Washington, D.C., May 3, 2010 – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is pleased to announce that the Southwest Research Institute, which recently committed funding to fly researcher-astronauts and their payloads onboard commercial suborbital spacecraft, has joined the Federation as an Executive Member, having received unanimous approval by the Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s Board of Directors.
Dr. S. Alan Stern, Associate Vice President at SwRI, former top science official at NASA, and chair of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s Suborbital Applications Researchers Group (SARG), stated, “We are strong believers in the power of commercial, next-generation vehicles to advance science and education. We also expect tremendous advances from the newly emerging capability to put scientists in space with their experiments. The CSF is leading the way in this industry, and SwRI is excited to join the CSF and play a strong role in the exciting new era of 21st century space research aboard commercial space flight vehicles.”
Southwest Research Institute is an independent, nonprofit applied research and development organization, with more than 3,200 staff who specialize in the creation and transfer of technology in engineering and the physical sciences.
Mark Sirangelo, Chairman of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, commented, “On behalf of the member companies of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, we are proud to welcome Southwest Research Institute as an Executive Member. Dr. Stern has done a tremendous job in pushing forward the nascent field of commercial suborbital science. We look forward to continue working with SwRI to further CSF’s goals of promoting the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursuing ever higher levels of safety, and sharing best practices and expertise throughout the industry.”
Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, added, “SwRI has a strong reputation and outstanding technical expertise in flying science payloads in space, including on suborbital rockets, and in the next few years SwRI expects to create some of the first suborbital scientist-astronauts in the nation as Dr. Stern and his colleagues train and fly onboard commercial suborbital spacecraft.”
About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever-higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s member companies, which include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, spaceports, suppliers, and service providers, are creating thousands of high-tech jobs nationwide, working to preserve American leadership in aerospace through technology innovation, and inspiring young people to pursue careers in science and engineering. For more information please visit www.commercialspaceflight.org or contact Executive Director John Gedmark at john@commercialspaceflight.org or at 202.349.1121.
About the Southwest Research Institute
Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) is an independent, nonprofit applied research and development organization. The staff of more than 3,200 specializes in the creation and transfer of technology in engineering and the physical sciences. The Institute occupies more than 1,200 acres in San Antonio, Texas, and provides nearly 2 million square feet of laboratories, test facilities, workshops and offices, with satellite offices in locations such as Boulder, Colorado. For more information please visit www.swri.edu or contact Alan Stern at alan@boulder.swri.edu or at 720.240.0163.
