25th National Space Symposium breaks records

The Space Foundation's 25th National Space Symposium, held last week, has broken records in attendance, international involvement, exhibitor participation, and educational involvement, underscoring the fact that the space industry is maintaining a relatively strong position, even in a difficult economy. The premier gathering of the global space community, the National Space Symposium is held each spring at The Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs.
 
Almost 8,000 people, including speakers, attendees, exhibitors, teachers, students, volunteers, and journalists attended the four-day event, exceeding the Space Foundation's estimates and surpassing previous years' attendance. This included
• More than 70 influential speakers, including the secretary of the Air Force, the director of the National Reconnaissance Office, the commander of Air Force Space Command, the governor of Colorado, top space industry leaders, leading space scientists, former astronauts, futurist Alvin Toffler, and Bill Nye the Science Guy®
• Representation from international space agencies and organizations, including the European Space Agency, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the European Commission, the International Space Station, Arianespace, and the China Manned Space Flight Team, including Taikonaut Zhai Zhigang, who performed China's first spacewalk during last year's Shenzhou 7 Mission
• Representatives from more than 140 companies and organizations that filled the Boeing Exhibit Centers with state-of-the-art business displays that included an actual space capsule, stunning space video, and information on space technologies ranging from rocket design to launch capabilities to weather and avalanche prediction
• More than 100 PreK-12 teachers and school administrators and almost 1,500 students who participated in space-related science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workshops and presentations
• More than 200 job-seeking college students and transitioning military who attended a day-long career fair that focused on space-related jobs throughout the country
• More than 250 volunteers from the local community, local military bases, and across the country
• More than 100 local, national, and international journalists
• Almost 50 sponsoring companies and organizations, among them the founders and leaders of the nation's space industry

Summaries of 25th National Space Symposium presentations are available at www.NationalSpaceSymposium.org/highlights. DVDs will be available shortly. Next year's event will be held April 12-15, 2010, at The Broadmoor Hotel.