Conference Showcases Industry's Space Capabilities, Key Challenges

Expanding America's capabilities in space and setting the agenda for continued innovation will be the focus of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics' (AIAA) SPACE 2005 Conference and Exposition, Aug. 30 to Sept. 1, 2005, sponsored by Raytheon Company (NYSE:RTN) at the Long Beach Convention Center.

The latest developments in future manned missions to the moon and Mars, and robotic missions, orbital systems and operations, integrating networked operations, planet finding, and space colonization will be among the more than 77 panels and paper sessions in 17 discussion tracks led by government, scientific, academic and commercial authorities. The conference will feature the largest exhibition of next generation space-based and space exploration technology this year on the West Coast.

"This conference fosters discussion of important industry-wide challenges and opportunities, which this year include the President's mandate to reach for the 'Moon, Mars and Beyond'," said William H. Swanson, Chairman and CEO of Raytheon Company, this year's corporate sponsor. "This new quest will help generate fantastic new technologies and an imperative to attract more young people to study math, science and engineering."

Swanson will join other industry leaders from Loral Space and Communications, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corporation, and Orbital Sciences Corporation in a top executive level overview of key space marketplace opportunities in national security, civil, and commercial space as well as challenges such as the aging and shrinking workforce, overcapacity, export control policies, and technical and budgetary hurdles.

Keynote speakers and program highlights include:

• William H. Swanson, Chairman and CEO, Raytheon Company will discuss the imperative for America to produce more math, science and engineering graduates.
• General Lance W. Lord, Commander, Air Force Space Command, will address the military perspective of expanding the envelope of space;
• Dr. Pedro "Pete" Rustan, Director for Advanced Science and Technology, National Reconnaissance Office, will share his vision of future space technologies and cooperation between the national, military, civil, and commercial space; and
• Dr. Michael D. Griffin, NASA Administrator, will discuss what lies ahead in the President's Vision for Space Exploration, Space Shuttle return to flight, International Space Station, and Space and Earth Science.
• Four panels discuss technical and cultural changes needed to achieve mission success consistently and the blueprints for driving and managing mission assurance.
• Educators and workforce veterans discuss the demands of the US space enterprise, future space workforce needs, and steps that government, industry, and educational institutions can take to ensure America's continued leadership in space.
• "Education Alley" offers a special program of family-oriented games, contests and space-themed demonstrations to interest young visitors in science and math.

FMI: www.aiaa.org/events/space