Senator Ben Nelson Featured Speaker for The Strategic Space and Defense Dinner

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Sep. 17, 2008) — The Space Foundation announced today that The Honorable Ben Nelson, United States Senate, will be the featured speaker for The Strategic Space and Defense Dinner. The conference is set to take place at the Qwest Center Omaha Convention Center and Arena in Omaha, Neb., 6-8 October and will feature the foremost military, defense industry, and government leaders. Presented by the Space Foundation and Space News, Strategic Space and Defense 2008 is the global security conference for space and defense professionals. The dinner, co-sponsored by Northrop Grumman, will take place at 1845 hrs on Tuesday, 7 October.

Senator Nelson is in his second term in the United States Senate representing the state of Nebraska. He serves on the Armed Services and Appropriations committees and is the chairman of the Personnel Subcommittee, Senate Armed Services Committee. In these roles, Nelson works on issues such as healthcare and education benefits, deployment and rotation policies, and defense research and development funding for the military. On the Strategic Forces Subcommittee, the senator addresses a range of critical issues relevant to the U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) mission. Nelson is an advocate for USSTRATCOM, Offutt Air Force Base, and other military installations in Nebraska. The dinner marks Nelson’s first appearance at the Strategic Space and Defense conference.

Other featured speakers include The Honorable Ellen O. Tauscher, chairwoman, Strategic Forces Subcommittee, House Armed Services Committee, U.S. House of Representatives; Mr. Gary E. Payton, deputy under secretary of the Air Force, space programs, USAF Headquarters; Gen. Kevin P. Chilton, USAF, commander, United States Strategic Command; Vice Adm. Carl V. Mauney, USN, deputy commander, United States Strategic Command; Lt. Gen. Kevin T. Campbell, USA, commander, Space and Missile Defense Command/ARSTRAT and commander, JFCC-Integrated Missile Defense, U.S. Strategic Command; Lt. Gen. William L. Shelton, USAF, commander, 14th Air Force (Air Forces Strategic), Air Force Space Command and commander, JFCC-Space, United States Strategic Command; Maj. Gen. Thomas F. Deppe, USAF, vice commander, Air Force Space Command; Mr. A. Thomas Young, chairman, Independent Assessment Panel and former executive vice president, Lockheed Martin Corporation; and Mr. David McGlade, chief executive officer, Intelsat, Ltd.

Strategic Space and Defense attendees gather to gain insight on USSTRATCOM’s mission, global activities, and relationships; international perspectives from allied partners; and the latest developments in national security policy and trends from key aerospace community leaders.  More than 2,000 participants are expected to attend Strategic Space and Defense 2008. 

The program will incorporate two full days of featured speeches and panel sessions, a student program, co-sponsored by NASA Nebraska Space Grant; the Welcoming Reception and Exhibit Center Opening, co-sponsored by the Greater Omaha Economic Development Partnership; breakfasts co-sponsored by the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce and Booz Allen Hamilton; The Strategic Space and Defense Cocktail Reception, co-sponsored by Raytheon; the Reception in Honor of the Men and Women of U.S. Strategic Command, co-sponsored by Integral Systems, Inc.; and an exhibit center luncheon.

Other co-sponsors for Strategic Space and Defense 2008 are Analytical Graphics, Inc., Arrowhead Global Solutions, ATK, Computer Sciences Corporation, ITT, and Orbital Sciences Corporation.

Online registration and more information are available at www.StratSpace.org.

About the Space Foundation
Founded in 1983 and celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, the Space Foundation is an international nonprofit organization advancing space-related endeavors to inspire, enable, and propel humanity. A leader in space awareness activities, major industry events, and educational enterprises that bring space into the classroom, the Space Foundation is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo.  It conducts research and analysis and government affairs activities from its Washington, D.C., office, and has field representatives in Houston, Texas, and Cape Canaveral, Fla.  The Space Foundation also conducts the National Space Symposium, the premier gathering of the global space community. The 25th National Space Symposium will take place March 30 — April 2, 2009, at The Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs.  For more information, visit www.SpaceFoundation.org.

About Space News
Space News International, a division of Imaginova Corp., is the premier business-to-business media company dedicated entirely to the commercial, civil, and military space and satellite communications’ businesses. The company’s products include Space News, a weekly business-to-business newspaper; SpaceNews.com; Space News TV; and Space News Early Bird Newsletter. For more information, visit www.space.com/spacenews.

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