X-Nico

4 unusual facts about National Space Society


International Space Year

In Australia, many public events were organized to augment public awareness of space by the National Space Society chapters of Australia.

National Space Society

The National Space Society was established in the United States on March 28, 1987, by the merger of the National Space Institute, founded by Dr. Wernher von Braun, and the L5 Society, based on the concepts of Dr. Gerard K. O'Neill.

The 2005 recipient was Burt Rutan in recognition for his achievements in the development of SpaceShipOne, winner of the $10 million Ansari X Prize.

The 2006 recipient was retired Air Force Brigadier General Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager for his pioneering efforts in aeronautics with the Bell X-1 rocket-powered flights of the late 1940s and early 1950s.


Carolyn Meinel

In August 1975, Meinel co-founded (with her then-husband, Keith Henson) the L5 Society, since merged into the National Space Society, and was its president for several years.

L5 Society

In 1986 the Society, which had grown to about 10,000 members, merged with the 25,000 member National Space Institute, founded by German rocket engineer and Project Apollo program manager Wernher von Braun of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center to form the present-day National Space Society.


see also

Glen Wilson

Glen P. Wilson (1923–2005), executive director of the National Space Society