Entrepreneurs featured at space symposium

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Mar. 17, 2005) — Entrepreneurial businesses on the cutting edge of space developments will be featured in a focus panel at the 21st National Space Symposium, scheduled for April 4-7 at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. Veteran space consultant and former NASA Chief of Staff Mr. Courtney Stadd will lead a discussion of “Entrepreneurial Spirit” at 9:15 am on April 5. Joining Stadd on the panel will be Mr. James W. Benson, founder, chairman and chief executive officer, SpaceDev; Dr. Peter Diamandis, chairman and chief executive officer, Zero-Gravity Corporation; Mr. David Gump, president, Transformational Space Corporation LLC; Dr. Shashi Raval, chief executive officer, Novariant, Inc, and Ms. Patricia Grace Smith, associate administrator, AST-1, FAA/Commercial Space Transportation. The panel is expected to address emerging business opportunities in addition to the regulatory environment in which they operate. The panel follows Gen James Cartwright, USMC, commander, United States Strategic Command, who will address the symposium as a featured speaker at 8:30 am. Other entrepreneurs appearing during panels at the symposium include Mr. Elon Musk, chairman and chief executive officer, Space Exploration Technologies and Mr. Phillip Father, chief executive officer and president, ProtoStar, LLP. More than 6,500 registrants, guests, speakers, exhibitors and media are expected to attend the 21st National Space Symposium. Hosted by the Space Foundation, the symposium is the premier annual space industry conference anywhere in the world and features an integrated program of speakers and panels focused on civil, commercial and national security space issues. Educational activities, including a Space Career Fair, are also planned. The symposium kicks off on Monday, April 4, with a spectacular opening ceremony, co-sponsored by The Boeing Company; opening night reception, co-sponsored by ITT Industries; and opening night dessert reception and fireworks, co-sponsored by General Dynamics. Sponsorship highlights include the 34,000-square-foot exhibit center, co-sponsored by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp.; media center, co-sponsored by Lockheed Martin; corporate partnership dinner, co-sponsored by Raytheon Company; corporate partnership reception, co-sponsored by the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce; the General James E. Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award luncheon, co-sponsored by the Colorado Space Coalition; and the Space Technology Hall of Fame dinner, co-sponsored by Northrop Grumman. Additional co-sponsors include Analytical Graphics, Inc., ATK Thiokol, Cisco Systems, Computer Sciences Corp., EcoQuest International, Florida Space Authority, Global Spec, Harris Corporation, Hewlett Packard, Honeywell Aerospace, Infinite Links, Inmarsat, SPACE.com, Space News, Space Systems/Loral, SpaceVest, Stellar Solutions, Swales Aerospace and t/Space. For complete conference details and online registration, visit www.spacesymposium.org or call the Space Foundation toll-free in the United States and Canada at (800) 691-4000. About the Space Foundation Founded in 1983 and headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo., the Space Foundation is a national nonprofit organization that vigorously advances civil, commercial and national security space endeavors and educational excellence. The Space Foundation has offices in Washington, D.C., and Cape Canaveral, Fla. In addition to the National Space Symposium, the Space Foundation annually conducts, along with its partnering organizations, Space at the Crossroads, set for May 18, 2005, in Washington, D.C., and Strategic Space 2005, scheduled Oct. 4-6, 2005, in Omaha, Neb. For more information about the Space Foundation, visit www.spacefoundation.org.