SPACE 2009 will examine the need for increasing America's commitment to education in the "STEM" subjects of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics; how best to approach the problems posed by global climate change; how to reduce global fossil fuel consumption; and the role that space exploration and space technologies will play in achieving these goals.
The conference is co-chaired by NASA and the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, and is sponsored by Orbital Sciences Corporation and Lockheed Martin Corporation. Additional sponsors include The Boeing Company, SpaceX, United Space Alliance, Stellar Solutions, Ball Aerospace Technologies, Harris Corporation, and The Aerospace Corporation. Aerospace America and Space News are the official media sponsors. Additional support will be provided by the California Space Authority, the American Astronautical Society, and the AIAA Technical Activities Committee Space & Missiles Group.
Guiding the formation of the conference are executive co-chairs: Charles Elachi, director, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Lt. Gen. John T. Sheridan, commander, U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center; David W. Thompson, chairman and CEO, Orbital Sciences Corporation; and Joanne Maguire, executive vice president, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company.
The AIAA SPACE 2009 Conference will kick off with remarks from Robert S. Dickman, AIAA Executive Director, and Jean-Lou A. Chameau, President of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif. Following their remarks an opening panel session on "New Opportunities, New Era" will examine the opportunities for space exploration and technology development for the next fifty years.
Each of the conference's luncheon keynote addresses and panel sessions will feature a blend of high-level government representatives and business leaders. Confirmed speakers include The Honorable Jane Lubchenco, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, and Administrator, NOAA, and Lt. Gen. John T. Sheridan, U.S. Air Force, commander, U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center.
On Wednesday, September 16, the William H. Pickering Lecture, will celebrate the International Year of Astronomy. The lecture will be presented by Christopher Martin, professor of physics, California Institute of Technology; Matt Mountain, director, Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.; and Michael Werner, chief scientist, astronomy and physics directorate, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. This special event is free and open to the public.
Thousands of Pasadena area school children will participate in the conference's "Education Alley" program. This program allows students in grades K-12 to take part in exciting hands-on learning activities reinforcing the value of STEM subjects 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: The Aerospace Corporation, The Boeing Company, Raytheon, Space Exploration Technologies Company (SpaceX), Wyle, and the X-Prize Foundation.
Source: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
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