Newspace 2009
Join the conference in more ways than one
by G B Leatherwood
Attending any of the several space conferences is like standing atop an apex of time. Face this way, and you can look back at where we were, and what has happened since the last time we looked. Take a quarter turn, see and hear where we are now and the people making news. Take another quarter turn, and you are facing the future—what is yet to be done, who is going to do it, and how.
From July 17 to July 20 the Space Frontier Foundation
(SFF)’s NewSpace 2009 Space Conference, held at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. presents another opportunity to do the same. According to SFF’s press release, the conference agenda begins with the first day devoted to exploring the potential and possibilities of space elevator technology, with panels such as “Carbon Nanotube Technology,” “Economic Growth Opportunities,” and “Spaceward and the Elevator Games.” In the evening, conference programming will begin with a screening of the film Orphans of Apollo.
You can attend a space conference in either of two ways: go, sit in the audience for the panel discussions, visit the exhibits, walk around, observe, take notes, whatever. Or you can become an active participant in the discussions, talk with the presenters, check in at the always-lively hospitality rooms, share your ideas and opinions with those who are making things happen. Remember, now matter how well- or little-known the principals are, they are there to hear as well as be heard, to listen as well as talk.
This open participation will be taken seriously at the NewSpace 2009 Space Conference. For example, at the “Business Plan Competition” panel, submitters will compete for real prizes for their ideas. And here’s a new one: the day will close with a series of business case studies, where both successful and unsuccessful startups will be investigated and compared—what worked, what didn’t work, and why.
For complete details about the conference, a complete list of presenters, the daily schedule, and advance registration, which is scheduled to close on Friday, July 10, 2009, go to the NewSpace 2009 website here, which also provides information about the group rate ($99 per night) at the Domain Hotel in nearby Sunnyvale, California.
From July 17 to July 20 the Space Frontier Foundation
(SFF)’s NewSpace 2009 Space Conference, held at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. presents another opportunity to do the same. According to SFF’s press release, the conference agenda begins with the first day devoted to exploring the potential and possibilities of space elevator technology, with panels such as “Carbon Nanotube Technology,” “Economic Growth Opportunities,” and “Spaceward and the Elevator Games.” In the evening, conference programming will begin with a screening of the film Orphans of Apollo. You can attend a space conference in either of two ways: go, sit in the audience for the panel discussions, visit the exhibits, walk around, observe, take notes, whatever. Or you can become an active participant in the discussions, talk with the presenters, check in at the always-lively hospitality rooms, share your ideas and opinions with those who are making things happen. Remember, now matter how well- or little-known the principals are, they are there to hear as well as be heard, to listen as well as talk.
This open participation will be taken seriously at the NewSpace 2009 Space Conference. For example, at the “Business Plan Competition” panel, submitters will compete for real prizes for their ideas. And here’s a new one: the day will close with a series of business case studies, where both successful and unsuccessful startups will be investigated and compared—what worked, what didn’t work, and why.
For complete details about the conference, a complete list of presenters, the daily schedule, and advance registration, which is scheduled to close on Friday, July 10, 2009, go to the NewSpace 2009 website here, which also provides information about the group rate ($99 per night) at the Domain Hotel in nearby Sunnyvale, California.
