LAS CRUCES, N.M. – International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight (ISPCS) 2013 chair, Patricia Hynes, Ph.D., kicked off the symposium today noting that, despite the government shutdown, the work on commercial space continues.

“This is one of the goals of our industry, to develop commercial capability that is not subject to only government support for its existence,” Hynes said during her opening remarks. “Better yet, the win-win is a robust industry with healthy partners, including but not limited to the government. A strong reflection of the progress we’ve made as an industry is that our attendance numbers this year have not been significantly affected by the shutdown. We have work to do and it is work that matters.”

 Industry leading keynote speakers and panelists, throughout today, will focus on commercial human spaceflight programs, their relationships to the ISS and how the emergence of the U.S. National Laboratory will be a platform to evolve not only research, but also a development facility to foster first steps in product development. Rounding out the agenda for day one will be discussions on environments that foster innovation, not only in product development, but also within an organization, and how out of the box thinking is required to maintain competencies and capabilities through gaps in market needs. 

Some of the prestigious keynote speakers and panelists for the first day of the symposium include:

.         Gwynne Shotwell, President and Chief Operating Officer, SpaceX

.         Duane Ratliff, Director of Operations, CASIS

.         Jon Gertner, Editor-at-large, Fast Company Magazine

.         Sandy Magnus, Executive Director, AIAA

Over the next two days, attendees at ISPCS will examine the evolving commercial space industry with a focus on strategies for managing the risks and reaping the rewards as the industry takes on some overwhelming challenges in creating a new human transportation industry. Discussions will address realistic expectations and timeframes for achieving the rewards as commercial space transportation continues to justify early investments.

About ISPCS

The International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight (ISPCS) is the most relevant, high-value commercial space conference of the year, featuring the industry’s top thought leaders and cutting-edge technologies with commercial applications for military, scientific and personal spaceflight. This year, through two high-impact days of dynamic dialogue, ISPCS will address strategies to manage the risks and reap the rewards of the commercial space industry. ISPCS is a partner with New Mexico Space Grant Consortium, a member of the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program. For more information, visit www.ispcs.com.

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