Newsletter on Space Studies at Princeton

This newsletter summarizes developments related to the work at Princeton during a six-month period through April ’76.

 

Articles:

• Space Colonies and Energy Supply to the Earth, Science, December 5, 1975 (Cover article)
• Settlers in Space, New York Times Magazine, January 18, 1976 (Cover article)
• Colonies in Space May Turn Out to be Nice Places to Live, by Ron Chernow, Smithsonian Magazine, February 1976
• Umzug Ins All, Bild der Wissenschaft, May 1976
• Co-Evolution Quarterly, Spring Issue (letters and commentary)
• Living in Space, by Brian O’Leary, Energy Essays (edit. Malcolm Wells, Edmund Scientific) 1976, pp 5-6
• Mr. Joel Shurkin has received the first prize for 1975, in the division of newspapers of large circulation, from the Aviation­Space Writer’s Association for his article, “Colonies in Space” in the Today Magazine, Philadelphia Inquirer, 11-23-75.

 

Testimony:

Two documents which include testimony on the work at Princeton are now available from the Government Printing Office:

1. Future Space Programs 1975: Hearings before the Subcommittee on Space Science and Applications of the Committee on Science and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives, 94th Congress, First Session. Congressman Donald Fuqua, Chairman. (Testimony on space manufacturing: pp 111-188. Available from Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402, Stock Number 052-070-02889-1, $3.20.)
2. Solar Power from Satellites: Hearings before the Subcommittee on Aerospace Technology and National Needs of the Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences, U. S. Senate, 94th Congress, Second Session, January 19, 1976. Senator Wendell Ford, Chairman. (Testimony on space manufacturing: pp 102-139 Government Printing Office, Number 66-608, $2.70.)

 

Additional Testimony:

1. Dr. Brian O’Leary, Dean Stephen Cheston and Reverend Byron Collins; Hearings before the U. S. Senate Subcommittee on Appropriations for Space, 94th Congress, Second Session, April 12, 1976. Senator William Proxmire, Chairman.
2. G. K. O’Neill, before the California Energy Commission, Sacramento, March 5, 1976.

 

Exhibit:

In February it was decided by NASA Headquarters that an exhibit on space manufacturing/space habitats would be prepared for the National Technology Exhibition at the Kennedy Spaceflight Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida. This exhibition, in connection with the Bicentennial, will run from May 30 through September 6th. Ours is one of four exhibits representing NASA concepts for possible future development, and is a 32-foot diameter walk-in display. It will include a representation of mass-driver operation, exterior models, and a rotating, six-foot diameter habitat model. The detail design and construction has been carried out by the NASA Ames Laboratory under the direction of M. Przkop with a strong contribution of volunteer help from professional model­makers in the Bay Area.

 

Summer Study:

A special study has been authorized by NASA Headquarters, to take place at the NASA Ames Research Center. It will begin on June 21 and run for six weeks. Building on the large amount of work done by our 1975 Study, this will concentrate on three key technical problem areas: transport of material from the Moon to free space, the chemical processing in space of ores, particularly Ilmenite, obtained from the Moon, and the details of the evolution of an Earth-launched construction station into a manufacturing facility/space habitat built primarily of lunar material with the constraint of maintaining adequate cosmic-ray shielding at each stage. Participants in the 1976 Study will be senior professional people from the aerospace and lunar science fields, assisted by students.

 

Conference:

The Third Princeton Conference on Space Manufacturing will be held in May 1977. Provision will be made for both invited and contributed papers, and details will be published when arrangements are further along.

 

Planetary Physics at Princeton:

Dr. Brian O’Leary and I invite inquiries from undergraduate students, now entering their senior year, who would be interested in experimental research in Planetary Physics leading to a Ph.D. degree in Physics. There is no such program at Princeton at present, and its development will depend in large measure on the interest of students well-qualified for admission to our Department. We suggest correspondence prior to an application for admission.

 

Locations:

Dr. O’Leary will be at Princeton during the academic year 1976-7. For that period I will be on sabbatical leave, and have accepted the Jerome Clarke Hunsaker Visiting Professorship in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Letters and re­print requests should be addressed to Princeton, as normally.

 

Positions:

Subject to total funding and its allocation locally, we hope that a post-doctoral position can be opened at Princeton during the next year. A strong background in planetary physics and/or aerospace engineering would be optimal; considerable versatility and organizational ability would be expected. Because our funding situation is uncertain, however, we may not be able to process applications for several months.

 

Television Interviews:

• Today Show, NBC, with Jim Hartz, April 7, 1976
• Not For Women Only, NBC, with Hugh Downs, taped April 20, 1976
• Tomorrow Show, NBC, June 2, 1976
• Radio Interviews (with Brian O’Leary):
• WREK radio, Atlanta, Ga., with Mike Langford, February 23, 1976
• CKNW radio, Vancouver, with Art Finley, March 1, 1976
• WBZ radio, Boston, Ma., with Larry Glick, March 17, 1976
• WAIF, Cincinnati, Oh., with Fred Callopy, April 6, 1976
• CRUM, Toronto, June 3, 1976

Lectures:

• (G. K. O’Neill)
  • Keynote speech, Session 9, National Convention of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Washington, January 30, 1976
  • Future Worlds Lecture, University of Michigan, March 2, 1976
  • Lecture, Annual Meeting, Division of Planetary Sciences, American Astronomical Society, Austin, Texas, April 1, 1976
  • University of Texas, Austin, April 1, 1976 Panel, 13th Space Congress, Cocoa Beach, Florida, April 9, 1976
  • Oak Ridge National Laboratory, April 12, 1976
  • University of Tennessee, Knoxville, April 12, 1976
  • NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, April 13, 1976
  • American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Houston, Texas April 13, 1976
  • Frontiers of Science Lecture, University of Florida, Gainesville, April 14, 1976
  • Hayden Planetarium, New York, April 20, 1976
  • Colloquium, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, April 23, 1976
  • Bicentennial Lecture, University of Colorado, Boulder, April 28, 1976
  • National Accelerator Laboratory, Batavia, Il. May 5, 1976.
  • American Physical Society, Cincinnati, Ohio, May 7, 1976
  • Goodspeed-Richards Lecture, University of Pennsylvania, Phila., May 12, 1976
• (Brian O’Leary)
  • Temple University, Department of Physics colloquium, Feb. 23, 1976
  • Class at Mt. Vernon College, February 27, 1976
  • Lecture, Catholic University student body, Washington, March 10, 1976
  • Lecture, Greater Trenton Science Fair, March 16, 1976
  • Dinner talk, Conference on Bio-Processing in Space, Johnson Space Center, Houston, March 11, 1976
  • Hampden-Sydney College, Virginia, March 25, 1976
  • Division of Planetary Sciences Annual Meeting, American Astronomical Society, Texas, March 29 -April 2, 1976
  • Ohio University, Department of Physics colloquium, April 6, 1976
  • University of Pittsburgh Symposium on Space, April 7, 1976
  • Princeton Amateur Astronomy Club, April 13, 1976
  • New York University Department of Economics, symposium benefits of space exploration, April 22, 1976
  • AIAA Workshop on the Outlook for Space Power, Princeton, May 7, 1976
  • Shipley School, Bryn Mawr, Pa., May 10, 1976
  • Philadelphia Chapter of the AIAA, June 16, 1976

 

Change of Address:

Our mailing list has now grown so large that updating is a problem. If the spelling of your name or any part of the address on your newsletter are incorrect, please send a correction to me at Princeton.

Gerard K. O’Neill
Professor of Physics
Department of Physics
P. 0. Box 708
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ 08540
June 1976

©space studies institute

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