NASA Ames Conference, July 28-30, 2011

Space Frontier Foundation's NewSpace 2011 Conference

When: July 28-30, 2011

Where: NASA Ames Research Center

The Space Frontier Foundation's annual conference, NewSpace 2011, is one of the most important commercial space conferences in the nation. The event will be held July 28-30 at NASA Ames Research Center. Lori Garver, Deputy NASA Administrator will present the opening keynote on Thursday morning, kicking off a great conference. This is the third year the conference has been here in Silicon Valley and we are working to grow this into THE premier commercial space event in the world. The theme of this year's conference is "The Next Big Thing". The three day event will focus on the current, near term, and future potential and challenges of the emerging commercial space industry.

Programming on Thursday will kick off with "The Big Thing of Today", which will address the current state of not only the NewSpace industry, but also the critical partnership between the growing commercial industry and civil space and will feature a roundtable of the leadership of the different NASA Centers. Friday will carry on with "The Big Thing of Tomorrow", which will feature a Business Plan Competition and our popular "War Stories" panel. Friday will also seek to investigate what opportunities and markets exist in the near term. Saturday will focus on "The Future is the Really Big Thing", which will explore what opportunities await us in the future and will feature a panel on "The Promise of NewSpace," which will be comprised of high-level visionaries from across the industry. Finally, the conference will close Saturday night with the star-studded NewSpace Awards Gala. The conference is sponsored by NASA, SpaceX, Space Systems Loral, XCOR, SEDS, the National Space Society, International Space University, Moonandback.com, NewSpace Magazine, Space Newsfeed, and VLAB

More information about the program and registration may be found on the website

Entrepreneurs are exploring opportunities with new rocket launchers, novel uses of affordable small satellites, space tourism, and even space-based power generation and extraterrestrial mining.

Who will fund these highly front-loaded capital requirements? What business models are effective? How will technology commercialization mesh with market windows? What about multi-national regulatory incompatibilities?

Space has always been a petri dish to breed new technologies that later penetrate our everyday life. Discover the latest developments and learn how private investors and businesses are planning to overcome capital intensity and provide new solutions for our problems on Earth.

Share your ideas with us on twitter @vlab

MORE DETAILS

China Commercializing Space

The Chinese space agency just announced plans to open new research centers to commercialize its technologies for use in space science, information technology, energy and health.

http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news-china-unveils-space-science-goals-for-2020-020911.aspx?xmlmenuid=51

As China shifts from low-cost manufacturing to innovation, it is investing heavily in cutting-edge technologies in order to create new jobs and industries for its millions of young people graduating from college -- a challenge facing the world. European Space Agency (ESA) advisers estimate each US dollar of space spending generates 15x in economic growth so the stakes are high.

China, Europe, and U.S. are racing to leverage space to create jobs. NASA Ames recently announced plans to expand its research park to spin off more technologies and companies. ESA has partnered with a Paris VC to set up a space tech fund. Sweden has launched the Down-to-Earth (DTE) Project to commercialize space technologies for sustainable products and services.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/nasa-on-building-silicon-valley-outpost-for-tech-start-ups/44599

At Shanghai Expo 2010, our DTE Project held a workshop, which attracted China's top space agency officials as well as local and foreign companies and government agencies. DTE is planning a China-to-Helsinki space school on the Trans-Siberian Railway this spring.

The new "space race" promises to create exciting new jobs and industries, just as the Apollo Project helped Silicon Valley startups get off the ground during the 1960s.

NASA Ames Expands Research Park

NASA Ames is expanding its research park activities to leverage Obama's new commercialization policies. For decades, NASA has co-developed thousands of cutting-edge technologies that have been adopted by aerospace, medical, IT, sports and other industries. This new initiative leverages Silicon Valley's research strengths to create new technologies that will drive innovation in the valley for the coming decades.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/nasa-on-building-silicon-valley-outpost-for-tech-start-ups/44599

NASA's commercialization policies focus on new space launch vehicles, but the real goldmine will be down-to-earth applications for sustainable products and services, such as electric vehicles, mobile imaging, healthcare, green cities, etc.

In Sweden, I'm collaborating on the Down-to-Earth Project with Umbilical Design (www.umbilicaldesign.se) and JIBS.se on commercializing European Space Agency technologies for sustainable products and services with Swedish companies, municipalities and schools.

We're not only focused on technologies, but also the inspiration and new concepts stimulated by space research and exploration. For example, the rubber wheels of the Mars Rover led to extreme sailing wetsuits that are more tolerant of cold. Space helmets are being adapted to alpine skiing helmets.

NASA Ames has a major opportunity to develop down-to-earth products and services that could unlock totally new markets. After all, the Apollo Project contributed to the development of chips, personal computers and the ultimate spinoff, Silicon Valley.