Spotlight

The last panel discussion of this year’s 26th National Space Symposium featured three seasoned space travelers discussing Why We Fly – Common Experience, Uncommon Perspectives. Moderated by Jeannie Kranz, director of strategic relations for the Office of Government Relations of Jacobs Technology and daughter of famed former NASA flight controller Gene Kranz, the panel featured the first Chinese…

One of the hottest topics at the 26th National Space Symposium was the controversy swirling around President Barack Obama’s FY2011 budget proposal for NASA (see President Obama’s remarks here; see related Space Watch articles of NASA Administrator Charles Bolden’s remarks and on the NASA – The Budget and The Way Ahead panel here). Attendees watched…

This year’s 26th National Space Symposium offered many perspectives on national security and numerous space-related issues. Presenting a view from Air Force Space Command was Lt. Gen. John T. Sheridan, USAF, commander, Space and Missile Systems Center, Air Force Space Command speaking on “Air Force Space Acquisition.”  Sheridan listed seven things that make progress in acquisition…

This year’s 26th National Space Symposium featured historic moments, such as the speech by legendary astronaut Captain John W. Young, USN (Retired), accepting The General James E. Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award. For the benefit of those who weren’t able to see Young’s speech in person, and for those who would like to see it again, the Space Foundation has…

  The National Space Symposium is growing in international influence, this year with 20 nations represented, participation in four agenda presentations, and three major delegations in attendance. Paul Weissenberg, Ph.D., director for aerospace, GMES, security, and defence for the European Commission, spoke about Europe’s Ambition in Space and Wang Wenbao, director of the China Manned…

The 26th National Space Symposium made history with the appearance of the current director of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and the nine living former directors of the NRO. Current director, Gen. Bruce A. Carlson, USAF (Retired), spoke on April 14, and the former directors participated in a forum on April 15. Plus, the entire…

“It’s not what I’ve done; it’s what we gotta do.” That was how former Gemini, Apollo, and Space Shuttle Astronaut Captain John W. Young, USN (Retired), framed his brief, but powerful acceptance speech April 13 when he was awarded the Space Foundation’s highest honor – the General James E. Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award. Young called for…

Speaking at the 26th National Space Symposium, the Honorable William J. Lynn, III, deputy secretary of defense, United States Department of Defense, laid out his department’s strategy to address the changing space environment, and the challenges it poses to military space. He started by saying space assets give us the ability to: strike with precision,…

Perhaps the most worrisome aspect of the increasing utilization – and globalization – of space is a simple question: “what’s up there?” The Critical Issues – Space Situational Awareness & Space Debris panel at the 26th National Space Symposium examinedtwo different, but related, issues: the challenge of keeping abreast of what is taking place in…

“I believe in living a creative life. I believe in bringing more to the party than is required or asked for. I believe in using both sides of the brain.” These are the messages that actor, director, photographer, poet, and space icon Leonard Nimoy shared with an enthusiastic audience at the Space Technology Hall of…