REPORT ON 1989 SPACE DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE AT CHICAGO, IL

    This  year's  conference  was held in the  Hyatt  Regency  at 
Chicago's O'Hare Airport.  A very capable and hard-working staff, 
led by Jeff Liss,  integrated 17 tracks of programming as well as 
numerous  exhibits and special functions into a smoothly  running 
whole.   One fact will serve to illustrate the quality of the job 
they  did:   There  was never -- repeat never -- any line at  the 
registration booth.

    The  main tracks  were:   Activism/Advocacy;  Business;  Law; 
Medicine;  Overview of Space; Science; Science Fiction; Teaching; 
and  Update  on Space.   There were also sessions on  Apollo  (it 
being the 20th anniversary year),  on launch companies,  Mars,  a 
moon  base,  space policy,  and NASA's space  station.   A  track 
called  "Many Roads to Space" contained many short  presentations 
of invited papers, or "poster sessions"".

    If  it  was  impossible  for one person to take  in  all  the 
presentations in earlier conferences, it was triply so here.  The
trend  seems  to be to provide more possibilities so  that  those 
with  special  interests can find something  worthwhile.   To  my 
mind,  this  indicates  the  maturing of  the  space  development 
constituency.   No longer is there any attempt to organize things 
so  no one will miss anything.   (Actually,  of course,  this was 
impossible  from the beginning;  the subject is too  broad.)   In 
fact,  the  term "track" is inaccurate,  since most presentations 
took place in blocks of time on a single day.

    So,  since  I only took in a small part of what went down  at 
the SDC, this will be a limited report.  Perhaps others will fill 
in  some  other  details.   NOTE:   Anything enclosed  in  square 
brackets is editorial comment;  anything enclosed in curly braces 
is off-the-wall comment,  intended to be humorous.   Any opinions 
expressed are my own.

LAW

    The LAW track took place on Friday.   F. Kenneth Schwetje led 
off  with an "Overview of Space Law."  He is the Chairman of  the 
ABA's Aerospace Law Committee.  Next, the status of international 
accords to deal with the problem of space debris was discussed by 
Hon.   Edward  R.   Finch,   Jr.   (General   Counsel,   American 
International Petroleum Corp.),  Gordon Woodcock (Manager, Future 
Systems  Studies,   Boeing  Advanced  Civil  Space  Systems)  and 
Schwetje.   The outlook for getting some effective regulations in 
place was cautiously hopeful.

    Edward Frankle,  NASA General Counsel,  explained the ins and 
outs  of "Contracting and Subcontracting with NASA".   "The Legal 
Road to Private Launching in the U.S.  and Abroad" was covered by 
William  B.  Wirin  (VP  of Space  Commerce  Corp.)  and  Lillian 
Trippett  (Counsel to the House Committee on Science,  Space  and 
Technology).   [Glenn  Reynolds -- Ya shudda been there.]  George 
Sloup  discussed  the role of law in space in  everyday  matters: 
Taxes,  marriages, citizenship, real estate, and crime.  Finally, 
the  Smithsonian's Associate General  Counsel,  George  Robinson, 
spoke on "Governing Multi-National Space Habitats."

    Running concurrently with the law presentations were full-day 
tracks   on  business  and  science,   including   NASA's   Great 
Observatories program, Robert Forward on "Antimatter Propulsion", 
and a preview of Voyager's August 25th flyby of Neptune.  The NSS 
Board  meeting  lasted  all day,  and the Chapters  Assembly  met 
elsewhere  in the afternoon.   The luncheon speaker  was  Jeffrey 
Mannberg  on "The Future of Free Enterprise in Space Exploration.  
For  those  from  out of town,  there was  a  tour  of  FermiLab.  
Rounding  out the daytime events was an UPDATE on "How to Monitor 
the Soviet Space Program" with Glenn Chapman,  Daniel J. Gautier, 
and Ben Huset.

    The highlight of Friday evening was "Personal Perspectives on 
Space."   It  featured Chicago's own Joan Esposito (WMAQ-TV  news 
anchor), astronaut William Thornton, and Nichelle Nichols.  These 
speakers had very different perspectives, and all were excellent.  
Ms.  Esposito  is a finalist in the Journalist in Space  program.  
She  revealed  that  former  NASA  Administrator  James  Fletcher 
promised a renewal of this program.   Dr.  Thornton, a physician, 
discussed  his perspectives on the ways the human body changes in 
weightlessness.  Ms. Nichols, displaying incredible energy, spoke 
for half an hour.   If she has her way,  there will be a national 
referendum that will break NASA out of the "Function 250" funding 
trap.

    Running  concurrently with this was the first in a series  on 
"Science  Fiction Authors View the Real Space Program (and  Other 
Matters)."   This session featured Robert Forward,  James  Hogan, 
and  Stanley Schmidt.   For teachers,  there were three sessions.  
In the last,  Ralph Winrich of NASA-Lewis was on hand to  certify 
teachers to handle lunar materials.

    The  "Many  Roads to Space" poster sessions began  on  Friday 
evening,  and a National Space Society Town Meeting ran late into 
the night.   NSS also had a hospitality suite,  as did the  Alcor 
Life Extension Foundation.  In fact, Alcor {trying to "get ahead" 
<G>}  maintained  a  hospitality  suite and  a  recruiting  table 
throughout the conference.

**** SATURDAY ****

    Early  Saturday morning there was a tour to Argonne  National 
Labs  and  a  breakfast with the NSS  Board  of  Directors.   The 
Opening  Ceremonies for the SDC took place at 9:00 AM,  and "Many 
Roads to Space" resumed at 9:15.

    Thomas O. Paine (former NASA Administrator) spoke on "APOLLO: 
How the U.S. Did it and Where Do We Go from Here".  John Logsdon, 
Director   of   George  Washington  University's   Space   Policy 
Institute,  discussed "APOLLO:  Was it Worth it?".  Dr. Logsdon's 
conclusions:   Yes,  it was worth it from a political  standpoint 
and  for  American prestige and  self-confidence.   However,  the 
scientific  results,   while  impressive,  did  not  justify  the 
investment.   Henry  Clarks,  (Director,  Technology  Utilization 
Division,  NASA Office of Commercial Programs) summarized interim 
results  from a study now in progress,  to assess in  detail  the 
benefits  to commercial companies of the space program between [I 
think]  1976  and 1985.   Mr.  Clarks presented  some  impressive 
numbers;  I look forward to getting a copy of the final report... 
someday.    These  panels  were  moderated  by  Richard   MacLeod 
(Executive Director of the U. S. Space Foundation).

MEDICINE

    There  was an excellent,  highly detailed series of talks  on 
medicine and human factors,  which lasted all day Saturday.   Dr. 
Arnold  Nicogossian,  Director of NASA's Life Sciences  Division, 
led  off with a two-hour "Overview of Findings to Date on Effects 
of  Living in Zero G."  Frank B.  Salisbury (Professor  of  Plant 
Physiology  at Utah State University) spoke on "Closed Ecological 
Life Support Systems."

    The luncheon speaker was Dr.  William Thornton.  Expanding on 
his  remarks  at  the  previous  night's  dinner,   Dr.  Thornton 
described his research with the SKYLAB astronauts and some of the 
devices  he  invented  to measure  or  combat  the  physiological 
effects of the weightless state.

    "How We Will Handle the Medical Needs of a Space Station" was 
the lead topic in the afternoon.   Dr.  James S.  Logan (Manager, 
NASA  Aerospace Medicine) gave an overview of the development  of 
the  medical  facility  planned for Space  Station  Freedom,  and 
discussed  the design philosphy.   I was astounded to learn  that 
the weight and volume allocations are only 1500 pounds and 60 cu. 
ft.  That includes medical electronics, surgical instruments, and 
all  consumables.   These  limits lead to some  very  challenging 
design problems.   Fortunately,  medical instrument companies are 
developing  miniaturized  instruments that promise  to  alleviate 
part of this concern.   Also,  the plentiful,  high-purity  water 
produced  by fuel cells can easily be mixed with dry chemicals or 
concentrated  electrolytes.   This greatly lessens the volume  of 
fluid that must be stored.

    The  real  problem for the Station is how to do  medicine  in 
zero G.   For example,  how do you administer drip IV when fluids 
won't drip?   How do you clear a syringe of air bubbles when they 
don't separate from the liquid?  How do you control the "leakage" 
that occurs during surgery?  There are answers to these problems, 
but it requires a rethinking of routine medical  practices.   One 
answer  is to use non-invasive techniques whenever possible,  and 
this will produce innovations with many Earthbound applications.

    Continuing  on  this topic,  Dr.  Bruce Houtchens  (Associate 
Professor  at  the  University of Texas  Health  Science  Center) 
described  some of the instruments and procedures to be used  for 
"Surgery  in  Orbit."  One of the major challenges  here  is  the 
operating  table.   It  must secure the patient in a  variety  of 
positions, provide attachments for medical equipment, and be very 
light  and strong,  as well as easily stowed out of the  way.   A 
related  problem  is how the surgeon and those  attending  anchor 
themmselves during treatment.  The preferred approach seems to be 
shoes  with  hemispheres  of plastic mounted at the ball  of  the 
foot,  with a small gap.   The floorplate has a pattern of  holes 
larger than the hemispheres;  with hemispheres pushed through the 
holes  and moved forward under the floorplate,  a slight arch  of 
the foot produces a firm temporary attachment.

    Turning  to  the mental-health aspects  of  spaceflight,  Dr. 
Harry C. Holloway spoke on "Psychological/Sociological Effects of 
Long Distance Space Flight."  Dr.  Holloway chairs the Department 
of Psychiatry, Uniformed Services at the University of the Health 
Sciences.

    The  medical track continued with Dr.  Nicogossian discussing 
"Medical  Spinoffs  from  Space".    Finally,  all  the  previous 
participants joined in a concluding panel,  "Medicine in Space -- 
Where  Do  We  Go from Here?"  This panel was  moderated  by  Dr. 
Robert  H.  Moser,  Vice  President  of Medical Affairs  for  the 
Nutrasweet Company.

    Some  other  Saturday  events  were a  four-hour  seminar  on 
"Building a Moon Base", chaired by Dr. Wendell Mendell; an UPDATE 
on "Space Shuttle External Tanks Applications" by Faye Baillif, a 
Senior Engineer at Martin-Marietta; and presentations by American 
Rocket Company and Third Millenium, Inc.  Norman Haynes, Director 
of  the  Voyager Project at JPL,  gave us a preview of  Voyager's 
encounter with Neptune on August 25th.   The encounter will  take 
place  in six hours,  and the round-trip time for radio  commands 
will  be about 8 hours at that time.   So Voyager will be on  its 
own,  its  observation instructions pre-loaded,  and we will hope 
for the best.   Its path will take it just outside the  suspected 
partial  rings  around Neptune,  then down behind the  planet  at 
about  a  45-degree angle with the plane of the ecliptic to  pass 
within 40,000 km. of Neptune's largest moon Triton.

    [As  an aside,  the ABC affiliate in Chicago carries a  late-
night  network  program  called "Day's End",  which I  never  saw 
before.   A  regular  feature is a shot of "day's  end"  at  some 
remote location.   On Saturday night,  the location was Day's End 
at  Neptune,  and  they  showed an image recently  received  from 
Voyager.   They also had an interview with Hugh Downs, who was in 
town for the SDC.   Mr. Downs is celebrating his 50th anniversary 
in broadcasting this week.]

    Of  course,  the  ACTIVISM/ADVOCACY  track  continued.   Doug 
Fulmer,   new  NSS  Field  Coordinator,   spoke  on  the  working 
relationship between NSS headquarters and the chapters.  Doug has 
extensive  experience  in  this sort of job,  and showed  a  very 
professional attitude.   I'd say he is the type of person  needed 
in this position.

    The  banquet  speaker on Saturday night was  Jonathon  Frakes 
(Ryker  on "STAR TREK:  The Next Generation").   Gene Roddenberry 
was scheduled,  but couldn't make it for some reason.  Mr. Frakes 
generously stepped in -- on his first anniversary,  folks  -- and 
ably presented Roddenberry's speech.   Not to worry about Frakes' 
domestic situation, though; his wife, actress Genie Francis, came 
along.

    Following  the  banquet,  there  was another in  the  SCIENCE 
FICTION series.  This time, the writers looking at the real space 
program (and other matters) were Ben Bova,  Hal  Clement,  Roland 
Green,  and  Frederick Pohl.   Chicago's own Moebius Theatre gave 
two  performances  of  "Humor of the  Space  Age".   A  reception 
allowed informal conversation with Dr. Thornton and Astronaut Mae 
Jemison.

    Continuing from Friday night,  the NSS Chapters Assembly held 
forth  until  12:30  AM.   Much was accomplished  in  this  split 
session.  {And, to the best of my knowledge, there was a complete 
absence of "petty bickering".  I find that "most fascinating".}

**** SUNDAY ****

    Outreach  was  topic A on the ACTIVISM/ADVOCACY track  Sunday 
morning.   Scott MacLaren and Jim Spellman (of Illini and Western 
Spaceport  chapters  respectively)  passed  on  suggestions   for 
recruiting  new  NSS members,  and they were joined  in  this  by 
Chicago's  Larry Ahearn.   Mike Mackowski of St.  Louis described 
his  involvement  with  local schools through  the  science  fair 
program.

    International space programs got their due with presentations 
on India's and Japan's effort and on the Soviet commercial  space 
program.   The  U.S.  manned space program was another subject on 
the  morning's  slate.   (Unmanned  programs  were  discussed  on 
Saturday.)   Business  and  teaching  tracks  resumed,  with  the 
highlight  of  the latter being a talk by Robert Brown of  NASA's 
Office of Educational Affairs.

    Other  programs covered the Crew Emergency  Recovery  Vehicle 
and the Space Biosphere II Project.   The ACTIVISM/ADVOCACY track 
continued with talks on "Chapters Abroad" and Space Week.

    Sunday's luncheon speaker was Dr.  Mae Jemison.  What can you 
say about a daughter of the Old South, a black woman, who goes on 
to become a medical doctor,  earns a degree in physics, and makes 
the cut for the Astronaut Corps?  A simple "WOW!!!" works for me.  
A five-minute standing ovation works pretty well too,  and that's 
what she got.

    Dr.  Jemison's  topic  was  the  value  of  early  edcational 
experiences,  and  how  important it is to avoid  "de-motivating" 
kids, who after all are natural-born learners, in their formative 
years.   She  illustrated the point with some anecdotes from  her 
own childhood and her collegiate years.

    There  were  a  number of valuable  presentations  on  Sunday 
afternoon.    Dr.   Gay  Canough,   team  leader  for  the  Lunar 
Prospector,  gave  a status report on that privately-funded Lunar 
polar orbiter.  [I believe it is really going to happen.]  Robert 
Staehle,  President of the World Space Foundation, gave an UPDATE 
on  the  WSF  Solar  Sail,   Crew  Transportation,  and  Asteroid 
projects.   Marianne  Dyson  described "Europe's  Columbus  Space 
Station Program".  [Don't know if she's related to Freeman.]  The 
ACTIVISM/ADVOCACY  track  continued with discussions on  doing  a 
newsletter,  how  to  start and spread NSS chapters,  and on  the 
Space  Phone  Tree.   Just  before  the  break  for  dinner,  the 
candidates for NSS Board of Directors had their chance to present 
their positions.

    One very important presentation [and long overdue,  IMHO] was 
given  by personnel from the NASA Space Station Freedom  Program.  
Why  is  the  Station designed the way  it  is?   What  were  the 
tradeoffs made?   Haven't you wondered?   I have.  Of course, I'm 
fortunate  to  have  had some insight into these  matters  before 
coming  to the SDC.   But for the space community at  large,  and 
more  so  for the general public,  much of this has been a  great 
mystery.   And  so  the doubters are given  a  clear  field.   If 
someone wants to declare that the Space Station is "gold-plated", 
who is to dispute that?   Well, finally, it is being explained to 
those of us not directly involved in Station development why this 
is  plain wrong.   And now we can pass that along to the  general 
public.  As I said, it's about time.

    Those  taking part in this three-hour presentation  (followed 
by about an hour for questions from the audience) were:  Franklin 
D.  Martin (Assistant Administrator, NASA Office of Exploration); 
David  Greenshields  (Technical  Assistant  to  Director,   Space 
Station  Freedom  Program);   Gordon  Woodcock  (Manager,  Future 
Systems Studies,  Boeing Advanced Civil Space Systems);  and  Dr. 
Bruce  Houtchens (Associate Professor at the University of  Texas 
Health Science Center).

    Two talks,  at the beginning and the end of the day, focussed 
on  the use of Lunar materials.   The TEACHING track featured Hal 
Clement  on  "Science  Fiction  as  a  Teaching  Tool."   Several 
Startups  marketing  small  commercial  satellites  were  on  the 
BUSINESS  track Sunday afternoon,  as was "Geostar and  SSI  -- A 
Case  Study" by T.  Stephen Cheston,  Senior VP of Geostar  Corp.  
AMSAT, a non-profit corporation, also got in on this track.

    There  were  no  empty seats for the  awards  banquet  Sudnay 
night.   Many awards were presented.   [Perhaps someone else will 
upload  a complete list of the winners.]  The Heinlein Award went 
to  Dr.  Gerard O'Neill for his work with SSI and the concept  of 
space habitats.  Dr. O'Neill was unable to attend, because of ill 
health.   Rick Norman Tumlinson of SSI accepted the award in  his 
stead.   The award features a brass naval cannon, inspired by one 
described in "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress."  After commenting on 
the  appropriateness of this "early model mass driver," Rick made 
a stirring speech.  Hugh Downs also gave an excellent speech.  It 
was  a long dinner,  but I doubt if anyone minded.   Nothing  was 
scheduled  afterward except the hospitality suites -- which  were 
also well-attended.

**** MONDAY ****

    Mars  exploration  took the spotlight  Monday  morning,  with 
presentations  by  Planetary  Society  Executive  Director  Louis 
Freidman and by Carl Pilcher,  Chief Scientist with NASA's Office 
of Exploration.   They were followed by Robert Zubrin of  Martin-
Marietta,  who  described a "Nuclear-Thermal Ascent Vehicle Using 
Indigenous  Fuels for Multiple Takeoffs and Landings" on the  Red 
Planet.  The track continued with presentations on Mars balloons, 
Mars airplanes,  Mars sample return missions, and the Soviet 1994 
mission.   The  first  two  speakers shared the microphone  in  a 
concluding panel,  "What Next?"  Concurrently,  Robert McElroy of 
NASA-Ames spoke on "Terraforming Mars."

    Life  inside  the  Washington beltway was the  topic  of  the 
ACTIVISM/ADVOCACY track on Monday morning.   Mark Hopkins led off 
with  a  "Report on SpacePAC".   Guetta  Mazetti,  consultant  to 
SpaceCause, reported on the probable effects of personnel changes 
in  the 101st Congress,  and on the possibility of expanding  the 
pool  of  funding for "Function 250",  which is parcelled out  to 
NASA,  NSF and other "independent" agencies.   [The woman  really 
knows   the  ins  and  outs  of  that  "guvamint  stuff".]   Some 
discussion of NSS position papers followed, led by David Brandt.

    Things were winding down fast on Monday morning.  Many people 
had to leave to catch the planes back to their "real lives".  Me, 
I  hung  around until Tuesday.   I had planned to rent a car  and 
visit  some of my old haunts,  but I couldn't feature paying  $50 
for  the privilege.   So that was that.   Luckily,  the folks  at 
American  Airlines got me on a flight about 4 hours earlier  than 
the one I had booked, so Tuesday wasn't a total loss.

    And  now  the Eighth Annual Space Development  Conference  is 
history.   It  was  a grand time.   Kudos to Jeff  Liss,  William 
Higgins,  Larry  Ahern and Joe Redfield -- and to  everyone  else 
involved  in organizing and running this SDC,  all of whom did  a 
terrific  job.   {But  DAG-NAB-IT,  JEFF -- There was NO PAGE FOR 
NOTES  in  the PROGRAM BOOK!!!}  Thanks are due to  the  National 
Space  Society for sponsoring the conference,  and to the 28  co-
sponsor organizations; to the 20 supporting organizations; to the 
four corporate sponsors and the 8 corporate supporters.   And, of 
course,  the  hotel.   The  O'Hare Hyatt Regency did a  good  job 
holding  up  their end.   [They also did  well,  with  over  1100 
registrants.  To make a rough calculation, assume that translates 
to  500 rooms;  at $69 per room,  about $35,000.   Add in suites, 
program rooms, meals, corkage fees, etc. and you get a nice piece 
of change for one weekend...]

    There were things to criticize.   I really (seriously)  would 
have liked a blank page in the program book for notes,  addresses 
and  such -- as I suggested after Denver.   I could mention other 
things.    But  these  were  noise-level  stuff,   insignificant, 
negligible.   {Sure  hope my reputation as a  nit-picker  doesn't 
suffer *TOO* much. <G>}

    I have to ask myself:  If it's this good after 8 years (still 
with volunteer labor,  remember) what will it be like in 12 more?  
{A:  "Something  Wonderful".}  Next year,  the SDC returns to its 
natal  city.   Come  to  Los Angeles in 1990,  and  next  to  San 
Antonio, for two more data points on the curve.