Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference

Date: Thursday – Saturday, February 18-20, 2010

Place: The Millennium Harvest House, 1345 28th Street Boulder, Colorado

Purpose:

A new generation of space vehicles capable of economically delivering payloads and researchers is coming on line beginning in 2010. These revolutionary vehicles will provide frequent, low-cost access to space with the capability to carry research and education crew members. This meeting will be the first ever for a broad array of researchers to discuss plans for using these revolutionary new vehicles. Representatives of major suborbital companies, as well as NASA and the FAA, will also attend.

Important notes for journalists:

* Keynote speakers: Ms. Lori Garver, NASA deputy administrator; Dr. George Nield, FAA Associate Administrator; Dr. Pete Worden, NASA Ames Research Center Director; Dr. Alan Stern, Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) Associate Vice President.

* News conference, noon Thursday Feb. 18, featuring NASA, FAA, Virgin Galactic, XCOR, Blue Origin and Universities Space Research Association (USRA).

* More than 80 technical talks in nine technical sessions and three panel discussion sessions.

* Two public talks Thursday evening at the Fiske Planetarium on the University of Colorado campus. Topics are “Suborbital Space for Fun and Research – the Test Pilot Astronaut’s Perspective,” by Col. Rick Searfoss (USAF, retired), former space shuttle commander and chief test pilot for XCOR Aerospace; and “Citizen Spaceflight: A Dream Come True,” by Andrew Chaikin, author, journalist and inspirational speaker.

See: http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/nsrc2010/ for more information and the program schedule.