NASA officials, speaking on topics ranging from assured
access to space to Mars exploration, will be among
participants at the American Astronautical Society’s National
Conference and 50th Annual Meeting Nov. 18-19 in League City,
Texas.

William Gerstenmaier, International Space Station Program
Manager, will deliver the conference’s keynote address.
Jefferson D. Howell Jr., director of NASA’s Johnson Space
Center (JSC) in Houston, is the honorary chair of the event,
which is open to members of the media.

JSC Deputy Director Randy Stone will welcome attendees during
the opening session on Nov. 18. Other NASA personnel
scheduled to speak during plenary sessions or to moderate
discussions include:

  • Lynn Cline, Deputy Associate Administrator for Space Flight, NASA Headquarters, Washington, will moderate a panel discussion on the “Quest for Assured Access to Space”

  • Andrew Algate, space architect lead for transportation, NASA Headquarters, will discuss the Integrated Space Transportation Plan

  • Michael Kostelnik, Deputy Associate Administrator for Space Station and Shuttle programs, NASA Headquarters, will discuss the Space Shuttle’s Return-to-Flight activities

  • Adena Loston, Associate Administrator for Education, NASA Headquarters, will moderate a panel discussion of “Space in the Classroom”

  • Frank Jordan, manager, Pre-Projects and Advanced Studies, Solar Systems Exploration Programs, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., will moderate a session on “Mars — Potential of the Red Planet”

  • James Garvin, lead scientist for Mars exploration, Office of Space Science, NASA Headquarters, will discuss the 2003 Mars rovers’ status

  • Everett Gibson, senior scientist, Office of Astromaterials Research & Exploration Science at JSC, will discuss the status of research on Martian meteorite ALH84001

  • Franklin Chang-Diaz, astronaut and director of the Advanced Space Propulsion Laboratory at JSC, will discuss the Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket

  • Rob Navias, public affairs officer at JSC, will moderate a media roundtable

Media can find more information and register to attend the
conference at:

http://www.astronautical.org

For more information about NASA, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov