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CORPORATE MEMBERS
• PARTNERS •
The Aerospace Corporation
Analytical Graphics,
Inc.
Arianespace,
Inc.
ATK Thiokol
BAE Systems
Ball
Aerospace & Technologies Corp.
The Boeing
Company
Booz Allen Hamilton
Computer
Sciences
Corporation
Eastman
Kodak Company
Florida Space Authority
GE
Johnson Construction
Company
General
Dynamics
Harris
Corporation
Holland
& Hart LLP
Integral
Systems, Inc.
Lockheed
Martin Corporation
Network
Appliance, Inc.
Northrop
Grumman
Orbital Sciences
Corporation
Raytheon
Company
SPACE.com
Space
News
Spectrum
Astro, Inc.
Swales
Aerospace
United
Space Alliance
• PATRONS •
Aerojet
Analex
AT&T
Government Markets
AXA Space
CMC Electronics
Cincinnati
CSP Associates, Inc.
DFI International
Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce
Honeywell
Space Systems
Infinite
Links
Inmarsat
ITT Industries
ManTech
International Corporation
MicroSat
Systems
Pratt
& Whitney Space Propulsion
SpaceVest
Stellar
Solutions
Titan Corporation
Valador,
Inc.
SPACE FOUNDATION BOARD
OF DIRECTORS
John Higginbotham,
SpaceVest,
CHAIRMAN
The Honorable
Robert S. Walker, Wexler & Walker Public Policy Associates,
VICE CHAIRMAN
Donovan B. Hicks,
Cygnus Enterprise Development, LLC,
SECRETARY
Dr. Jaleh Daie,
Aurora Equity LLC, TREASURER
Dr. William F. Ballhaus, Jr.,
The Aerospace
Corporation
Dr. Guion S. Bluford, Jr.,
Aerospace Technology Group
Wes Bush, Northrop
Grumman Space Technology
Lou Dobbs,
CNN,
Lou Dobbs Moneyline
Gen. Howell Estes III, USAF (Retired),
Howell Estes & Associates, Inc.
William MacDonald 'Mac' Evans, Former President,
Canadian
Space Agency
Paul Graziani,
Analytical Graphics,
Inc.
Lon C. Levin,
XM Satellite
Radio;
Mobile Satellite Ventures
Richard P. MacLeod,
President Emeritus,
Space
Foundation
Joanne Maguire, Lockheed
Martin Space & Strategic Missiles
Gen. Thomas S. Moorman, Jr., USAF (Retired),
Booz Allen Hamilton
Michael I. Mott,
The Boeing
Company – NASA Systems
Gen. John 'Pete' L. Piotrowski USAF (Retired),
Science Applications
International Corp.
VADM Richard H. Truly, USN (Retired),
National Renewable
Energy Lab
Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson,
Rose Center for Earth and Science
The Honorable Robert S. Walker,
Wexler
& Walker Public Policy Associates
CHAIRMAN EMERITUS
William B. Tutt,
Tutco, LLC
DIRECTORS EMERITUS
Robert Anderson,
Rockwell
The Honorable Kenneth Kramer,
U.S. Court
of Veterans Appeals
The Honorable Jaime Oaxaca, Coronado Communications Group
Dr. Simon Ramo,
Northrop
Grumman
HONORARY BOARD
MEMBERS
Norman R. Augustine
CAPT James A. Lovell, Jr., USN (Retired)
LIFE DIRECTORS
The Honorable E.C. "Pete" Aldridge
James M. Beggs
CAPT Eugene A. Cernan, USN (Retired)
The Honorable Don Fuqua
The Honorable Jake Garn
James B. Hayes
Bill Hudson
Sam F. Iacobellis
W. Bruce Kopper
The Honorable Bill Nelson
Richard D. O'Connor
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NATIONAL SPACE & SATELLITE ALLIANCE
BEGINS ADVOCACY MISSION
Brian E. Chase
Vice President, Washington Operations
The Space Foundation has long been an advocate of greater
coordination among
space organizations, and we took a leading role in helping
to make that a reality with the creation of the National
Space and Satellite Alliance (NSSA).
The Alliance was formally announced last week by its charter
members, the Space Foundation, National Space Society, Satellite
Industry Association, and Washington Space Business Roundtable.
NSSA members will coordinate its Washington operations, programs,
and activities to provide more cohesive and unified advocacy
of space policy issues in Washington and to more effectively
serve its members’ interests.
The stated mission of the NSSA is to marshal the resources
of the space and satellite advocacy community to most effectively
advance the exploration and development of space, and the
use of space and satellite systems and technologies, and
among the Alliance's early policy activities will be the
active support of the new NASA vision and export control
reforms. The Alliance will be online at www.spacealliance.org.
Policy and Public Affairs
Steve Eisenhart
Senior Vice President,
Policy & Public Affairs
The January 14th announcement by President Bush (see Special
Edition SpaceWatch, Jan. 14, 2004) has prompted wide-ranging discussion of the Moon-Mars initiative.
The Space Foundation has been actively part of the debate, providing extensive
media commentary in Washington and around the nation, communications with Capitol
Hill and facilitating preliminary work among industry to support the space
exploration effort.
Policy issues will be the primary focus at the second Space
at the Crossroads conference scheduled for February 18th in Washington. This
year’s
program includes remarks by Gen Richard Myers, USAF, Chairman
of the Joint Chiefs; VADM Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr., USN
(Retired) Under Secretary
of Commerce for Oceans & Atmosphere, United States Department of
Commerce & Administrator, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) and Dr. Charles Elatchi, Director, NASA Jet Propulsion
Laboratory.
Panels featuring leading government and military officials
include Corporate Ethics & the Government Customer – Challenges
of Doing Business in Today's Environment, Return to Flight – T
Minus?, What’s in the In Box?, and a Featured Commercial Panel
: Satellite Broadband for the Government Customer. Additional
senior speakers were being confirmed at press time. For
the latest complete
program details visit www.spacecrossroads.org.
A New Focus on Education
Patricia Arnold, Ph.D.
Vice President, Education & Workforce Development
The Space Foundation has prepared a Special Education
Edition,
to describe the many Education and Workforce
Development initiatives and programs that transpired over
the last year. In addition, you will learn of numerous new
and exciting projects that are underway, including our new
student web site, Discoverspace.org and the Teacher Liaison
Program.
Space Technology Hall of Fame Enters
16th Year
Honoring those who
transform space technology to benefit life on Earth
Kevin C. Cook
Director of Marketing & Development
 Since the dawn of America's space
program, technology developed to get us “out there” has
also served us well here on Earth.
The Space Technology Hall of Fame now enters its sixteenth
year of honoring those who quietly transform technology originally
developed for space exploration into products that help improve
the quality of life here on Earth.
 Induction into the Space Technology Hall of Fame affords
space technology innovators much deserved recognition.
It also serves to increase public awareness of the benefits
of space technology and encourage further innovation.
Since 1988 the Space Foundation, in cooperation with NASA,
has proudly conducted the Space Technology Hall of Fame,
inducting over 40 technologies and honoring over 130
organizations and 400 individuals for their efforts.
All are ‘enshrined’ in a virtual Hall of Fame
accessible through the Space Foundation’s Web site
(www.spacefoundation.org). Descriptions of each technology,
innovating organizations, and innovators provides visitors
with detailed information.
There are many technologies deserving
of recognition and we invite you to submit your nominations
for induction.
We are accepting nominations for the 2005 Space Technology
Hall
of Fame and nomination forms are available on-line at (www.spacefoundation.org.)
The Foundation continues to explore opportunities for commercial
sponsorship of the Hall of Fame, including development
of a physical Hall of Fame site. For more information
contact Kevin C. Cook, Director of Marketing & Development via
email at kevin@spacefoundation.org
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THE VIEW FROM HERE
A bigger, brighter Moon
The Moon seemed bigger and brighter than ever last week.
Heading west on
U.S. 50, a thin sliver of moon lit up the rugged terrain
of the Royal Gorge with the seeming brightness of three
full moons. It looked brighter than it had been in years,
and somehow larger and closer as well.
Perhaps only my point of view has changed. Since President
Bush unveiled the new U.S. space exploration policy,
a subtle new optimism has colored our vision whenever
we look up. It is OK to be held in thrall by our universe
once more. We are empowered to dream.
I say this optimism now colors “our” vision
because I’ve noticed a significant change in
the way my friends have approached me in recent weeks
to talk about space. “So, we’re really
going back to the Moon?” asked a software engineer
friend hopefully. A ones-and-zeros pragmatist who rails
against government spending and is big into “social
justice,” my friend nonetheless admits it was
the Apollo program that piqued his
interest and launched him into the well-paying technical
career that supports his family.
Like many high tech workers, my friend has watched
plant closures and layoffs as foreign nations have
closed the technology gap with the U.S. and work has
moved off shore. He knows it was the space program
that inspired his generation to take up technical careers
and that spun off entire new industries to propel our
nation forward. He has worried about the future of
his young daughter as he has witnessed the erosion
of our technology superiority, the flight of U.S. high
tech and knowledge jobs to foreign nations and the
corresponding weakness in our domestic economy.
But the new space vision has changed his view. He
knows from first-hand experience how a new age of space
exploration will impact his school-aged daughter and
the new opportunities it will create. My friend the
cynical pragmatist is beginning to feel like it might
be OK to look up again. He is not alone.
Of course there are naysayers as well – especially
in the news media, wherever spiraling cycles of doom
and gloom, carnage and horror are required to stoke
newsstand and advertising sales. For the most part
these purveyors of bilious prurience are loath to embrace
anything uplifting – although we’ve noted
with delight a few very thoughtful
editorials that embrace the concepts of investment,
self-betterment and the nourishment of the human spirit
via the pursuit of goals that require our reach to
exceed our grasp.
Many media reports, unfortunately, have been just
plain horrible and some even outrageous. The costs
of space exploration have been overblown and overstated
by orders of magnitude, and the benefits of space technology
have been flippantly dismissed by the arrogantly clueless.
In such an environment of toxic negativism, it is good
for all of us to remember two things:
First, the news media and the critics of technology
almost always get it wrong.
Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, director of New York’s
Hayden Planetarium, board
member of the Space Foundation and one of the world’s
leading astrophysicists, has a wonderful presentation
in which he highlights the preposterously pompous utterances
of newspapers and critics and how history has invariably
proven them wrong. Man will never fly. Man will never
step foot on the moon. Steamships are preposterous.
Airships are impossible, and we should not waste precious
research dollars on them. That sort of thing.
No less a person than Orville Wright once proclaimed
that man would never fly. He proved himself wrong just
a few years after saying it. Chagrined, Orville revised
his opinion to say that man would never fly across
the Atlantic. Shortly after, that pesky Lindberg fellow
came along.
Second, the critics don’t matter.
The United States was not built by people who sat
nervously on the sidelines fretting about what could
not be done. Great achievement comes not from critics
or the “nattering nabobs of negativism” but,
rather, from those who are willing to believe in a
thing and pursue it with all their might. To quote
a couple of my favorite philosophers:
Teddy Roosevelt: It is not the critic who counts;
not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled,
or where the doer of deeds could have done better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the
arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood;
who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again
and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great
devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who
at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement;
and who at the worst, if
he fails, at least fails while daring greatly; so that
his place shall never be with those cold and timid
souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
Yoda (in an exchange with Luke Skywalker):
Luke: “I don’t believe it!”
Yoda: “That is why you fail.”
Let us not fail, but rather let us believe. We are
the man in the ring.
Elliot G. Pulham
President &
Chief
Executive Officer
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Special offer for Newsletter Recipients Only
In conjunction with our strategic partner, Space News, we are
pleased to announce for all Space Foundation newsletter
recipients the opportunity to subscribe to Space News at a
special rate of $109 for a one-year subscription ... A 15%
discount off the regular rate.
Space News is the first publication that space professionals
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