Top Space Leaders lined up as National Space Symposium is set to Start

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Apr. 1, 2002) — Top leaders from industry, government, NASA and the military are set to take the stage as the 18th National Space Symposium begins next week in Colorado Springs. More than 3,800 total participants are expected for the symposium, which takes place April 8-11 at the Broadmoor Hotel.

A festive Opening Ceremony, co-sponsored by Lockheed Martin, kicks off the symposium. U.S. Senator Wayne Allard will welcome the audience, which will be entertained by the Colorado Springs Symphony. Awards will be presented to NASA’s Galileo Team, the United States Space Command and its components, the late Gene Roddenberry, and Majel Barrett Roddenberry.

Following the ceremony, the Opening Reception, co-sponsored by Eastman Kodak, will open the nearly 26,000 square foot Boeing Exhibit Center featuring the latest in space solutions and technology from more than 80 exhibitors.

Gen. Ed Eberhart, commander-in-chief, NORAD and U.S. Space Command, and commander Air Force Space Command, begins the three days of speakers and panel sessions with his keynote remarks on April 9th. Other featured speakers include the Honorable Peter B. Teets, under secretary of the Air Force and director of the National Reconnaissance Office; NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe; Vice Admiral Conrad Lautenbacher, under secretary of commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator; the Honorable Ronald Sega, director of Defense Research and Engineering; Jim Albaugh, president and CEO of Boeing Space and Communications; Jeff Harris, deputy, Space Systems Company, Lockheed Martin; and Lt. Gen. Brian Arnold, USAF, commander, Air Force Space and Missiles Center.

The work of two leading commissions will be featured in symposium panels. “The Commission on the Future of the U.S. Aerospace Industry” will be led by the Honorable Robert Walker, commission chairman, and commission members the Honorable John Douglass, president and CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association, and former astronaut Dr. Buzz Aldrin.

“The Rumsfeld Commission: A Year Later – Progress or Procrastination?” will follow-up on the wide-ranging and significant recommendations of this commission. Ken Gordon, special assistant to the under secretary of defense, will moderate the discussion that includes General Ronald Fogleman from the commission; John Landon, deputy assistant secretary of defense for Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence; Major General (select) Mike Hamel, USAF, director, Space Operations and Integration, Headquarters, U.S. Air Force; and Dr. William Ballhaus, Jr., president and CEO of The Aerospace Corporation.

The subject of Space vs. Terrorism will be addressed in two panels, a Tuesday session moderated by Richard DalBello, executive director of the Satellite Industry Association and a Wednesday session focused on future technology requirements and led by Tom Amrhein, president and general manager of SM&A.

“Financing Space Ventures in a Down Market” will look at private equity and other business aspects in a panel with Ray Rothrock, managing general partner of Venrock; John Higginbotham, chairman of SpaceVest; Ed Gormel, executive director of Florida Space Authority; and Dr. Ramin Khadem, chief financial officer of Inmarsat Ventures, Ltd.

Space media experts will lead or be featured on several panels, with Lon Rains, editor of Space News and vice president Washington Operations of SPACE.com; Bill Harwood, space consultant to “CBS News;” Warren Ferster, deputy editor, Space News; and Dawn Stover, science editor, Popular Science on the program.

Senior executives will consider “The State of Health of the Space Industry” in the panel led by Harwood, and featuring Tim Hannemann of TRW, Brewster Shaw of The Boeing Company, Northrop Grumman’s Carl Fisher, and General Thomas Moorman (USAF, Ret.) of Booz Allen Hamiliton.

Other panels include “U.S. Space Policy Thru the Eyes of the Allies,” “Ensuring a Robust Science Program for the International Space Station,” and “Launch Providers, NASA and the Department of Defense ‘Meet the Press.'” A special interactive panel, “The Future and Space” led by futurist and author Dr. Alvin Toffler, will conclude the panel sessions on April 11th.

Corporate members of the Space Foundation will be recognized during Tuesday evening’s Corporate Partnership Dinner co-sponsored by Orbital Sciences Corporation.

A special “Salute to America’s Military Astronauts” Luncheon on April 10th will honor men and women of the armed services who have flown in space. 30 past and current astronauts are expected for the luncheon, which is co-sponsored by Northrop Grumman.

The Symposium concludes with the gala Space Technology Hall of Fame Dinner, co-sponsored by Spectrum Astro. The dinner features the induction of Satellite Radio Technology and companies Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Radio. The inaugural presentation of the General James E. Hill Lifetime Achievement Award will also be made at the dinner. Norman Augustine, chairman emeritus of Lockheed Martin and professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Princeton University, will be the recipient of the award created in honor of the late General Jim Hill, a pioneering Air Force and Colorado Springs civic leader, and longtime chairman of the Space Foundation.

Complete symposium information, including exhibits, sponsors and convenient on-line registration is available at www.spacesymposium.org or by calling the Space Foundation at 1-800-691-4000 or 719-576-8000.