SGC 2010 Opening Ceremony at Charles University, Prague

Between 23 and 25 September 2010, Prague, Czech Republic will become the headquarters for international space matters. High-level space leaders and young professionals in the sector will come together to debate the latest space topics of interest at the Space Generation Congress (SGC) 2010, the annual conference of the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC). The discussions will focus on five major themes: Industry, Agency, Climate, Exploration and Outreach.

This year, SGC brings together 100 young space leaders from 40 countries and six continents. During the three-day conference organised at the Charles University, SGC 2010 delegates will mix their knowledge, experiences, enthusiasm and fresh ideas to find solutions for the up-coming challenges of space development. At the end of SGC 2010, the participants’ valuable input will be organised into five reports reflecting the youth view on the five key space themes.

SGC 2010 delegates will also have the opportunity to interact with high-level space sector leaders and subject matter experts that will be joining SGC to share their views with the younger generations.

Confirmed speakers include:

– Barbara Adde: Policy and Strategic Communications (PSC) Manager for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA’s) Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) Program

– Charles F. Bolden: NASA Administrator

– Ben Corbin: Aerospace Engineering and Planetary Science Masters Student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

– Chris De Cooker: Head of the International Relations Department at the European Space Agency (ESA)

– Berndt P. Feuerbacher: President of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF)

– Mike Kearny: Chairman and General Secretary of the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS)

– John Logsdon: Professor Emeritus at George Washington University’s Elliot School of International Affairs

– Clayton Mowry: President of Arianespace, Inc.

– Zdenek Nemecek: Dean of the Charles University Department of Mathematics and Physics

– Dumitru Prunariu: Chairman of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UN COPUOS)

– William Watson: Executive Director of the Space Frontier Foundation (SSF)

– Ray Williamson: Executive Director of the Secure World Foundation (SWF)

– Jim Zimmerman: President of International Space Services, Inc.

“The Space Generation Congress is like no other conference. It has the ability to energise its participants for months to come. The multicultural environment of young people from all over the world passionate about space creates opportunity not only for great output but also for long-lasting friendships. I am convinced that SGC 2010 will be an incredible event. We have already broken records in the number of participants and the number of scholarships awarded. Our programme of speakers, including NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, is full of inspirational international space figures. Subject Matter Experts are experienced and ready to guide our bright delegates. In other words, we have nothing less to expect but a fantastic Space Generation Congress!” declares Agnieszka Lukaszczyk, SGAC Chair.

Among the themes discussed by those attending SGC 2010, Industry – The New, Increased Role of Industry in the Space Sector – will tackle such topics as space tourism, the role of new and well-established space companies, the prospects and obstacles to the privatised direction the space industry is heading.

In the Agency session – Terrestrial Applications for Space Technology: Exploring the Practical Challenges in International Collaboration on Space Systems, delegates will discuss ground-based uses of space technology, focusing on issues related to disaster management.

The focus of the Climate session – Challenges of the Procurement and Use of Earth Observation Data: From Traditional Remote Sensing to Community Remote Sensing – will be the current challenges of Earth observation data exchange and community remote sensing.

During the Exploration session – Human Space Exploration: Technical, Societal, Legal and Political Challenges, SGC 2010 delegates will discuss human space exploration and why we should continue to send humans farther and farther into the universe.

Finally, in the Outreach session – Development of Science and Technology Education and Careers for the New Generation, delegates will think of ways to encourage students to enter and remain in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

For the biographies of the moderators, rapporteurs, subject matter experts, and speakers of each session please refer to:
http://spacegeneration.org/index.php/eventstopics/news/240-the-september-newsletter-has-been-released

The full programme of the conference, which takes place at the Charles University (Malostranske nam. 25, 118 00 Praha 1), is available here (PDF).

For additional information please visit the SGC 2010 website.

Follow us on Twitter during the congress: http://twitter.com/sgac or by using #SGC2010

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This story is part of a special presentation by SpaceRef on The 61st International Astronautical Congress. For more news during the congress please visit our special page at:
http://spaceref.com/news/iac2010/