Abstract Deadline: September 15, 1999

The 2000 Space Flight Mechanics Meeting, hosted by the American Astronautical Society (AAS) and cosponsored by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), will be held January 23-26, 2000 in Clearwater, Florida, near Tampa. The conference is organized by the AAS Space Flight Mechanics Technical Committee and the AIAA Astrodynamics Technical Committee.

Papers are sought for all areas of astrodynamics. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Orbital dynamics, perturbations, stability
• Trajectory design and optimization
• Navigation, guidance and control
• Attitude dynamics of rigid and flexible space structures

In addition, proposals are solicited for appropriate subjects for special sessions from perspective session organizers. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Distributed space systems
• Mission analysis for recent and future space systems
• History and future of the US space program
• Panel discussions

Papers will be accepted on the basis of extended abstracts. The extended abstract must be at least 500-1000 words and should include a description of the problem addressed and the results obtained, as well as a brief summary of the solution procedure and relevance to astrodynamics research. Abstracts may also contain supporting figures and/or tables. The abstract must include paper title, names and affiliations of all authors. In addition to the extended abstract, authors are requested to submit a 100-word abstract for subsequent use in the conference program.

Along with the extended abstract and 100-word abstract, you must include the following information to facilitate future correspondence:

Name, affiliation, address, telephone number, fax number and email address for the corresponding author

A "no paper-no podium" rule will be in effect for all presentations. An author will not be permitted to give his or her paper if a written paper has not been prepared and made available at the conference. AAS will not consider for presentation or publication any paper that has been presented or published elsewhere. Authors will be required to sign a statement that the paper has not been previously presented or published.

Special sessions may be as long as four hours on a selected topic. Their purpose is to invite discussion and the exchange of ideas on "hot topics" in the astrodynamics community and may take a variety of formats, e.g. panel discussions, invited speakers and/or papers, questions and answers, or interactive workshop. Prospective special session organizers should submit a proposal consisting of a title, a brief description of the session of less than 500 words, and a list of proposed activities and/or invited speakers and titles.

The American Astronautical Society Space Flight Mechanics Technical Committee also announces the John V. Breakwell Student Travel Award. This award provides a maximum of $1000 to cover travel expenses for U.S. and Canadian students planning to attend the AAS/AIAA Astrodynamics Conference. For further details about applications for the award as well as continually updated information concerning the conference, please see the Space Flight Mechanics website at http://www.space-flight.org

Warning --- Technology Transfer Considerations

Prospective authors are reminded that technology transfer guidelines have substantially extended the time required for review of abstracts and completed papers by US government agencies. Internal (company) plus external (government) review can consume 16 weeks or more. Authors should determine the extent of approval necessary early in the paper preparation process to preclude paper withdrawals and late submissions.

The extended abstract and the 100-word abstract should be submitted to each of the Technical Chairs listed below. The preferred submittal method is electronic mail; however, if access to email is not available, fax or postal mail will be accepted. If postal mail is used, submit two copies each of both the extended abstract and the 100-word abstract. The deadline for submission of the abstract is September 15, 1999. Formal letters of acceptance with complete instructions will be sent to authors approximately November 1, 1999.