PSA: Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference

[A brief public service announcement about the upcoming Next Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference in Orlando, February 28-March 2. I attended the inaugural conference last year in Boulder, Colorado, and found it very useful; this one promises to be just as good if not better. Advance registration for the conference closes today, although on-site registration will be available.]

The 2011 Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference will be held in Orlando, Florida 28 February through 2 March. That’s less than two weeks away!

If you or your colleagues and students have not registered on line yet, you still can, until the end of Friday February 18th; just go to: http://nsrc.swri.org/. (After that, you can register in-person in Orlando at a higher price.)

Following on the success of the inaugural Next-Gen Suborbital Researchers Conference in February 2010, the Commercial Spaceflight Federation is proud to again co-sponsor the 2011 sequel conference.

We can already see that the 2011 Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference promises to be a watershed gathering for researchers, educators, and industry/government. The meeting will provide a forum for the exchange of ideas about the application of these new vehicles to research and education objectives. The meeting will also provide important networking opportunities for researchers and educators to meet with colleagues, government officials, and representatives from the suborbital industry. Vehicles are under development by companies including Armadillo Aerospace, Blue Origin, Masten Space Systems, Virgin Galactic, and XCOR Aerospace.

This year’s registrants include a significant number of international attendees from Canada, Europe, and Asia, in addition to many from the United States.

Over 120 presenters—a 40% increase over 2010—will discuss everything from flight test progress to planned experiments in 7 different research fields to training and roles for research and educator payload specialists. In total, the meeting will feature 20 sessions, 4 discussion panels, a press conference, presentations or booths by 20 sponsors, and a public night presentation by Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides.

The meeting will also include invited talks by experts in diverse fields that include microgravity sciences, atmospheric science, space life sciences, planetary science, education, and crew training.

The 2011 Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference is the place to be to learn how to marry your research, education, or business interests to next-generation suborbital spaceflight.

For more information, and to register to reserve your seat, go to http://nsrc.swri.org/

See you there, soon—and don’t forget to register before the end of Friday February 18th when the website registration period ends! (After that you will have to register in person in Orlando, at a higher price).