Come Share Experts' Vision Of A Spacefaring Future
On Thursday, The First
International Symposium On Personal Spaceflight takes place at New
Mexico State University at Las Cruces, NM. The event is being
staged in the 3rd floor ballrooms of the University's Corbett
Center, as one of the events of the Countdown to the X-Prize
Cup.
Arianespace USA is sponsoring the symposium, which should be
very interesting to pilots, engineers, entrepreneurs, and all who
are interested in the new age of private space exploration and
exploitation.
The symposium gets underway at a painfully early hour for
journalists -- the NMSU Pride Band will be trumpeting its stuff
before eight in the morning, as panelists and attendees file in
(badging opens at 0700; all times local). At 0800 a variety of
dignitaries will make welcoming comments, followed at 0830 by the
introductory remarks, by Erik Lindbergh, who will speak on
"Aviation to Space," and then Rick Searfoss (pictured, below), who
takes it the next logical step: "From Government Space to Personal
Space."
You could not ask for better-suited speakers on these two
subjects, as both of these men serve as linchpins between the 20th
and 21st Century of flight. Erik Lindbergh(pictured, below), who
should be well known to Aero-News readers, is the grandson of
Charles A. Lindbergh, the first pilot to cross the Atlantic Ocean
solo; the seminal figure of the Air Age. Young Lindbergh, though,
is also a talented aviator in his own right, who has carried out a
modern-day solo reenactment of his grandfather's famous flight, and
has been invited to join the Rocket Racing League as one of its
initial pilots. He's a tireless advocate for aviation, a talented
artist whose work has graced these pages, and a passionate advocate
for aviation and (and this is lesser known) for the handicapped; he
himself overcame crippling arthritis.
If Erik Lindbergh is the man whose journey has carried him, as
his speech says, from aviation to space, Rick Searfoss may be the
best qualified man in the world to speak on the transition from
government space to personal space. Searfoss retired from the
Astronaut corps in 2003 after flying three missions as a Shuttle
Pilot; before that, he was still in government service, flying the
Air Force's hot rock, the supersonic swing-wing F-111. Since
leaving Government space, Searfoss's involvement with personal
space has included serving on the X-Prize board, flying the XCOR
EZ-Rocket (below), and now he's chief pilot of the nascent Rocket
Racing League.
This sounds like a must-see event already -- and that's just the
plenary session. Four separate panels will address private
spacefaring in depth. They are:
- Creating the Personal Spaceflight Revolution
(The X-Prize Cup, Taking Dreams to Reality)
- The Personal Spaceflight Experience
(From Terrestrial, to Suborbital, to Off World Tourism)
- Space As A Place
(Space As a New Economic Sector; Markets; Resource
Development)
- Spaceports -- Infrastructure For A New Space Economy
(Design; Facilities; Financing; Inter-State Competition)
The panelists come from all the reaches of space technology and
knowledge. They appear as well suited to their particular panels as
Lindbergh and Searfoss are to their topics. For example, the first
panel, Creating the Personal Spaceflight Revolution, will discuss
the coming X-Prize Cup in depth, and the panelists will be senior
(often, chief) executives of Arianespace, USA; XCOR Aerospace;
Starchaser Commercial Space Access; da Vinci Aerospace;
Rocketplane; de Leon Technologies; and the US Air Force Research
Laboratory (AFRL).
Each distinguished
panel is chaired by an NMSU academic or two, presumably to keep
order among the enthusiasts. Comprehensive information, including
the names and bios of presenters, is available at the FMI
links.
At mid-day a luncheon break gives the opportunity for sponsors
to be recognized by X-Prize Foundation Founder and CEO Dr Peter
Diamandis.
The Keynote address, at the luncheon, will be by Rick Homans,
Secretary of the New Mexico Economic Development Department.
Homans, and his boss, the Governor, are serious about making New
Mexico a player in the space industry, and already has a friendly
rivalry going with California's Mojave Spaceport. Of course, New
Mexico has a long history of rocketry, from Robert Goddard's early
experiments (he moved to Roswell when he wore out his welcome with
his Massachusetts neighbors) through decades of military rocketry,
and it looks like it's not over yet.
During breaks in the symposium, attendees can tour exhibits in
the Corbett Center's Dona Ana Auditorium. After the conclusion of
the sessions, a reception will be held.
Unfortunately, as the saying goes, "No bucks, no Buck Rogers."
The cost of participation in this groundbreaking seminar is $65,
but students get a discounted rate of $25, which includes the
luncheon (vegetarian on request). Prior registration, which can be
done at the FMI link, is required.
Can't be there? Then be here, 'cause we'll be there for you.