ISPCS 2010
Letter from Pat Hynes, ISPCS Chair
We did it, another successful ISPCS. For those of you who came, thank you for being part of the largest gathering we've ever had. More than 400 attendees, speakers, exhibitors and media representatives gathered for the two primary reasons they come to ISPCS: for panel discussions that deepen industry knowledge, and to share ideas and insights through all-day and all-evening networking.
Here are some highlights of what some of our speakers said at the conference:
Jeff Greason, President of XCOR: "Attempting to avoid failure drives up the cost of a program. If you push the state of the art and you don't expect to have failures, you are kidding yourself."
Julia Tizard, Virgin Galactic Operations Manager: "Our customers are really our investors. They have a lot of involvement in the program. They are very willing to help us understand the experience, and they don't want to put themselves at risk either."
Lori Garver, Assistant Administrator of NASA: "We want to facilitate the survival of the U.S. space industry. We need to be enabling the space program of the future and we now have the roadmap to guide us with the new space policy. I can't imagine a more exciting time to be in the space industry!"
Cheryl Nickerson, Arizona State University Biodesign Institute: "Spaceflight induces novel changes in both human and microbial cells directly relevant to infectious diseases that cannot be mimicked by traditional experimental approaches here on Earth."
Robert Bigelow, President of Bigelow Aerospace: "We are very vested in what happens to space transport vehicles because we look at being a substantial consumer of those flights. We need a launch schedule and are concerned about available launch facilities."
Mark Sirangelo, Sierra Nevada Space Systems Chairman: "We are really doing something that will go down in aviation history and aerospace history. We are helping to shape the future of flight."
Philip McCalister, NASA: "The U.S. industry is already ready. The companies built the systems that launch our crews and have done so since the dawn of the space age. Clearly, the U.S. is going to take a leadership role in commercial space."
George Whitesides, Virgin Galactic CEO: "If we don't get our kids excited about science and technology, we are not going to be able to compete with other countries. We need to show kids early what is exciting about science and technology. We need to make investments to connect students and teachers with the entrepreneurial activities of commercial space."
Stu Witt, Mojave Spaceport Director: "My job is to create a framework that is business-friendly, to give companies a place to design, to test, to sometimes fail, and to create breakthroughs for mankind."
In the evaluations attendees completed, one word came up over and over and over: networking. Our theme this year emphasized working together, and that is what our attendees did for two days in New Mexico. Our industry is growing at the speed of the collaboration that takes place, not only person-to-person, but also business-to-business and public-to-private.
Our theme for the 2011 will be "Business at the Speed of Collaboration and Innovation," so the emphasis will remain on working together so that we are all successful in building this industry. We will look at the role of economic development, business funding and a host of other topics important to the leaders of this industry who are doing forward planning.
I want to personally thank our keynote speaker, Lori Garver, for her top 10 reasons to attend ISPCS . We hope you take the time to look through the more than 150 photos our photographer took of ISPCS, the Spaceport events, and Public Forum.
We will continue to update you throughout the year on progress in our industry and we look forward to working with many of you in designing and executing ISPCS 2011, scheduled for Oct. 19-20.
Best wishes for a great year!
Dr. Patricia Hynes
Chair
