Panel Session 4: Panelist

Gene Cernan
Captain, United States Navy, Retired
NASA Astronaut, Retired

Keynote Speaker

He occupied the pilot seat alongside of command pilot Tom Stafford on the Gemini IX mission. On his second space flight, he was lunar module pilot of Apollo 10, the first comprehensive lunar-orbital qualification and verification flight test of an Apollo lunar module. He made his third space flight as spacecraft commander of Apollo 17, with him on the voyage of the command module "America" and the lunar module "Challenger" were Ronald Evans (command module pilot) and Harrison H. (Jack) Schmitt (lunar module pilot). In maneuvering "Challenger" to a landing at Taurus-Littrow, located on the southeast edge of Mare Serenitatis, Cernan and Schmitt activated a base of operations from which they completed three highly successful excursions to the nearby craters and the Taurus mountains, making the Moon their home for over three days. This last mission to the moon established several records for manned space flight that will on day soon be broken, that include: longest manned lunar landing flight (301 hours 51 minutes); longest lunar surface extravehicular activities (22 hours 6 minutes); largest lunar sample return (an estimated 115 kg (249 lbs.); and longest time in lunar orbit (147 hours 48 minutes). Gene has logged 566 hours and 15 minutes in space-of which more than 73 hours were spent on the surface of the moon. Gene currently has the distinction of being the last man to have left his footprints on the surface of the moon.

Andrew Chaikin
Author and Lecturer

Panel Session 7: Panelist

Andrew Chaikin has authored books and articles about space exploration and astronomy for more than two decades. He is also active as a lecturer at museums, schools and corporate events, and in radio and television appearances.

Chaikin is best known as the author of A Man on the Moon: The Triumphant Story of the Apollo Space Program, first published in 1994. This acclaimed work was the main basis for Tom Hanks' HBO miniseries, From the Earth to the Moon, which won the Emmy for best miniseries in 1998. Chaikin spent eight years writing and researching A Man on the Moon, including hundreds of hours of personal interviews with each of the 23 surviving lunar astronauts. Apollo moonwalker Gene Cernan said of the book, "I've been there. Chaikin took me back." A three-volume, fully illustrated edition of A Man on the Moon was published by Time-Life books in 1999.

Chaikin co-edited The New Solar System, a compendium of writings by planetary scientists, now in its fourth edition. He is also the author of Air and Space: The National Air and Space Museum Story of Flight, published in 1997 by Bulfinch Press. He collaborated with moonwalker-turned-artist Alan Bean to write Apollo: An Eyewitness Account, published in 1998 by the Greenwich Workshop Press. Chaikin co-authored the text for the highly successful collection of Apollo photography, Full Moon, which was published by Knopf in 1999. His most recent book, SPACE: A History of Space Exploration in Photographs, was published in 2002 by Carlton Books.

From 1999 to 2001 Chaikin served as Executive Editor for Space and Science at SPACE.com, the definitive website for all things space. He was also the editor of SPACE.com's print magazine, Space Illustrated.

Chaikin is a commentator for National Public Radio's Morning Edition, and has appeared on Good Morning America, Nightline, and the NPR programs Fresh Air and Talk of the Nation.

A former editor of Sky & Telescope magazine, Chaikin has also been a contributing editor of Popular Science and has written for Newsweek, Air&Space/Smithsonian, World Book Encyclopedia, Scientific American, and other publications.

A graduate of Brown University , Chaikin served on the Viking missions to Mars at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and was a researcher at the Smithsonian's Center for Earth and Planetary Studies before becoming a science journalist in 1980.

Michael L. Coats
Vice President, Advanced Space Transportation
Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company

Panel Session 1: Panelist

Michael L. Coats is vice president of Advanced Space Transportation for Lockheed Martin Space Systems. He is leading Lockheed Martin's effort to develop the next generation of Reusable Space Launch and Crew Transfer Vehicles.

Coats previously served as vice president of Civil Space Programs for Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space in Sunnyvale , Calif. , from 1996-1998. He was responsible for several programs including the Hubble Space Telescope, Spitzer Space Telescope, major portions of the International Space Station, Earth Observing System AM-1, Landsat 7, Television Infrared Observation Satellite and Lunar Prospector.

From 1991-1996, Coats served as vice president of Avionics and Communications Operations for Loral Space Information Systems. He was responsible for avionics and software for the Space Shuttle at NASA’s Johnson Space Flight Center in Houston, Texas.

From 1979-1991, Coats served as an astronaut for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). He piloted the 1984 STS-41D Shuttle flight and was the spacecraft commander of STS-29 in 1989 and STS-39 in 1991. He was acting chief of the Astronaut Office from May 1989 until March 1990. Coats is a retired Navy captain who graduated from the Naval Academy in 1968. He flew 315 combat missions in Southeast Asia from 1970-1972 as an A-7E pilot aboard the USS Kittyhawk. He later served as a test pilot and flight instructor at the Naval Test Pilot School.

Coats has been awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal, three Navy Distinguished Flying Crosses, 32 Strike Flight Air Medals, three Individual Action Air Medals, nine Navy Commendation Medals with Combat V and the NASA Space Flight Medal.

Coats earned a bachelor of science degree in Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy and master’s degrees in administration of science and technology from George Washington University and in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School.

Daniel J. Collins
Vice-President and Delta Program Manager
The Boeing Company

Panel Session IV: Panelist

Dan Collins is vice president, program manager of the Boeing Delta programs. He oversees all Delta program activities including design, engineering, integration, production, quality assurance and overall program management.

Prior to his current assignment, Collins was vice president, program manager of the Boeing EELV/Delta IV. He was responsible for the development and production of the new Delta IV family of launch vehicles.

Before that he also directed program integration for EELV/Delta IV and served as the Delta III program manager.

Collins began his career at McDonnell Douglas in 1990 as an engineer in the structural analysis department on the Space Station "Freedom" program. Since then, he has held several positions of increasing responsibility and served on the integrated product team for International Space Station pressurized elements before moving to the Delta III program.

Prior to joining McDonnell Douglas, Collins was associated with the Northrop Corporation. He received a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from Loyola Marymount University in 1982.

Panel Session 5: Panelist

Joe Cuzzupoli is Vice President & Program Manager for Kistler Aerospace Corporation and has primary responsibility for production of the K-1 vehicle within budget and on schedule. He joined Kistler in January 1997.

Mr. Cuzzupoli has over three decades of experience in aerospace program management and manufacturing. Prior to joining Kistler's executive team, he served as Senior Vice President of American Pacific Corporation where he was responsible for all divisions of product development. Previously, Mr. Cuzzupoli also served as Vice President and Program Manager for the Space Shuttle Orbiter Project at Rockwell International, and prior to that Mr. Cuzzupoli was the Assistant Program Manager for Apollo 6, 8, 9, and 12.

Currently, Mr. Cuzzupoli is also serving as the Technical Lead for NASA’s Return to Flight Task Group.

Howard DeCastro
United Space Alliance

Panel Session 2: Panelist

Howard DeCastro is vice president and program manager of United Space Alliance. Appointed to this position in August 1997, he is responsible for overall program management of the Space Flight Operations Contract. He previously served as vice president and deputy program manager of USA , a position he had held since August 1996.

DeCastro has more than 30 years of management experience. He served as president of Northwest Aerospace Training Corporation (NATCO), a wholly owned subsidiary of NWA Inc., from 1991 through 1996. NATCO provides the simulators used to train Northwest Airlines pilots and also sells simulator time, pilot training and other airline-related services to more than 100 airlines worldwide.

From 1987 to 1991 DeCastro was the president of Allen Corporation of America and Link Training Services, companies that develop pilot training and operated simulators for the United States military. He served as manager, director and vice president of Allen Corporation from 1980 through 1987. In these capacities, he oversaw the development of aviation training programs and managed operations. As vice president, he directed contracts and finance for government programs, led the company‘s marketing efforts and helped plan and effect the sale of the company to Singer Corporation.

DeCastro enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1958 and served until 1980, rising from private to lieutenant colonel. He earned his commission and aviator wings in 1961 and served as a Marine corps officer and Naval aviator in a variety of jobs including four command tours. He flew the F4B Phantom in Vietnam from October 1967 through October 1968, flying 380 combat missions.

DeCastro helped establish and was the first commanding officer of the Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron-One (MAWTS-1), the Marine Corps’ graduate level school for the integration of aviation tactics. Later, while with Allen Corporation, he assisted the Navy in the establishment of its graduate level school for the integration of aviation tactics, the Navy Strike Warfare Center .

DeCastro holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Pepperdine University .

Panel Session 5: Panelist

Dr. Peter H. Diamandis
Chairman, X-Prize Foundation

Panel Session V

Peter H. Diamandis is Chairman of the X Prize foundation, a non-profit education organization promoting the formation of space-related prizes. Dr. Diamandis also serves as President and Chief Operating Officer of Angel Technologies Corporation.

In 1989, Dr. Diamandis founded International MicroSpace, Inc. (IMI), a commercial launch company, which was later acquired by CTA Incorporated, where he served as vice president for commercial space. In 1987, Diamandis co-founded the International Space University (ISU) based in Strasbourg, France, and currently serves as a Trustee. Dr. Diamandis received his undergraduate and graduate degrees in aerospace engineering from MIT and his M.D. from Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Diamandis has received a number of awards including MIT's Kresge Award, the 1986 Space Industrialization Fellowship Award, the 1988 Aviation Week and Space Technology laurel, the 1993 Space Frontier Foundation Pioneer Award, and the Russian 1995 K.E. Tsiolkovsky Award.

Major General Robert S. Dickman
Director, Corporate Operations Office, Senior Military Officer
National Reconnaissance Office, Washington , D.C.

Luncheon Speaker
Wednesday, April 28

Major General Robert S. Dickman is Deputy for Military Space at the Office of the Undersecretary of the Air Force. Previously he was the director, Corporate Operations Office, and senior military officer, at the National Reconnaissance Office, Washington, D.C. He has had a varied career in space operations, and in acquisition and planning, including headquarters assignments at the Pentagon, North American Aerospace Defense Command, U.S. Space Command and Air Force Space Command. He served in the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and in the Air Force Satellite Communications System Program Office. The general also has held the positions of first vice commander of the 2nd (now 50th) Space Wing, commander of the 45th Space Wing, director of the Eastern Range at Patrick Air Force Base, Fla., and as the Department of Defense space architect. He entered the Air Force in June 1966 as a distinguished graduate of the Reserve Officer Training Corps program at Union College.

Panel Session 4: Panelist

Panel Session 5: Panelist

Panel Session 4: Panelist

Panel Session 3: Panelist

Panel Session 4: Panelist

Panel Session 3: Panelist

Joan Johnson-Freese
Chinese Space Initiative Expert and Chair,
National Security Decision Making Department,
Naval WarCollege

Luncheon Speaker
Tuesday, April 27

Dr. Johnson-Freese is the chair of the Naval War College ’s National Security Decision Making Department. Since earning a doctorate at Kent State University, she has served as Chair, Transnational Issues at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, in Honolulu; taught at the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama; been a visiting fellow at the Institute of Space and Aeronautical Science in Sagamihara, Japan; and directed the Center for Space Policy and Law in Orlando, Florida. Her recent books and monographs include The Viability of U.S. Anti-Satellite (ASAT) Policy: Moving toward Space Control (2000), The Chinese Space Program: A Mystery within a Maze (1998), and Space, the Dormant Frontier: Changing the Paradigm for the 21st Century (1997).

Panel Session 1: Panelist

Opening Ceremony
Panel Session 2: Panelist

Panel Session 3: Panelist

Major General Michael C. Kostelnik
Commander, AirArmamentCenter
Air Force Material Command
Eglin Air Force Base

Panel Session II Chair

Maj. Gen. Michael C. Kostelnik is commander, Air Armament Center , Air Force Material Command, with headquarters at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The center is responsible for development, acquisition, testing, deployment and sustainment of all air-delivered weapons. Additionally, AAC plans, directs and conducts test and evaluation of U.S. and allied air armament, navigation and guidance systems, and command and control systems. The center operates two Air Force installations, providing host support to both Eglin and Kirtland Air Force bases and supports the largest single base mobility commitment in the Air Force.

The general was commissioned through the Air Force ROTC program in 1969 upon graduation from Texas A&M University . He earned a master's degree from the University of Iowa and completed postgraduate doctoral course work before entering active duty in 1970. A command pilot, he has logged 3,000-plus flying hours in more than 40 aircraft types. He was the Air Staff requirements officer for the Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night system, and the program element monitor for the F-15E and F-22. He later served as the commandant of the USAF Test Pilot School. A certified acquisition professional, he has served as deputy director of the F-16 Systems Program Office and as program director for the Short-Range Attack Missile II, the Short-Range Attack Missile-Tactical, and the Aircraft Systems Program Office. He also served as vice-commander of the Warner-Robins Air Logistics Center , and later, of Air Force Material Command.

Panel Session 2: Panelist

Michael Lounge
The Boeing Company – Director of Business Development for Space Exploration Systems

Panel Session 1: Panelist

John Michael Lounge is the business development director for Space Exploration Systems, NASA Systems, Washington, D.C.

Prior to joining Boeing in 2002, Lounge was a senior vice president with SPACEHAB, Inc. In his 10 years with SPACEHAB he had primary responsibility for flight hardware development in support of the company’s commercial initiatives.

Lounge was employed at the Johnson Space Center from July 1978 to June 1991. He worked as lead engineer for Space Shuttle-launched satellites, and also served as a member of the Skylab Reentry Flight Control Team. He completed these assignments while with the Payload Operations Division.

Lounge joined the NASA Astronaut Corps with the astronaut candidate class of 1980. He served as a member of the launch support team at Kennedy Space Center for the STS-1, STS-2, and STS-3 missions. Following his first flight, he was assigned to the first mission to carry the Centaur (cryogenically fueled) upper stage (STS-61F). After the mission was canceled, he participated in Space Station design development. From 1989 through 1991, Lounge served as chief of the Space Station Support Office, representing astronaut interests in Space Station design and operation planning. Lounge served as the director of program development for NASA Systems before assuming his present duties in February 2004.

A veteran of three space flights, Lounge has logged over 482 hours in space. He was a mission specialist on STS-51I (August 27 to September 3, 1985) and STS-26 (September 29 to October 3, 1988) and was the flight engineer on STS-35 (December 2-10, 1990).

He entered on active duty with the United States Navy following graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy and spent the next nine years in a variety of assignments. He completed Naval flight officer training at Pensacola , Fla. , went on to advanced training as a radar intercept officer in the F-4J Phantom, and subsequently reported to Fighter Squadron 142 based at Naval Air Station Miramar, Calif. While with VF-142, he completed a nine-month southeast Asia cruise aboard the USS ENTERPRISE (participating in 99 combat missions) and a seven-month Mediterranean cruise aboard the USS AMERICA. In 1974, he returned to the U.S. Naval Academy as an instructor in the Physics department. Lounge transferred to the Navy Space Project Office in Washington , D.C. , in 1976, for a two-year tour. He resigned his regular United States Navy commission in 1978.

His awards include six Navy Air Medals, three Navy Commendation Medals (with Combat "V"), the JSC Superior Achievement Award (for service as a member of the Skylab Reentry Team), three NASA Exceptional Service Medals and three NASA Space Flight Medals. He is holder of three U.S. Patents.

Lounge graduated from Burlington High School , Burlington , Colo. , in 1964; received a Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1969 and a Master of Science degree in Astrogeophysics from the University of Colorado in 1970.

Gary Martin
NASA – Space Architect

Panel Session 1: Panelist

Gary Martin was named NASA's Space Architect on October 11, 2002. In this position, Gary sets NASA's future technology requirements and monitors development programs to ensure systems will be ready when needed to support the next-generation science and exploration objectives. Previously Gary served as Assistant Associate Administrator for Advanced Systems in NASA's Office of Space Flight. Gary began his career at NASA as the primary interface for requirements between the microgravity science community and the designers of the Space Station. He was the Branch Chief for Advanced Programs within the Microgravity Sciences and Applications Division and then the Division's acting Deputy Director. During this time Gary managed technology development and space flight hardware such as the Space Acceleration Measurements System and the Microgravity Glovebox, families of hardware whose units flew on both Shuttle and Mir. Gary graduated from George Washington University with a Masters in. Mechanical Engineering, from Virginia Commonwealth University in Applied Math and Physics and from Colorado State University in Anthropology, with a Minor in Criminal Justice.

General Forrest McCartney
Retired – Former Director Kennedy Space Center; Former VP of Launch Operations with Lockheed-Martin

Panel Chair

General Forrest McCartney was vice president of launch operations at Lockheed-Martin with responsibility for consolidated operations at Cape Canaveral Air Station in Florida, and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Previously he was the Director of the KennedySpaceCenter. Before his NASA experience Forrest was the commander of Air Force Space Division in Los Angeles, California. Earlier assignments include commander, Ballistic Missile Office, Norton Air Force Base, California; Deputy for Space Communications Systems, Los Angeles, California; Director of Range Engineering, Patrick Air Force Base, Florida; and program officer in the Directorate of Space, Headquarters U. S. Air Force at the Pentagon. He received a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Auburn University and a master's degree in nuclear engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology.

Alan Newhouse
Director, Nuclear Systems Program Office

Keynote Speaker
Thursday, April 29

Alan Newhouse graduated from Cornell University in 1960 with a B.E.E. degree and went on active duty as an Ensign in the United States Navy. He was assigned to the Division of Reactor Development, US AEC, resulting in numerous assignments of increasing management and technical responsibility in the Naval Reactors organization. These assignments ranged from managing a field facility; managing all operational prototype reactors and the Shipping port Atomic Power Station; construction, testing and operation of nuclear-powered cruisers, submarines and aircraft carrier fluid systems, and I&C systems; Project Officer for New Construction of Los Angeles Class Submarines; advanced development of new electrical machinery and I &C equipment; conducting large scale at-sea testing of nuclear-powered cruiser and carrier; and developing new concepts for reactors.

In 1992 he was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary of Energy for Space and Defense Power Systems and was responsible for the management and execution of the DOE/NASA/DOD program to provide nuclear power systems for space and national security applications; for Cassini RTG production; SP100 Nuclear Reactor Development; and several classified programs. He initiated technical development of new energy conversion technologies for space and terrestrial applications.

In 1995 he retired from government service and became an independent consultant working for clients such as DOE Mound Field Office, National Academy of Public Administration, Digital Equipment Corporation, and Northrop-Grumman. He also worked part time for a naval engineering firm and served on the Naval Research Advisory Committee reviewing the Navy’s plans for the new aircraft carrier. During 2002 he was a consultant to the Office of Space Science on the Nuclear System Initiative [NSI]. On December 30, 2002 he was appointed Director of what is now the Nuclear Systems Program Office, responsible for all aspects of Project Prometheus, including the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO) and related technologies.

Oswald, Steve, Boeing

Panel Session 2: Panelist

As Vice President and Program Manager, Stephen S. Oswald leads Boeing in its role as the major subcontractor to United Space Alliance in support of its operations contract with NASA’s Space Shuttle program. A former naval officer and NASA astronaut, Oswald is now responsible for overall direction and successful execution of Boeing’s Space Shuttle program.

After leaving active naval service in 1983, and following an 18-month period as a corporate test pilot, he joined NASA as a member of the astronaut candidate class of 1985. A veteran of three Space Shuttle missions, he commanded mission STS-67 aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour in March of 1995, after piloting two missions aboard Discovery in 1992 and 1993. Oswald has logged 33 days in space, and has accumulated over 7500 flight hours in over 40 aircraft.

In 1996, Oswald was assigned to NASA Headquarters in Washington , D.C. , as Deputy Associate Administrator for Space Operations, where he was responsible for the Space Shuttle, Expendable Launch Vehicle, and Space Communications programs for the agency.

Immediately prior to joining Boeing, Rear Admiral Oswald, U.S. Naval Reserve served as Deputy Commander of a Washington-based Joint Task Force responsible for the defense of more than three million Department of Defense computers and their associated networks. Rear Admiral Oswald has also commanded three different Naval Reserve units and been the Director of the Naval Space Reserve Program.

Oswald is a 1973 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy as an Aerospace Engineer and a 1978 graduate of the Naval Test Pilot School.

William W. Parsons
NASA – Manager, Space Shuttle Program

Panel Session 2: Panelist

Bill Parsons is NASA’s manager for the Space Shuttle Program. Previously he was the director of NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center. Bill has served as the Chief of Operations of the Propulsion Test Directorate as Stennis. He relocated to Johnson Space Center to become the Director of the Center Operations Directorate and later served as the Deputy Director of Johnson Space Center. Bill graduated from the University of Mississippi with a Bachelor of Engineering degree. He also holds a Master of Science degree in Engineering Management from the University of Central Florida. He began his career in the United States Marine Corps as an Infantry Officer, then worked as a manufacturing engineer and later as an aerospace engineer at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, Bill joined the NASA team at the Kennedy Space Center as a Launch Site Support Manager in the Shuttle Operations Directorate and also worked as an Executive Management Intern and later as the Shuttle Flow Director of the Shuttle Operations Directorate at KSC. In 1996, Bill became Manager of the Space Station Hardware Integration Office at KSC.

Opening Ceremony

Panel Session V
Thursday, April 29

Elliot G. Pulham was named President & Chief Executive Officer of the Space Foundation in 2001 and leads this globally respected non-profit organization in the pursuit of its mission:
To vigorously advance and support civil, commercial and national security space endeavors  and  educational excellence

Previously, Pulham had been Executive Vice President, leading the Space Foundation’s public affairs, customer relations, corporate development, communications and marketing teams.  Pulham leads a team of space and education professionals providing services to educators and the space industry around the world.  Elliot brings national award-winning experience in public affairs to a Foundation focused on creating public awareness and support for space endeavors, and on using the excitement of space to inspire academic achievement. 

For a decade prior to joining the Foundation, Elliot was senior manager of public relations, employee communication and advertising for all space programs of The Boeing Company.  His leadership of the national public affairs team supporting the International Space Station program earned him the coveted Silver Anvil Award from the Public Relations Society of America - the profession's highest honor.  In May 2003 the Rotary National Awards for Space Achievement Foundation presented Elliot with the coveted Space Communicator Award, an honor he now shares with legendary CBS News reporter Walter Cronkite and CNN News Anchor Miles O’Brien.

Elliot has broad experience that spans 25+ years since his undergraduate studies at the University of Hawaii 's school of Journalism .  His non-profit experience includes having been Executive Director of the Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce, and Director of Corporate Communication for the Boeing Employees Good Neighbor Fund - a united giving campaign that raised $18 million in a single year for health and human service agencies.  He has been a consultant at leading advertising and public relations agencies, and was Director of Public Affairs, Advertising & Marketing for Hawaiian Airlines.  He is a graduate of the Kamehameha Schools.

From 1995-97 he was deputy chairman, then chairman, of the Space Awareness Alliance - a coalition of 30 corporations and non-profit organizations conducting national public affairs activities on behalf of America 's space programs.  He was a spokesperson at the Kennedy Space Center for the Magellan, Galileo and Ulysses interplanetary missions, among others.  In his current position, he is widely quoted by national, international and trade media in their coverage of space and space-related issues.

Captain Winston Scott (USN, ret.)
Director, Florida Spaceport Authority

Panel Session 5: Chair

Scott has been involved in aerospace, aviation and education for over 30 years. Entering Naval Aviation Officer Candidate School in 1972, and was designated a Naval Aviator in 1974. Scott accumulated more than 4,000 hours of flight time in 20 different military and civilian aircraft and more than 200 shipboard landings in his career.

In 1992, Scott was selected to be a NASA Astronaut at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston , TX . He was a mission specialist on STS-72 Endeavor (1996) and STS-87 Columbia (1997). After his service as an Astronaut, Scott was a Professor with the Florida Agriculture and Mechanical University (FAMU); Florida State University (FSU) College of Engineering ; Associate Instructor, Electrical Engineering at Florida Community College ; and Florida A & M University .

Now serving as Executive Director of the Florida Space Authority, Scott is responsible for the statewide development of space-related industrial, economic and educational Initiatives for Florida Space Authority. He represents the State’s interests in the development of space policies and programs and advises the Governor and Lt. Governor on all civil, commercial and military space matters.

Reception Speaker
Tuesday, April 27

Seth Shostak, Ph.D., received his doctorate from the California Institute of Technology. Dr. Shostak has spent more than a quarter-century studying the dynamics of galaxies and the possibility of extraterrestrial life. A distinguished lecturer for the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Dr. Shostak speaks to popular and academic audiences about fifty times a year. He appears frequently on radio and television, has written a popular book on the subject of extraterrestrial life—Sharing the Universe—and is currently co-authoring an undergraduate textbook on the same subject. For the past eight years, he has been on the staff of the highly respected SETI Institute in Mountain View , California , where he continues to participate in landmark research on the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.

Dr. Harley A. Thronson
NASA – Director of Technology, Office of Space Science

Panel Session 1: Panelist
Panel Session 3: Chair

Dr. Harley Thronson is Director of Technology in the Office of Space Science (OSS) at NASA Headquarters. His responsibilities include selection and development of advanced technologies, which will significantly enhance future space science missions such as future large astronomical observatories and robotic missions to Mars and other planets. He also coordinates technology investment with other NASA Enterprises and agencies. His previous duties at NASA have included serving as the Acting Science Program Director for the Astronomical Search for Origins and Planetary Systems. He has also served as the senior scientist for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF), the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Previously Harley was a Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Wyoming, where his research areas included star formation, the structure of galaxies, and future space observatories. Dr. Thronson obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and has held research positions at the University of Arizona and the Royal Observatory Edinburgh

Brig. General Chuck Yeager
Legendary Test Pilot

Reception Speaker
Wednesday, April 28

Brigadier General Charles E. (Chuck) Yeager was the director of Aerospace Safety for the Air Force Inspection and Safety Center, a separate operating agency located at Norton Air Force Base, San Bernardino, CA. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps in September 1941, was accepted for pilot training under the flying sergeant program in July 1942, and received his pilot wings and appointment as a flight officer in March 1943 at Luke Field, AZ. During World War II, General Yeager distinguished himself in aerial combat over France and Germany during the years 1943-1945 by shooting down 13 enemy aircraft, five on one mission, including one of Germany's first jet fighters. On March 5, 1944, he was shot down over German-occupied France but escaped capture when elements of the French Maquis helped him to reach the safety of the Spanish border. General Yeager made world history on Oct. 14, 1947, when he became the first man to fly faster than the speed of sound, During his nine-year assignment as the nation's leading test pilot. He also became the first man to fly more than twice the speed of sound, flying the Bell X-lA on Dec. 12, 1953. In July 1966 he assumed command of the 405th Fighter Wing at Clark Air Base, Republic of the Philippines. While commander of the 405th Fighter Wing he flew 127 missions in South Vietnam. General Yeager assumed command of the 4th Tactical Fighter Wing at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., in February 1968 and went with the wing to Korea during the Pueblo crisis. In July 1969 he became vice commander, Seventeenth Air Force, with headquarters at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. In January 1971 General Yeager assumed duties as United States defense representative to Pakistan.

Zarrella, John,
Chief, Miami Bureau, CNN

Panel Session 1: Chair

John Zarrella joined CNN in November 1981 as executive producer at CNN world headquarters in Atlanta where he was responsible for the overall look and content of all hard newscasts. Zarrella is now CNN's Miami correspondent, named to this position when the Miami bureau was established in December 1983. He is responsible for CNN's coverage of news in Florida and the Caribbean, including major hurricanes, the Pope's visit to Cuba; the eruption of the Montserrat volcano, as well as the Cuban and Haitian refugee crises.

Zarrella also is a principal correspondent for CNN's coverage of the U.S. space program, covering such events such as John Glenn's 1998 return to space, the Mars Pathfinder mission and numerous space shuttle launches. Zarrella was the CNN network correspondent on site when the 1986 Challenger shuttle disaster occurred.

He also has served as a correspondent on major news events for the network, the 1995 bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, the 1985 hijacking of TWA flight 847 in Beirut, the trial of Manuel Noriega and the Mexico City earthquake in 1985.

Prior to CNN, Zarrella served as executive producer at WJTV-TV in Miami and WBAL-TV in Baltimore – which earned an Edward R. Murrow Award for outstanding news operation. Zarrella also spent four years at WXIA-TV in Atlanta where he was appointed senior producer, winning two Emmy awards. He has been honored with the Outstanding Achievement Award for his work on "Hurricane: When the Big One Hits.” By the National Hurricane Conference and the prestigious Media Award for “outstanding efforts to inform the public of the problem of hurricanes and the issues faced by emergency managers” by the Florida Emergency Preparedness Association.

Dr. Robert Zubrin
The Mars Society – President

Lucheon Speaker
Thursday, April 29th

Robert Zubrin holds masters degrees in Aeronautics and Astronautics and a doctorate in Nuclear Engineering. He is the inventor of several unique concepts for space propulsion and exploration, the author of over 100 published technical and non-technical papers in the field, as well the books "The Case for Mars: The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must" (Simon and Schuster, 1996), "Entering Space: Creating a Spacefaring Civilization" (Tarcher-Putnam, 1999) and "First Landing" (Ace Putnam, 2001). As an engineer at Martin Marietta (now Lockheed-Martin), he co-developed the "Mars Direct" plan for affordable manned Mars Missions. He is now president of his own space R&D company, Pioneer Astronautics, and he is a Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society. Most recently, he founded the Mars Society; an international organization dedicated to furthering the exploration and settlement of Mars by both public and private means. Prior to his work in astronautics, Dr. Zubrin was employed in areas of thermonuclear fusion research, nuclear engineering, radiation protection, and as a high school science teacher.