By Chuck Black
The current line-up for 2015 includes retired astronaut and second man on the Moon Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, Jr., the first female "space tourist" Anousheh Ansari, former Canadian Space Agency (CSA) president/ astronaut and current Liberal MP for Westmount--Ville-Marie Marc Garneau, the current general manager of the Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA) and former deputy administrator of NASA Lori Garver and even a few people who still work in the space industry, such as former NASA astronaut and current director of crew and mission operations for the Boeing commercial crew program Christopher J. Ferguson and Virgin Galactic CEO George T. Whitesides.
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| ISDC 2015 literature. Graphic c/o CEC Global Events. |
For the second time in under a year, a major international space conference is setting up shop in Toronto.
Hot on the heels of very successful 65th International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2014) comes the National Space Society's International Space Development Conference (ISDC 2015) which will be held in Toronto, ON from May 20th - 24th, 2015.
The annual ISDC is considered "the keynote event" of the U.S. based National Space Society (NSS), and brings together over 1000 leading managers, engineers, scientists, educators, and business people from civilian, military, commercial, entrepreneurial, and grassroots advocacy space sectors to discuss a variety of topics related to space and space activism.
Recent speakers have included Aerospace Corporation principal engineer William Ailor (2014), ATK Aerospace business development VP Jim Armor (2014), space tourist and entrepreneur Richard Garriott (2014), XCOR Aerospace CEO Jeff Greason (2014), Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office (AFRCO) director Dave E. Hamilton (2013), Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) director Brian Harris (2013), Indian ex-president and scientist/ engineer A.P.J Abdul Kalam (2013), space solar power advocate and Artemis Innovation Management Solutions president John Mankins (2013 - 2014), SpaceX CEO and CTO Elon Musk (2014), meteorite "man" Geoffrey Notkin (2014), PricewaterhouseCoopers Canada director of business development and global markets Sandra Pupatello (2013), US representative and vice chairman of the science of the congressional space and technology committee Dana Rohrabacher (2013), Moon Express co-founder & CEO Robert Richards (2013 - 2014), Mars Society president Robert Zubrin (2013 - 2014) and several hundred others.
Recent speakers have included Aerospace Corporation principal engineer William Ailor (2014), ATK Aerospace business development VP Jim Armor (2014), space tourist and entrepreneur Richard Garriott (2014), XCOR Aerospace CEO Jeff Greason (2014), Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office (AFRCO) director Dave E. Hamilton (2013), Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) director Brian Harris (2013), Indian ex-president and scientist/ engineer A.P.J Abdul Kalam (2013), space solar power advocate and Artemis Innovation Management Solutions president John Mankins (2013 - 2014), SpaceX CEO and CTO Elon Musk (2014), meteorite "man" Geoffrey Notkin (2014), PricewaterhouseCoopers Canada director of business development and global markets Sandra Pupatello (2013), US representative and vice chairman of the science of the congressional space and technology committee Dana Rohrabacher (2013), Moon Express co-founder & CEO Robert Richards (2013 - 2014), Mars Society president Robert Zubrin (2013 - 2014) and several hundred others.
According to CEC Global Events (CEC) director Aggie Kobrin, several dozen more speakers are expected to be announced over the next little while to fill out the program. CEC is the organizer of the event for the NSS and is working in conjunction with the Canadian Space Commerce Association (CSCA) which is functioning as the local organizing committee.
As per the January 12th, 2015 press release, "Indian Space Research Organization Mars Orbiter Programme Team Wins National Space Society’s Space Pioneer Award for Science and Engineering." the NSS will also be honouring the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) for the ISRO Mars Orbiter Program Team and the Mars Orbiter Mission.
As per the January 12th, 2015 press release, "Indian Space Research Organization Mars Orbiter Programme Team Wins National Space Society’s Space Pioneer Award for Science and Engineering." the NSS will also be honouring the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) for the ISRO Mars Orbiter Program Team and the Mars Orbiter Mission.
For more information on the event, check out the ISDC 2015 website at http://isdc2015.nss.org/.
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| The Hyatt Regency Toronto will be hosting the 2015 International Space Development Conference from May 20th - 24th, 2015. For more information, please check out the Hyatt Regency website at https://aws.passkey.com/event/11486046/owner/1460357/home. The hotel is also one of the hubs of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Graphic c/o Hyatt. |
This will definitely be a lovely conference to attend, and I've already got it marked on my calendar. Just to hear from Buzz Aldrin and Marc Garneau will be worth the trip!
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