Larry,
Thanks for asking. Unfortunately you are correct regarding the Monday tour. That is why we wanted to get this on -bb, so all are aware of this unfolding issue.
Once we learned about the tour time change, we were acutely aware that it conflictrf with the cruise arrival time. We pushed back on NASA fairly hard to correct this but were unsuccessful. Their only suggestion was cutting back the tour to only an hour---from 10:30-11:30--to accommodate those on the cruise. We did not think this was a good idea because the tour would be inferior and it is not clear that those on the cruise could get there by 10:30. So we are working alternatives for those affected.
If folks are affected by this, we need to generate a list of all that want to attend the tour but cannot due to this constraint. Once we have that, we plan to go back to NASA and see what alternatives we can offer up to them. FYI we have already engaged with NASA on alternatives. I am not sure what they will be able to support yet. So, please, if you are affected by this new tour time constraint, let me know ASAP at my [email protected] mailto:[email protected] address that you are still interested in the tour be cannot come due to the tour time change.
Larry, I have you on the list.
73, Frank Bauer, KA3HDO
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Frank,
Am I correct in assuming that this time change makes it impossible for
attendees of the AMSAT Symposium cruise to take the tour?
Larry K8MU
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ARISS-International Meeting Attendees:
The ARISS-US team had a meeting with NASA yesterday on the November ARISS-I meeting and our tour plans. We were informed that our ARISS tour time, originally planned for Monday November 14th in the afternoon, will change. We are now scheduled from 8:30 am-11:30 am on Monday November 14.
NASA stated that they are overwhelmed by the substantial influx of tour requests on Monday. This includes the SpaceCom conference, the ARISS-I meeting and the normal tour groups from Space Center Houston. An estimated 2,000 attendees will be coming to the SpaceCom conference (industry, academia, and government space leaders) that will be held the same time as our ARISS-I meeting in Houston. Unfortunately, this will limit tour guides and tour availability in the times they can work with our group-thus the need for the tour time change.
We apologize for this, but I think you can understand this is unavoidable.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding this, please contact me directly at my [email protected] mailto:[email protected] e-mail.
Thanks,
Frank Bauer, KA3HDO
AMSAT V.P. for Human Spaceflight Programs
ARISS International Chair