Sacramento L5 Society Meeting Minutes

Saturday, May 16, 2026 • Virtual meeting via Zoom • 6:00 PM–approximately 8:07 PM PDT

Note on sources: These minutes were reconstructed from the meeting call, typed notes, handwritten-note images, and saved Zoom chat/comments. The original Zoom recording of Barré Wheatley’s presentation was reported lost before minutes could be prepared.

Attendees

• Joe Bland — Chapter President; moderator
• Ed Kulis — SacL5 website/outreach; Arduino kit and balloon-device projects
• Barré Wheatley — presenter; Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch STEM/technology program
• Michael Abramson — NASA Ames / aviation systems contractor; physicist/software engineer
• Jan Roston — Chapter Vice President; NSS Chapters Assembly updates
• Paul Turner — JP Aerospace
• Eric James — mechanical engineering; Keck/LIGO/Gemini telescope instrumentation background
• Richard Parks — NSS Tucson background; rotational/artificial gravity interests
• Jen Blank — Blue Marble Space / NASA Ames; astrobiology and outreach
• Lalitha Murali — Wisconsin educator; student Arduino/CO2/microgravity work
• Perri Doutre — NSS Director of Chapter Support

Opening / Introductions

• Joe Bland opened the meeting and moderated introductions.
• Participants introduced their backgrounds and interests, including artificial gravity concepts, astrobiology and lava-tube robotics, Arduino-based student experiments, JP Aerospace balloon work, telescope/instrumentation engineering, and NSS chapter support.
• Perri Doutre introduced her role as NSS Director of Chapter Support and invited chapter members to contact her for chapter-support questions and access to NSS chapter communication channels.

Featured SacL5 SpaceTalk

“Rocketry and ROVs at the Boys Camp” — Barré Wheatley

Summary: Barré Wheatley presented the hands-on STEM and technology program at Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch near Amarillo, Texas. The talk emphasized experiential learning, practical tool use, and the role of demanding technical projects in rebuilding confidence and competence among students who have often come from difficult family or trauma backgrounds.

Key points from Barré Wheatley’s presentation

• Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch serves students roughly from first grade through age 18 and operates as a donor-supported residential community. The notes describe it as a small town with multiple homes and its own community infrastructure.
• The Ranch includes students from difficult backgrounds, including failed adoptions and trauma; only a small share were described as juvenile-delinquency cases. The program is offered at no cost to the students/families.
• Girls Town and Boys Ranch merged in 1993. Current attendance was described as lower than pre-COVID levels, with notes giving figures in the 160–350 range depending on whether students, staff, and overall community counts were being discussed.
• The Technology Shop / experiential learning program includes robotics, rocketry, ROVs, 2D/3D printing, drones, Arduino work, and practical troubleshooting projects.
• Barré emphasized that the goal is not merely to “make engineers,” but to help young people become more capable, confident, and resilient human beings. Technical success becomes a vehicle for personal recovery and growth.
• The program culture treats mistakes as part of learning. A recurring theme was that failure is acceptable, tools can be repaired or replaced, and students learn by doing real projects rather than by being protected from challenge.
• Examples discussed included students building motors, rockets, underwater/ROV-related projects, and practical Arduino projects such as lighting for a fire-truck model or system.
• One student success story involved a young woman who made rocket fuel, built her own rocket, set a notable high-altitude record, and later served successfully in the U.S. Navy.
• The Ranch has worked with outside groups and universities; examples included rocketry reaching high altitudes and college/university groups visiting or working with Ranch students.
• Barré offered to come back for a future meeting, which is especially useful because the Zoom recording of this presentation was lost.

Connection to SacL5 / JP Aerospace / MiniCube work

• The discussion connected Barré’s program with SacL5’s student STEM outreach, Arduino kits, and balloon-flight work.
• JP Aerospace was referenced as a possible pathway for balloon or PongSat-style student experiments.
• Barré indicated he could build cubes / MiniCube-style payloads, and Lalitha Murali may be able to involve her students in building a cube or similar payload.
• Perri Doutre offered to stay informed and help with relevant NSS/chapter connections.

Chapter Business and Updates

President’s / Treasurer’s Report — Joe Bland

• The chapter discussed the status of chapter funds, estimated in the notes at approximately $12,000.
• An earlier account problem/hack and frozen funds were discussed. Joe reported that the situation was being sorted out and that the chapter needed careful record-keeping and a proper banking path forward.
• The group discussed setting up or moving to an appropriate chapter bank account, avoiding commingling, and ensuring multiple authorized people are associated with the account.
• Ed Kulis noted pending reimbursement needs for Arduino kit expenses. Joe indicated he would send follow-up information by email describing the issues and next steps.

NSS / Chapter Support / Younger Member Outreach

• Perri Doutre described NSS chapter support resources and encouraged participation in the “chapters discuss” email list for inter-chapter communication.
• The group discussed the need to bring in younger members and noted NSS young-professional efforts, including programs oriented toward members under 35.
• Jen Blank mentioned the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC) as a strong network that helps members find funding to attend international conferences.
• Perri noted that she could help connect interested members to the ISDC virtual meeting list.

NSS Elections

• NSS election information and ballot access were discussed. Members noted that ballot information had been received around April 25 and that election emails/confirmations came through associationvoting.com.
• Ed Kulis was mentioned as running for the NSS Board of Directors, and members were encouraged to vote if eligible and in good standing.

NSS Chapters Assembly / Chapter Committee

• Jan Roston reported on chapter-related matters, including the Chapters Assembly, chapter awards, chapter websites, and the need for better visibility of what individual chapters do.
• A virtual ISDC-related/chapter meeting was discussed for June 6 at 7:00 AM Pacific / 10:00 AM Eastern.
• The chapter needs a representative for the NSS Chapter Committee after Joe Bland stepped down from that role. Ed Kulis was discussed as a possible participant/representative, with Perri as the chapter’s advocate on the committee side.

Website — Ed Kulis

• The SacL5 website was discussed positively and the site link was shared in chat.
• The SacL5 balloon-device-project page was also shared near the end of the meeting.

Upcoming / Separate Talks and Projects

• Michael Abramson’s upcoming talk on the history/evolution of information technology, AI in space, and “AI Beyond Chat” was discussed as scheduled for a future SacL5 SpaceTalk.
• Michael Abramson’s Open Space Organization (OSO) / white-paper concept was noted as needing a separate discussion from the main meeting.
• Eric James reported continued work on the “Mercer” project.
• Joe Bland discussed moonbase concepts, including power/storage ideas and a laser/orbital power concept using a collimating lens; NSS policy and position papers were referenced as useful background.
• Joe expressed strong interest in returning to moonbase discussion at a future meeting.

Arduino Kit / MiniCube / Balloon Project Updates

• Ed Kulis reported that the 3.7V-to-5V power booster for Arduino hardware was built and working.
• The SacL5 balloon-device / MiniCube work continues, including potential student involvement and simple PongSat-style experiments in ping-pong balls through JP Aerospace.
• There was discussion of contacting Ken Davis at Sacramento’s School of Engineering and Science and of aligning school/student projects with future balloon flights.
• Progress was described as slow but continuing.

Chat / Reference Items Shared During Meeting

• Perri Doutre contact: [email protected].
• JP Aerospace: www.jpaerospace.com.
• SacL5 website: https://sacramentol5society.nss.org.
• SGAC: https://spacegeneration.org/.
• SacL5 balloon-device project page: https://sacramentol5society.nss.org/balloon-device-project/.
• NSS policy/position papers were referenced for additional background.

Action Items

Adjournment

• The meeting continued past the originally scheduled 7:30 PM end time and appears to have adjourned at approximately 8:07 PM PDT, based on notes and chat timing.

Source Materials Used

• Meeting call / agenda and Ed’s typed notes forwarding the call.
• Handwritten note images from the meeting.
• Emails from Joe Bland and Jen Blank explaining that the Zoom recording was lost and sharing the saved chat/comment timeline.
• Typed reconstruction document titled “L5 Sacramento Chapter Meeting — 16 May 2025,” used as supporting notes; date interpreted in context as the May 16, 2026 meeting based on the meeting call and chat/email timestamps.