Congressman Dave Weldon to address Space at the Crossroads

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (May. 13, 2005) — U.S. Representative Dave Weldon (R-FL), vice chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Science, State, Justice and Commerce, will address leaders from the nation’s space and policy community May 18 at Space at the Crossroads, a one-day conference covering national security, civil and commercial space activities. Presented by the Space Foundation and Space News, the event takes place at the U.S. Navy Memorial and Naval Heritage Center in Washington, D.C. Also confirmed as a featured speaker is the new NASA Administrator, Mike Griffin. Joining Weldon and Griffin are senior Congressional staff, including Mr. Bill Adkins, staff director of the House Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee; Mr. Jeff Bingham, staff director of the Senate Subcommittee on Science and Space; Mr. Brendan Curry, senior legislative assistant for U.S. Representative Dave Weldon and Mr. Tim Hughes, majority counsel for the House Committee on Science. Adding to the distinguished list of panelists are senior leaders from the national security and civil space communities including Mr. Courtney Stadd, Maj Gen Michael C. Kostelnik, USAF (Retired), and Dr. Michael Lembeck of NASA; Mr. Larry Fineran of the National Association of Manufacturers; Mr. Joseph Rouge of the National Security Space Office; Mr. Troy A. Thrash of Futron Corporation; Mr. David Cavossa of the Satellite Industry Association; COL Tim Coffin of the U.S. Army, and Mr. Benjamin L. Gimeno of the National Reconnaissance Office. A special panel will address the issues facing today’s entrepreneurial space companies and features Mr. George Whitesides of the National Space Society, Mr. David Gump of Transformational Space Corporation LLC, Ms. Debra Facktor Lepore of Kistler Aerospace Corporation, and Mr. Rich Pournelle of XCOR Aerospace. The conference includes a continental breakfast co-sponsored by CSP Associates, Inc., refreshment break co-sponsored by International Space University, a networking luncheon at The Caucus Room and a closing reception co-sponsored by Lockheed Martin. Space at the Crossroads is presented in association with the U.S. Department of Commerce, Satellite Industry Association, National Space Society and Washington Space Business Roundtable. This is the third year for the program, which is designed to provide a focused space industry update for Congressional, administration, and agency staff and the aerospace/defense and contractor community. Full program details and on-line registration are available at www.SpaceCrossroads.org. About Space News Published by Imaginova Corp., Space News is the premier business-to-business international newsweekly dedicated entirely to coverage of civil, military and commercial space activity. Space News also publishes Washington Aerospace Briefing, a twice-weekly newsletter providing news, analysis and commentary about developments in Congress and the executive branch affecting the aerospace and defense communities, and the International Space Directory and Industry Source Book. Visit www.space.com/spacenews for more information. 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 Space at the Crossroads, the Space Foundation annually conducts, along with its partnering organizations, the National Space Symposium, set for April 3-6, 2006, in Colorado Springs, and Strategic Space 2005, scheduled Oct. 4-6, 2005, in Omaha, Neb. For more information about the Space Foundation, visit www.spacefoundation.org.