In attendance: Ray Mc C., Brian E., Brad J., Farin M., Eric B., Jim W.

First order of business was to agree to fund the CU chapter of RMMS with 25$ from the Treasury of the now-defunct 501(c)3 RMMS treasury. We discussed giving the rest of the near-500$ remaining funds to the Mars Society since we no longer meet the IRS guidelines and need to disburse the leftover monies. All present agreed to donate said bucks to the Society. Other business included election of officers for the '06 year and Board members to be approved of on the 1-06 meeting. Jim offered to continue as the Sec'y even though his term is over but since we are not under official guidelines the term could be extended. Officers needed will be Chair, Treasurer, President, VP, Contact person and website manager-- any and all are invited.

Brian E. gave a preliminary run-through for constructive feedback of his upcoming talk to the Da Vinci Institute about Spaceflight in the Next 50 Years. The talk differentiated between solid and vacuum destinations in solar space including the Moon, Mars, Ceres and other asteroids, and various La Grange points within these systems. He also discussed the different types of orbits available including polar, low, high and synchronous and advantages/disadvantages of each and the potential 'interplanetary superhighway' that could facilitate interplanetary trade and the limits imposed by the current propulsion systems available today within the rocket equation requirements. Huge potential profits are possible especially with asteroid mining for the technology-required transuranics but the start-up costs and development lead times are daunting. The need for public-private cooperation and coordination between governments, large corporations and small start-ups to develop new technologies and infrastructure was stressed as the most effective way to get this going. The feedback was plentiful and hopefully useful.

Next meeting on 1-20-06 at 7 P.M. on CU will elect Board members and officers, be there and On to Mars!

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