SEDS History

From SEDSWiki

The SEDS History Project is an effort to create online, living documentation of the history of Students for the Exploration and Development of Space. The goal of the project is to provide information -- documents, chapter histories, interviews with SEDS alumni -- that will guide the organization into the future.

SEDS History Project Page

1 Documentation about the Project
2 1980
3 1981
4 1982
5 1983
6 1988
7 1989
8 1990
9 1991
10 1992
11 1993
12 1994
13 1995
14 1996
15 1997
16 1998
17 1999
18 2000
19 2001
20 2002
21 2003
22 2004
23 2005
24 2006
25 See Also

Documentation about the Project

Rationale and Overview
Some background into the reasons why SEDS is undertaking this project and some of the work the organization plans to do to look at its past.

1980

SEDS Inaugural Meeting Notes. SEDS was founded at MIT in the fall of 1980. The officers kept the minutes of the meetings in a logbook, starting with the very first meeting on Thursday, October 30, 1980.

Logbook Cover [GIF 35K]
Meeting Minutes [GIF 57K]

1981

Letter to the Editor in Omni. Shortly after SEDS was founded at MIT, its president, Peter Diamandis, wrote a letter to the editor in Omni magazine deploring the status of the space program and asking students to help make a difference. The letter, published in Omni in early 1981, attracted students from around the nation to SEDS.

Page one of letter [GIF 97K]
Page two of letter [GIF 180K]

1982

1982 SEDS International Conference at George Washington University, the founding conference of SEDS

1983

1983 SEDS International Conference at George Washington University

1988

1988 SEDS-USA national conference, August 27, Huntsville, AL.

1989

1989 SEDS International Conference at Caltech
UKSEDS Founding Conference at Science Museum, London, 1 March 1989
1989 UKSEDS National Conference at University of Cambridge, 25-26 November 1989

1990

1990 SEDS International Conference in Cocoa Beach
1990 UKSEDS National Conference at University of Bristol, 24-25 November 1990

1991

1991 SEDS International Conference in Albuquerque
1991 UKSEDS National Conference at University of Leicester, 16-17 November 1991

1992

1992 SEDS-USA Conference held in conjunction with the World Space Congress in Washington DC.
1992 UKSEDS National Conference at University of Kent at Canterbury, 14-15 November 1992

1993

1993 SEDS-USA Conference held in conjunction with the International Space Development Conference in Huntsville, AL
1993 UKSEDS National Conference at University of Oxford, 12-13 November 1993

1994

Arizona Roundtable held in Tucson, AZ, September 30 - October 2
1994 UKSEDS National Conference at University of Kent at Canterbury, 14-15 November 1994

1995

SEDS National Conference held along with 14th Annual ISDC Space Development Conference, Cleveland, OH
1995 UKSEDS National Conference at University College London, 11-12 November 1995

1996

GAMCIT, small GAS payload created by Caltech
SEDS National Conference held along with 15th Annual ISDC Space Development Conference, New York, NY
- SEDS-NSS_MOA, signed into agreement at the conference
1996 UKSEDS National Conference at University of Kent at Canterbury, 16-17 November 1996

1997

SEDS National Conference held along with 16th Annual ISDC Space Development Conference, Orlando, FL
1997 UKSEDS National Conference at University of Leicester, 22-23 November 1997

1998

1998 UKSEDS National Conference at University of Bristol, 21-22 November 1998
SEDSAT-1, launched on October 24, 1998

1999

1999 UKSEDS National Conference at University of Kent at Canterbury, 20-21 November 1999

2000

2000 UKSEDS National Conference at University of Manchester, 11-12 November 2000

2001

2001 UKSEDS National Conference at University of Newcastle upon Tyne, 10-11 November 2001

2002

2002 UKSEDS National Conference at Kingston University, 16-17 November 2002

2003

2003 UKSEDS National Conference at Birmingham University

2004

2004 UKSEDS National Conference at Institute of Physics
2004 SEDS-USA National Conference at MIT

2005

2005 UKSEDS National Conference at Kingston University, 12-13 November 2005
2005 SEDS-USA National Conference at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 10-13 November 2005

2006

2006 SEDS-USA National Conference at University of Central Florida, Orlando
2006 UKSEDS National Conference at the National Space Centre, Leicester
National Student Space Policy Proposal
National Projects: Zero G flight