East African Commercial Spaceport a Basis for Regional Economic Growth
Futron presented a concept for an East African spaceport at the 5th Annual Kenya Scholars and Studies Association (KESSA) Conference. Conference stakeholders joined with Futron in recommending a feasibility study as the next step in the spaceport’s development.
Bethesda, MD – November 2, 2012 – Futron Corporation, a leader in aerospace business consulting services, offered its vision for an East African spaceport at the recent 5th Annual KESSA Conference in Bowling Green, Ohio. Spaceports represent critical infrastructure for the 21st century, creating the foundation for technology development, economic growth, and advances space competitiveness. The evaluation was well received by attendees. At the conclusion of the two-day summit, KESSA Conference stakeholders adopted Futron’s recommendation to perform a feasibility study on the spaceport concept.
This past June, members of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Space Special Interest Group (SIG) joined with Futron to write a journal article on the potential of a spaceport off the coast of Kenya near the Italian-owned Broglio Space center facility. Futron incorporated advice from Phezu Space, LLC, which is also developing a similar South African spaceport concept. Phezu suggested the Kenya spaceport could provide the greatest benefit if it served the entire East African Community (EAC). Futron and NSBE Space SIG agreed and brought Phezu Space and its African affiliate, Isibizo Phezu Space Pty Ltd, into the conceptual development. Futron led the four-organization team in developing the East African Spaceport concept and writing the journal article.
“An East African spaceport, coupled with cooperation addressing space advancements in South, West, and North Africa will be one catalyst for integrating space technology into this rising continent’s economic, political, and societal development,” said Allen Herbert, CEO of Phezu Space, LLC.
The Futron team named the future East African spaceport “Uhuru,” meaning “freedom” in Swahili. The vision for the Uhuru Spaceport is a dynamic space hub that leverages the emerging commercial space industry to help create sustainable economic growth for the entire East African region. The Uhuru Spaceport’s development will be guided by Futron’s Spaceport Toolkit capability. This capability delivers an ecosystem of services and providers to a comprehensive set of spaceport requirements including Master Planning Support; Operations Support; Business Strategy, Planning, and Process Improvement; Sales and Marketing Support Services; Risk, and Crisis Management; Safety, Assurance, and Audit Compliance; and Architecture, Engineering, and Construction Services. Futron has successfully worked with approximately ten spaceports worldwide, providing a variety of business, management, and operational support services.
ABOUT FUTRON CORPORATION
Futron Corporation is a leading provider of decision management solutions for aerospace, telecommunications, and other technology enterprises. Recognized and accepted as industry standards, Futron’s innovative Business & Market Management, Safety & Risk Management, and Program & Technology Management products and services create better decisions and better futures for government, commercial, and international clients. Explore what Futron can do for you at www.futron.com.
ABOUT PHEZU SPACE, LLC
Phezu Space, LLC specializes in emerging market consulting, space technology research, and business development. The company is also part of an international joint venture initiative with Isibizo Investments Pty Ltd of Johannesburg, South Africa. The joint venture, called Isibizo Phezu Space, offers consulting services in space and aviation. It focuses on business and strategic development, appropriate space infrastructure development, and aviation technology and related services deployment.
ABOUT NSBE SPACE SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP (SIG)
NSBE Space is a Special Interest Group (SIG) of the Alumni Extension of the National Society of Black Engineers. Founded in 1974, NSBE is the largest student-managed organization in the country, with over 30,000 pre-college, collegiate, and professional members. NSBE Space was established during the 2004-2005 NSBE fiscal year as one of four SIGs to help develop technical content within the Alumni Extension. The mission of NSBE Space is to stimulate the active participation of the community, with focus on the Black community, both within and beyond the engineering profession, in space-related activity. Learn more about NSBE Space SIG by visiting www.nsbe-space.org.
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Media Contact:
Kwesi Robotham
Project Manager
Futron Corporation
krobotham@futron.com
+1 301-280-2642
