NASA Explores Commercial Opportunities for Space Science
NASA scientists, multi-disciplinary researchers, government officials and future space flight service providers are discussing new ways to access and utilize space science, life science and Earth science experiments at the Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference, Feb. 18-20, 2010 at The Millennium Harvest House, 1345 28th Street, Boulder, Colo.
NASA scientists, multi-disciplinary researchers, government officials and future space flight service providers are discussing new ways to access and utilize space science, life science and Earth science experiments at the Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference, Feb. 18-20, 2010 at The Millennium Harvest House, 1345 28th Street, Boulder, Colo.
Currently, only astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station or NASA’s space orbiters are able to tend to science experiments in space. NASA officials are planning to pay for suborbital space flights for research, technology advancement and STEM payloads in the near term. In the long-term, NASA plans to treat these vehicles as high-speed experimental aircraft as it assesses their potential for human spaceflight.
Today, Lori Garver, NASA deputy administrator and S. Pete Worden, director of NASA’s Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., gave a keynote address at the conference’s opening session along with George Nield, associate administrator at the Federal Aviation Administration and Alan Stern, associate vice president and chair of the suborbital applications researchers group at the Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio.
Later today, S. Pete Worden will participate in the news media panel discussion about suborbital research and the Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research (CRuSR) program based at NASA Ames. Other panelists will include Alan Stern; Mark Sirangelo, chairman of the board for Commercial Spaceflight Federation; S. Attenborough, chief executive officer of Virgin Galactic; and J. Greason, president of XCOR Aerospace. Following their remarks, news media will have an opportunity to ask questions.
As commercial spaceflight opportunities become available, NASA CRuSR program will competitively secure flight service for scientists and their science experiment payloads.
Summary of NASA-related Events (all times Mountain Standard)
What: Opening Session
When: 8:30 – 10 a.m., Feb. 18
Who: Welcoming remarks from Alan Stern, associate vice president of the Southwest Research Institute; Mark Sirangelo, chairman of the board for Commercial Spaceflight Federation; and Frederick Tarantino, president and chief executive officer of the Universities Space Research Association. Keynote addresses from Lori Garver, NASA deputy administrator, S. Pete Worden, NASA Ames Center Director; George Nield, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) associate administrator; and Alan Stern.
Where: Canyon/Flagstaff Rooms
What: Capabilities of Next-Generation Suborbital Vehicles Session
When: 11:30 a.m. – noon, Feb. 18
Who: Paul Schallhorn, Curtis Groves and Charles Tarto of the NASA’s Launch Services Program at KSC along with their colleagues at the United Launch Alliance, Denver, Colo., and Special Aerospace Services, Boulder will present the conceptual design of external payload carriers.
Where: Canyon/Flagstaff Rooms
What: News Media Panel Discussion
When: 12:15 – 1 p.m., Feb. 18
Who: Alan Stern, associate vice president of the Southwest Research Institute; Mark Sirangelo, chairman of the board for Commercial Spaceflight Federation; S. Pete Worden, NASA Ames Center Director; Stehen Attenborough, chief executive officer of Virgin Galactic; Jeff Greason, president of XCOR Aerospace.
Where: Room 231
What: Payload Specialist And Researchers/Educator Roles In Next-Generation Suborbital Missions Panel Discussion
When: 3:30 p.m., Feb. 18
Who: Dan Durda and Erika Wagner will moderate the discussion, featuring Alan Stern; Yvonne Cagle, project scientist and former NASA Astronaut at NASA Ames; Ken Davidian, program lead at the FAA; and Samuel Durrance, professor of Physics at the Florida Institute of Technology and former NASA payload specialist.
Where: Canyon/Flagstaff Rooms
What: Education and Public Outreach Session
When: 12:15-12:30 p.m., Feb. 19
Who: Varoujan Gorjian of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., along with his colleagues at the Spitzer Science Center-Caltech and Oil City High School will present their ideas of how teachers can bring suborbital research into the classroom.
Where: Canyon Room
What: Technology Payloads and Symposium on Deployable Vehicles Session II and Panel Discussion
When: 3 – 3:15 p.m., Feb. 19
Who: Marc Murbach, project manager for the SOAREX Suborbital Flight Series, will discuss the goals and results of the experimental suborbital sounding rocket flights.
Where: Century Room
What: NASA Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research (CRuSR) Program Panel Discussion.
When: 7 p.m., Feb. 19
Who: Mike Skidmore, Dougal Maclise, Yvonne Cagle, Richard Mains, and Lisa Chu-Thielbar of the CRuSR office at NASA Ames will discuss the ways low-cost and reliable access to space to create partnerships between researchers, launch providers and NASA.
Where: Canyon/Flagstaff Room
What: Life Sciences Session II
When: 9:30 a.m., Feb. 20
Who: K. M. Hurlbert, NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Houston will discuss environmental controls and life support systems for human space vehicles and the needs to conduct micro- and partial-gravity tests.
Where: Flagstaff Room
What: Panel Discussion With Audience Question And Answer: Desired Next-Gen Vehicle Attributes For Research And Education Mission
When: 10:30 a.m., Feb. 20
Who: Alan Stern and Yvonne Cagle will moderate a panel discussion, featuring G. Lai, New Shepherd Project, Blue Origin; Michael Mealling, chief financial officer and vice president of business development at Masten Space Systems; Max Vozoff, director of civil business development at SpaceX DragonLab; George Sowers, vice president, United Launch Alliance; Stephen Attenborough; Khali McKee, program manager, XCOR Aerospace.
Where: Canyon/Flagstaff
For more information, meeting schedule and to register for the Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference, visit: http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/nsrc2010
For more information about IPP, visit: http://ipp.nasa.gov
