ORBCOMM… A Legendary Moment (Event)

[SatNews] A true legend who was part of NASA’s space exploration history will be speaking…

ORBCOMM Inc. (Nasdaq: ORBC), a global satellite data communications company focused on two-way Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications, has announced that Captain James Lovell, NASA legend and commander of Apollo 13, will serve as the keynote speaker at ORBCOMM’s 2011 Global Solutions Conference at the Park Hyatt Aviara in Carlsbad, CA, from October 12-14. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, the University of Southern California’s Aviation Safety School and the Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program, Lovell was selected by NASA in 1962 to join the Gemini program. His missions included the Gemini 7 flight that saw the first rendezvous of two manned spacecraft and the history-making Moon voyage of Apollo 8, during which he and his fellow crew were the first humans to leave the Earth’s gravitational influence.

Lovell’s fourth and final flight was on the perilous April 1970 mission of Apollo 13. He was serving as commander of the spacecraft when it suffered an explosion en route to its planned Moon landing. The crew was able to modify the systems in the lunar module into an effective lifeboat, and Lovell steered it in a trajectory around the Moon and back to a safe landing on Earth. The book he later wrote about the incident became the basis of the 1995 Tom Hanks film Apollo 13.

Lovell left the space program in 1973 and today serves as president of Lovell Communications, a business devoted to disseminating information about the U.S. space program. In addition to having a small part in the Apollo 13 film, he appeared in several segments of From the Earth to the Moon, the acclaimed HBO miniseries that Tom Hanks produced in 1998. His impressive array of honors includes the Presidential Medal of Freedom, French Legion of Honor, NASA Distinguished and Exceptional Service Medals, and two Navy Distinguished Flying Crosses.

“We are honored to have Captain Lovell, who is one of the most notable icons in the history of aviation and space exploration, serve as this year’s Global Solutions Conference keynote speaker,” said Marc Eisenberg, Chief Executive Officer of ORBCOMM. “Captain Lovell is a true American hero. We look forward to hearing him tell his inspiring story of the Apollo 13 mission, which embodies the essence of teamwork, leadership, crisis management, and excellence, and how it relates to achieving success in the business world of today and tomorrow.”

ORBCOMM’s Global Solutions Conference is an annual event that celebrates the company’s growth and leadership in the M2M market, educates its customers and partners about new developments in the ORBCOMM world and encourages collaboration and synergy within the ORBCOMM community. ORBCOMM expects over 200 customers, partners, manufacturers, application developers, and executives from more than 15 countries to attend this year’s conference, which features the theme, Driving the M2M Revolution.