Space 2010 Conference set for August 30-September 2 in Anaheim

Reston, Va. - The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) will hold the AIAA SPACE 2010 Conference & Exposition August 30 - September 2 at the Anaheim Convention Center and Hilton Anaheim, Anaheim, Calif., focusing on the theme: "Space: Imagine, Innovate, Collaborate."

SPACE 2010 will examine three critical needs: developing technologies that can help further the exploration of our solar system and the universe; developing more affordable means to launch spacecraft to carry out those explorations; and promoting opportunities for government and industry to build the robust future space systems which will make further exploration and more affordable launch programs a reality.

Specific topics of discussion for the conference include:

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• NewSpace - exploring the role of emerging entrepreneurial space companies within the established commercial space industry;
  
• National Security Space - exploring the newest developments in advanced concepts for spaced based national security systems;
  
• Space Robotics - highlighting the latest technical advances in orbital and planetary surface applications, including systems supporting robotic construction techniques; and
  
• Space Colonization - examining the feasibility of planetary colonization of space beyond Earth, and determining how best to make the space program appealing to a new generation of Americans.
  

Other areas of discussion during SPACE 2010 include: space history, medicine, law and policy, logistics, operations, remote sensing systems and sensors, transportation and launch systems, systems engineering and space economics, and commodities for human sustainment using resources on planetary bodies.

Co-located with SPACE 2010 will be the 28th AIAA International Communications Satellite Systems Conference (ICSSC-2010), with the theme of "Broadband for All." ICSSC will explore solutions to the explosive demand for bandwidth, with a particular focus on using satellite systems to provide broadband services to areas where such services were previously deemed economically or technically infeasible.

Guiding the formation of the SPACE 2010 conference are the executive chairs: Charles Elachi, director, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Lt. Gen. John T. Sheridan, commander, U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center; Roger Krone, president, network and space systems, integrated defense Systems, The Boeing Company; and Joanne Maguire, executive vice president, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company.

The conference is co-chaired by NASA and the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, and is sponsored by The Boeing Company and Lockheed Martin Corporation. Additional sponsors include: United Launch Alliance, Northrop Grumman, United Space Alliance, Space Systems/Loral, Stellar Solutions, and the Aerospace Corporation. Aerospace America and Space News are the official media sponsors. Additional support will be provided by the California Space Authority and the AIAA Technical Activities Committee Space & Missiles Group.

The conference will kick off with remarks from Robert S. Dickman, AIAA Executive Director; Chris Hoeber, senior vice president, program management and systems engineering, Space Systems/Loral; and Bran Ferren, co-chairman and Chief Creative Officer, Applied Minds, Inc. Following their remarks will be an opening panel discussion on "Space: Imagine, Innovate, Collaborate," featuring the conference's executive chairs.

Luncheon keynote addresses and panel sessions will feature a blend of high-level government representatives and business leaders. Confirmed speakers include Regina E. Dugan, the director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

On Wednesday, September 1, the William H. Pickering Lecture will celebrate "Worlds Beyond: The Discovery and Characterization of Extrasolar Planets." The lecture will be presented by William Borucki, principal investigator, NASA Kepler Mission, NASA Ames Research Center; Geoff Marcy, professor of astronomy, University of California, Berkeley; and Paul Kalas, assistant adjunct professor of astronomy, University of California, Berkeley.

Thousands of Anaheim area school children will participate in the conference's "Education Alley" program, which allows students in grades K󈝸 to take part in exciting hands-on learning activities reinforcing the value of the "STEM" subjects of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in their daily lives, as well as exposing them to the possibility of future careers in aerospace engineering and science disciplines. "Education Alley" is sponsored by: Lockheed Martin Corporation, The Boeing Company, Raytheon Company, and the Aerospace Corporation, and is supported by the AIAA STEM K󈝸 Committee.

Provided by American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics