DALLAS, Texas -- Leaders from NASA, the budding private space industry,
and the ever-growing roster of international space programs are gathering here
at the National Space Society's 2007 International Space Development Conference
(ISDC).
It has been
nearly five decades since the beeping sounds of Sputnik 1—launched by the
former Soviet Union on October 4, 1957—broadcast that the dawn of the "Space Age" had arrived.
And this
year's ISDC theme says it all: From Old Frontiers to New: Celebrating 50 Years
of Space Flight.
"For four
days this week, Dallas will be center of the world of
space. From Apollo astronauts to space entrepreneurs, from the designer of
the next mission to Mars to a bevy of aspiring space tourists...ISDC is the best
place on Earth to be," said George Whitesides, the Executive Director of the National Space Society.
The group labels itself as the largest space advocacy group dedicated to the
creation of a spacefaring civilization. NASA is a presenting sponsor of the
ISDC.
Earth orbit: a learning environment
Space
activists are gathering here May 25-28 at the InterContinental Hotel to hear
the latest news and get a preview of tomorrow's space technologies in
person. In addition, two pre-conference events are scheduled in the days
leading up to ISDC.
A Space
Venture Finance symposium is bringing together leaders in the investment and
space communities to discuss recent innovations in finance within the
commercial space, spaceports, and space-related information technology
industries.
Also,
there's the bi-annual meeting of the Aerospace Technology Working Group
dedicated to exploring Earth orbit as a learning environment for Earth and
outbound exploration.
At ISDC,
Whitesides noted that there are three main program tracks:
- Frontier
Transport (Space Transportation)
- The Lunar
Frontier (Moon & Cislunar Space Development)
- The
Martian Frontier
Long-awaited
revolution
The
conference will highlight the dynamic connection between space and new media,
including an unprecedented summit of Space Bloggers, a presentation by the head
of major NASA center inside the Second Life virtual world, and a talk by John
Carmack, the creator of Doom and Quake, about his Quad lunar lander
vehicle.
"From Carmack to Jeff Bezos to Elon Musk, new space ventures are being driven
by internet dollars," Whitesides told SPACE.com. "It could very
well be that, indirectly, the internet revolution is what brings about the long-awaited
revolution in space transportation," he said.
Moreover,
the Dallas, Texas area is both the home of recent space station visitor
Anousheh Ansari of Plano as well as "astropreneur" Carmack
from nearby Mesquite. "Dallas represents a nexus in the new 'Rocket Belt' as an
intersection between new space ventures and the government vision to explore
the solar system," Whitesides concluded.
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