25th National Space Symposium Selects Session SuperSpeakers + More…

The history and future of the nation’s military space programs will be center stage at the Space Foundation’s 25th National Space Symposium, when the men who have been in charge for the past 20-plus years gather for the first-ever Space Commanders Forum.

Featuring the commanders-in-chief of U.S. Space Command and U.S. Strategic Command, the Space Commanders Forum will address issues and insights from the inception of a space command into the U.S. military, through its continuous evolution, and shed light on upcoming challenges faced by the space national security community. Confirmed participants include:

• Adm. James O. Ellis, Jr., USN (Retired)
• Gen. Ed Eberhart, USAF (Retired)
• Gen. Howell M. Estes, III, USAF (Retired)
• Gen. Donald J. Kutyna, USAF (Retired)
• Gen. John L. “Pete” Piotrowski, USAF (Retired)

The panel, which will be similar in format to last year’s popularly received NASA Administrators Panel, will be moderated by Gen. Thomas S. Moorman, Jr., USAF (Retired).

Scheduled for March 30 — April 2, 2009, at The Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the 25th National Space Symposium is the premier annual gathering of the global space community. Presented by the Space Foundation, the symposium brings together all sectors of space — civil, commercial, national security, new space entrepreneurship, and finance — to highlight accomplishments and address opportunities and issues facing the global space community today. With its theme The Next Space Age, this year’s program focuses on major shifts in the economies, philosophies, and mechanics of the global space industry. The 25th National Space Symposium has already confirmed a number of current space leaders, including:

• Gen. C. Robert Kehler, USAF, commander of the Air Force Space Command
• Lt. Gen. John T. “Tom” Sheridan, USAF, commander of the Space and Missile Systems Center of the Air Force Space Command
• Vice Adm. Carl V. Mauney, USN, deputy commander of the United States Strategic Command
• Maj. Gen. William T. Lord, USAF, commander, Air Force Cyberspace Command (Provisional)

The symposium offers workshops, forums, panels and presentations covering all aspects of space.  Agenda items will also include discussion of civil and commercial space endeavors, including perspectives on space tourism and international space exploration. The 25th National Space Symposium features a spectacular Opening Ceremony; Congressional Luncheon; Corporate Partnership Dinner; presentation of the Space Foundation’s highest honor at the General James E. Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award Luncheon; and the Space Technology Hall of Fame Dinner, which honors technologies, organizations, and individuals for transforming space technology into commercial products that improve life on Earth. The Space Foundation recently announced that the Honorable Peter B. Teets has been selected as the winner of the General James E. Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award. The symposium also includes extensive programs for selected teachers and students, a space technology career fair, and 45,000 square feet of exhibits in the Boeing Exhibit Center representing more than 140 organizations and companies.

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