25th National Space Symposium to Feature Two Decades of U.S. Space Commanders

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Feb. 2, 2009) — The history and future of the nation’s military space programs will be center stage at the Space Foundation’s 25th National Space Symposium, when the men who have been in charge for the past 20-plus years gather for the first-ever Space Commanders Forum.

Featuring the commanders-in-chief of U.S. Space Command and U.S. Strategic Command, the Space Commanders Forum will address issues and insights from the inception of a space command into the U.S. military, through its continuous evolution, and shed light on upcoming challenges faced by the space national security community. Confirmed participants include:

• Adm. James O. Ellis, Jr., USN (Retired);
• Gen. Ed Eberhart, USAF (Retired);
• Gen. Howell M. Estes, III, USAF (Retired);
• Gen. Donald J. Kutyna, USAF (Retired); and
• Gen. John L. “Pete” Piotrowski, USAF (Retired)

The panel, which will be similar in format to last year’s popularly received NASA Administrators Panel, will be moderated by Gen. Thomas S. Moorman, Jr., USAF (Retired).

Scheduled for March 30 – April 2, 2009, at The Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, Colo., the 25th National Space Symposium is the premier annual gathering of the global space community.

Presented by the Space Foundation, the symposium brings together all sectors of space – civil, commercial, national security, new space entrepreneurship, and finance – to highlight accomplishments and address opportunities and issues facing the global space community today. With its theme The Next Space Age, this year’s program focuses on major shifts in the economies, philosophies, and mechanics of the global space industry.

The panel of former space commanders is just one of the presentations addressing national security issues. The 25th National Space Symposium has already confirmed a number of current space leaders, including:

• Gen. C. Robert Kehler, USAF, commander of the Air Force Space Command;
• Lt. Gen. John T. “Tom” Sheridan, USAF, commander of the Space and Missile Systems Center of the Air Force Space Command;
• Vice Adm. Carl V. Mauney, USN, deputy commander of the United States Strategic Command; and
• Maj. Gen. William T. Lord, USAF, commander, Air Force Cyberspace Command (Provisional)

The symposium offers workshops, forums, panels and presentations covering all aspects of space. Agenda items will also include discussion of civil and commercial space endeavors, including perspectives on space tourism and international space exploration.

The 25th National Space Symposium features a spectacular Opening Ceremony; Congressional Luncheon; Corporate Partnership Dinner; presentation of the Space Foundation’s highest honor at the General James E. Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award Luncheon; and the Space Technology Hall of Fame Dinner, which honors technologies, organizations, and individuals for transforming space technology into commercial products that improve life on Earth. The Space Foundation recently announced that the Honorable Peter B. Teets has been selected as the winner of the General James E. Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award.

The symposium also includes extensive programs for selected teachers and students, a space technology career fair, and 45,000 square feet of exhibits in the Boeing Exhibit Center representing more than 140 organizations and companies.

More than 7,500 registrants, guests, speakers, exhibitors, and media representatives from around the world are expected to attend the 25th National Space Symposium. Participants come from civil space and government agencies, including NASA and NOAA; the aerospace, commercial space and satellite broadcasting industries; the Department of Defense and military space commands; entrepreneurial space ventures; and universities and academia. Together, they represent the future and history of the $251 billion space industry.

Co-sponsors of the symposium include The Aerospace Corporation, Aerojet, Analytical Graphics, Inc, ATK, Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boeing, Cisco Systems, Inc., Cobham, General Dynamics, Honeywell, Hitachi Consulting, Infinite Links, Intelsat General Corporation, International Space University, ITT, Lockheed Martin, The Mitre Corporation, Northrop Grumman, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, Raytheon, Regis University, SEAKR Engineering, Inc., SAIC, Stellar Solutions, United Launch Alliance, United Space Alliance, and the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. Media partners are Aviation Week and Space News.

Online registration and more information, including an updated program agenda, confirmed speaker list, and exhibitor list, are available at www.NationalSpaceSymposium.org.

About the Space Foundation
Founded in 1983, 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. In addition to the 25th National Space Symposium, the Space Foundation, along with partnering organizations, will also conduct Space Business Forum: New York on June 4, 2009, in New York, N.Y., and Strategic Space and Defense 2009 from Oct. 6 – 8, 2009, in Omaha, Neb. For more information, visit www.SpaceFoundation.org.

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