Annual Report: Overview

The past year was a big year for the Space Foundation, with lots of changes, advances and accomplishments. Later this month, we'll release Quantum Leap: 2011 Annual Report, filled with details about how we supported our mission of advancing space-related endeavors to inspire, enable and propel humanity. And, starting with the issue of Space Watch, we'll publish a series of articles covering the past year's accomplishments. Top of the list are:

New Headquarters
In July, we moved into a new world headquarters, which was procured with support from the Colorado Springs Regional Economic Development Corporation and funding from El Pomar Foundation, the Anna Keesling Ackerman Fund and Colorado Economic Development Commission.

Best Companies
The NonProfit Times and Best Companies Group designated us as one of the Best Non-Profit Organizations to Work for 2011, ranking us 19 out of the 50 organizations honored nationwide.

National Space Symposium
The premier gathering of the global space industry, the 27th National Space Symposium, held April 11-14 in Colorado Springs, had the best participation, the most expansive exhibits and the greatest diversity of events in the Symposium's history. The agenda covered globalization and commercialization of space, the end of the Space Shuttle program and the resulting U.S. human spaceflight gap, budget challenges, procurement and acquisition strategies, cyber threats and strategies and the need for better, more effective science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education.

Space Foundation Awards
In 2011 we presented:

• General James E. Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award to Dr. Charles Elachi, Jet Propulsion Lab director and vice president of the California Institute of Technology
• Douglas S. Morrow Public Outreach Award to journalists Jay Barbree, NBC News; Marcia Dunn, The Associated Press; and William Harwood, CBS News
• Space Achievement Awards to SpaceX and Télécoms Sans Frontières
• Alan Shepard Technology in Education Award to Charles County Public Schools Superintendent James E. Richmond

Education
A major milestone was the opening of the Mars Yard at our Space Foundation Discovery Institute (SFDI) in Colorado Springs. The simulated Martian terrain and robotics laboratory is one of just a few in the world and the only one that routinely offers programs for students and teachers. Approximately 3,000 people, including students, educators and community leaders, visited the Mars Yard in 2011.

Summertime Space Across the Curriculum classes included Earth Systems Science, Rocketry, Astronomy and Space Technologies in the Classroom, plus our new PreK-2 Early Childhood Space Exploration course.

We celebrated the fifth anniversary of our relationship with Charles County (Md.) Public Schools (CCPS), where we now offer a full New Horizons community program that in 2011 included Space Across the Curriculum courses, a luncheon featuring the White House National Security Council director, an Audience with an Astronaut program and workshops for teachers and more than 1,300 students.

We signed an agreement with Colorado State University-Pueblo to provide Space Across the Curriculum courses for teachers; internships for students; a space studies emphasis in Master of Education and continuing education programs; teacher workshops; public outreach programs; and cooperative research projects.

Plus, 38 teachers from 37 different schools in 19 states joined our Teacher Liaison program in 2011, bringing the number of active participants to 360.

Research & Analysis
Policymakers, media, educators and space enthusiasts continue to look to us for credible information and analyses of the forces that influence the space industry. Since its release, The Space Report 2011: The Authoritative Guide to Global Space Activity has been widely referenced at policy hearings, media reports and government agency reports. Space Foundation white papers provided an overviews of congressional committees with space policy jurisdiction; current NASA budget data; the Department of Defense (DoD) budget allocation; the political history of the International Space Station; and the value of the James Webb Space Telescope. We also updated Introduction to Space Activities, which covers basic space information and terminology.

Public Policy and Government Affairs
Throughout the year, we monitored hearings and provided quick-turnaround analyses to keep policymakers and industry partners informed on space issues. Plus, we hosted briefings on the national security space strategy for Congress; on Department of Defense (DoD) procurement for congressional staff members, DoD officials and industry leaders; and on cyber security for industry executives.

Space Foundation Chief Executive Officer Elliot Pulham testified on the importance of a robust space program before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. Plus, we spoke on space policy at The George Washington University Space Policy Institute Symposium on Space Transportation Policy and Market Risks in Washington, D.C.; the 12th Annual Advanced Maui Optical and Space Surveillance Technologies (AMOS) Conference in Maui, Hawai'i; and the SpaceVision 2011 conference in Boulder, Colo.

International
During 2011, we continued to build global connections. We co-hosted, with the Ambassador of Japan to the United States and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, a reception in Washington, D.C., for space policymakers and industry executives that celebrated the rich history of U.S.-Japan cooperation in space. We participated in the 15th Annual International Space University International Symposium, the 54th Session of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and the 62nd International Astronautical Congress. And, we finished the year with a delegation that took U.S. space industry executives to visit key organizations involved in China's burgeoning space program.

More Details
This issue of Space Watch includes detailed articles on the Space Foundation team, the 27th National Space Symposium, education programs, research and analysis programs and public policy and government programs. Next month will feature international activities, space awareness programs, new generation initiatives, awards, corporate partners and community activities.

Even More Details: Quantum Leap: 2011 Annual Report to be Released Later this Month
Watch for information about the upcoming Space Foundation annual report, Quantum Leap: 2011 Annual Report,  which will be posted on our website.

To learn more about the Space Foundation, go to www.SpaceFoundation.org.
This article is part of Space Watch: January 2012 (Volume: 11, Issue: 1).