss-houston-moon.org up through 11:59 p.m. Friday, October 15th and voted on at our October business meeting. Nominations require a second if made in person or two independent nominations if made by email. You can only nominate one candidate for each position, whether in person or by email. You must be a member in good standing of the National Space Society and/or the Moon Society and have indicated that you wish to be considered a member of this Chapter.
For information, the current slate of officers and positions is as follows:
- President: Eric Bowen
- Vice-President: Doug Hall
- Treasurer: Jay Lewchanin
- Secretary: Vacant
- Director, Position 1: Marianne Dyson
- Director, Position 2: Keith Dauzat
- Director, Position 3: Larry Friesen
Candidates for all officer positions and for Director, Position 1 must be or must be willing to become members in good standing of BOTH the National Space Society and The Moon Society. Candidates for Director, Position 2 must be a member in good standing of the National Space Society. Candidates for Director, Position 3 must be a member in good standing of The Moon Society. Our next regularly scheduled meeting following this one is our Chapter’s annual meeting scheduled for October 17th.
The meeting documents (agenda for this meeting and minutes from last meeting) will be available soon on our chapter web site, or send an email inquiry to info@nss-houston-moon.org. See you Tuesday the 19th!
Clear Lake Area Chapter meeting:
Tuesday the 15th, 6:30 p.m.
The Clear Lake Area Chapter will meet on Tuesday, August 15th in the conference room of the Bay Area Community Center in Clear Lake Park beginning at 6:30 p.m. The address is 5002 NASA Road 1; Seabrook, Texas. The Community Center is north of NASA 1, away from the lake; enter through the side door adjacent to the parking lot as the main entrance may be locked after 5:00 p.m. The conference room is on the right down the hall as you come in that side entrance door. A Zoom meeting option will also be available; link to the information is given below.
Our meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. and run about two hours. We’re planning to offer a few light refreshments and bottled water; your own contributions are also welcome of course!
Our next regularly scheduled meeting following this one is scheduled for Tuesday, September 19th, and our Chapter’s annual meeting is scheduled for October 17th.
The meeting documents (agenda for this meeting and minutes from last meeting) will be available soon on our chapter web site, or send an email inquiry to info@nss-houston-moon.org. See you Tuesday the 15th!
Zoom Meeting Info:
Please note that we are going to a new format for our Zoom meeting information. The meeting info here should remain the same for future meetings; however, one condition is that we cannot post it publicly on web sites or social media. I’m setting up an ‘autoreply’; if you send an email to zoominfo@nss-houston-moon.org you should receive full particulars.
June 2023 Chapter Meeting:
Topic: Orbital Debris (Space Junk): What It Is, and Why It Matters
Presented by Dr. Larry Friesen
Our own Chapter Scientist and Director, Dr. Larry Friesen, will be bringing us a presentation on this timely topic for our June meeting. As space grows more crowded, the proliferation of objects in orbit hampers astronomy and poses real threats to space missions and infrastructure. Come hear Dr. Friesen’s take on this as we meet in the small meeting room (break room) at the Bay Area Community Center on June 20th!
We’ll be giving Larry the floor as soon as we have the Zoom meeting setup configured and running so that there will be time for questions and answers and give and take. Chapter business will be minimal and will be conducted following Dr. Friesen’s time to speak. Come and join us that night…either by Zoom or in person!
NOTE: Dr. Friesen has recommended the Wikipedia article on Space Debris as a source of background information including photos and graphs.
Clear Lake Area Chapter meeting:
Tuesday the 20th, 6:30 p.m.
The Clear Lake Area Chapter will meet on Tuesday, June 20th in the break room of the Bay Area Community Center in Clear Lake Park beginning at 6:30 p.m. The address is 5002 NASA Road 1; Seabrook, Texas. The Community Center is north of NASA 1, away from the lake; enter through the side door adjacent to the parking lot as the main entrance may be locked after 5:00 p.m. The break room is on the left as you come in that side entrance door. A Zoom meeting option will also be available; information is given below.
Our meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. and run about two hours. We’re planning to offer a few light refreshments including Subway sandwiches and bottled water; your own contributions are also welcome of course!
Our next regularly scheduled meeting following this one is scheduled for Tuesday, August 15th, also at 6:30 p.m., back in our normal conference room meeting location. Other meetings for the balance of the year will be on September 19th, and our Chapter’s annual meeting is scheduled for October 17th.
The meeting documents (agenda for this meeting and minutes from last meeting) will be posted below, or send an email inquiry to info@nss-houston-moon.org. See you Tuesday the 20th!
Zoom Meeting Info:
Please note that we are going to a new format for our Zoom meeting information. The meeting info should remain the same for future meetings; however, one condition is that we cannot post it publicly on web sites or social media. I’m setting up an ‘autoreply’; if you send an email to zoominfo@nss-houston-moon.org you should receive full particulars.
Project Apollo (and Shuttle): An Insider’s View – April 2023 Chapter Meeting
Kenneth Bowen has been an Air Force helicopter rescue pilot, an oil field roustabout, and since 1959 an aerospace engineer. After early years with McDonnell Aircraft as a wind tunnel engineer, including the pre-construction tests on what would become the Houston Astrodome, he was tapped by Link Simulations, Inc. to work on the team bringing the Lunar Module Simulator to life…a challenging task as, in those early ears, the design of the prototype they were modeling was still very much in flux!
Ken continued with Singer-Link and later Ford Aerospace into the Space Shuttle years. He headed up Ford’s Single System Trainer unit which Shuttle astronaut candidates used to practice approach and landing in the days when the large full motion simulator was still under development. He’s now retired and a grandfather of eight and father of two…including myself!
For those of you familiar with our Chapter’s meetings, once the (inevitable) technical glitches are resolved Ken will be first up on our program; there will be time for questions and answers and give and take. Chapter business will be minimal and will be conducted following Ken’s time to speak. Come and join us that night…either by Zoom or in person!
Clear Lake Area Chapter meeting:
Tuesday the 18th, 6:30 p.m.
The Clear Lake Area Chapter will meet on Tuesday, April 18th in the conference room of the Bay Area Community Center in Clear Lake Park beginning at 6:30 p.m. The address is 5002 NASA Road 1; Seabrook, Texas. The Community Center is north of NASA 1, away from the lake; enter through the side door adjacent to the parking lot as the main entrance may be locked after 5:00 p.m. A Zoom meeting option will also be available for the Chapter business portion of the meeting; information is posted below and on our Chapter web site.
As mentioned above, my dad Kenneth Bowen will be speaking on his time in the Apollo and Shuttle programs. Come hear the stories from a man who was there!
Our meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. and run to just before nine (when the facility closes). We’re planning to offer a few light refreshments and bottled water; your own contributions are also welcome of course!
Our next regularly scheduled meeting following this one is scheduled for Tuesday, June 20th, also at 6:30 p.m. Please note that this meeting will be in the small ‘break room’ next to the office as the conference room was already booked at the time we made our reservations. Other meetings for the balance of the year will be on August 15th and September 19th, and our Chapter’s annual meeting is scheduled for October 17th. The August, September, and October meetings will all be on Tuesday evenings at 6:30 p.m. in our normal venue, the conference room.
Zoom Meeting Info: Through an arrangement with the Clear Lake GTO club and our member David Cheuvront we’ve set up a Zoom meeting for remote attendees. The meeting info is as follows:
Topic: CLA-NSS April Meeting
Time: Apr 18, 2023 06:30 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
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Meeting ID: 879 7405 9471
Passcode: 141298
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