When: May 24, 2013, 10:00 am (Programming follows 11:00 am to 4:50 pm)

Where: International Space Development Conference
San Diego, California, at the Hyatt Regency La Jolla at Aventine

What: A Press Conference featuring the National Space Society’s (NSS) Roadmap to Space Settlement will be presented to the world. A panel of space experts and NSS members will discuss the path towards humankind’s future in space. The press conference will also highlight previews of some of the afternoon’s talks, a visually stunning Luncheon Presentation, and a programming track that covers some of the exciting topics in (and evolved from) the Roadmap. Previously, only NSS members and Ad Astra magazine subscribers have been told about the Roadmap. Now, the world will know!

A space logistics base with a docking truss is assembled in Low Mars Orbit. Art: Anna Nesterova

With the impending breakthroughs in launch costs, attention is once more shifting to actual operations in space. We can now begin to dream big dreams again. The Roadmap Track will cover the future diverse paths to space development and the common and practical foundations for our impending economic breakout into space. The NSS Roadmap, approved by the NSS Board of Directors, attempts to lay out many of the space goals and identify Milestones and Barriers to those goals.

Track presentations will cover some legal issues surrounding space development, how space development can improve life on Earth, how you actually can build a two kilometer space colony with essentially current level technology, progress in the development of reusable launch systems, why a cis-lunar space transportation and logistics system is vital to reaching all of our space goals and destinations, how to achieve the ability to build space colonies, and how space settlement design competitions can augment and assist planning for future space colonies.

Roadmap text and images can be found here.

In addition to the presentations directly in the Roadmap track itself, many of the other tracks at the ISDC cover material directly related to the Roadmap, such as the Lunar, Mars and the Space Based Solar Power Tracks.

Featured Speakers:

Derek Weber: Director: SpacePort Associates
Howard Bloom: Author & Member: NSS Board of Directors
Stan Rosen: Vice Chairman, NSS Board of Directors
Bruce Pittman: NSS Senior Vice President/Senior Operating Officer
Anita Gale: Member: NSS Board of Directors
Mark Hopkins: Chairman NSS Executive Committee
Jeff Liss: Member: NSS Board of Directors
John Strickland: Member: NSS Board of Directors, Track Chair
Al Globus: Member: NSS Board of Directors

Roadmap Track Sessions schedule:

10:00 am – Roadmap Rollout – MEDIA PRESS CONFERENCE with panel
11:00 am – Jeff Liss – Legal Issues of and Barriers to Roadmap Milestones
11:20 am – Stan Rosen – Applications of Space Technology on and for Earth
12:00 am – Howard Bloom – Space Visual Manifesto (LUNCH talk) invited speaker
2:00 pm – John Strickland – How Does a Jig Factory Build a Space Colony?
3:00 pm – Bruce Pittman – Economic & Technical Realities of Reusable Launch Systems
3:15 pm – Al Globus – Paths to Space Settlement
4:00 pm – Derek Webber – An Architecture for Survival
4:25 pm – Anita Gale – Design Competition Scenarios: Ambitious Future Space Roadmap

How: Members of the working media whose attendance may result in coverage, whether broadcast, print or online, may request credentials here.

All conference sessions are open to credentialed media. Advance Media Registration is strongly encouraged to enable review of each request by NSS Staff and for registrants to provide supporting documentation for their request.

Register now for the International Space Development Conference, which includes astronaut Buzz Aldrin, Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, and former President of India Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam as confirmed speakers. For more information, contact Dave Dressler at dave.dressler@nss.org.

About the National Space Society: NSS is an independent, educational, membership, non-profit organization dedicated to the creation of a spacefaring civilization. NSS is widely acknowledged as the preeminent citizen’s voice on space, with thousands of members and supporters, and over 50 chapters in the United States and around the world. The Society publishes Ad Astra magazine, an award-winning periodical chronicling the most important developments in space. To learn more, visit www.nss.org.