Feb 16 2012
From The Space Library
MEDIA ADVISORY: M12-028 NASA AERONAUTICS IS FOCUS OF RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY ROUNDTABLE
WASHINGTON -- NASA officials will meet with aeronautics industry, academia and government leaders Feb. 21-22 for the second in a series of roundtable discussions about future directions for aeronautics research and technology. The Aeronautics Research and Technology Roundtable is sponsored by NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate in Washington and organized by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Engineering. The 25-member panel includes a broad range of executives, entrepreneurs and experts representing airframe and engine manufacturers, general aviation companies, academia, industry associations and other federal agencies. Its purpose is to facilitate candid dialogue among participants, to foster greater partnership among the NASA-related aeronautics community, and, where appropriate, carry awareness of issues to the wider public. "We are grateful to the National Research Council for helping us expand our communication with our colleagues in industry," said Jaiwon Shin, NASA's associate administrator for aeronautics research. "The Aeronautics Research and Technology Roundtable has provided an excellent forum for us to exchange ideas, explore research concepts, and discuss more vigorous public-private collaboration outside the competitive arena." The two-day meeting will be conducted by the National Research Council's Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board and will be held at the National Academies' Keck Building at 500 Fifth St. NW in Washington. On the first day, roundtable members will participate in separate discussions on issues of interest to four aviation sectors. General aviation and commercial aviation will be the subjects of concurrent sessions from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EST. Vertical lift and unmanned aircraft systems will be featured in concurrent sessions from 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. EST. On the second day, roundtable members will gather from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST for a plenary session featuring reports from the previous day's discussions. Discussion topics were identified at the first roundtable meeting in August 2011. Four teleconferences, organized by sector, were conducted in December 2011. A third roundtable meeting is anticipated later this year. News media interested in attending the roundtable should contact the National Research Council's Office of News and Public Information at 202-334-2138 or news@nas.edu. Space is limited. NASA has a long history of aeronautics research for public benefit. Through scientific study, NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate works to find practical solutions to the problems of flight. In the past six years, the directorate has revitalized its aeronautics research investment portfolio with a back-to-basics philosophy balanced by a growing portfolio of systems-level research efforts that ensures excellence in broad-based fundamental research with robust mechanisms for community participation.
MEDIA ADVISORY: M12-029 NASA EVENTS AND FUTURE FORUM MARK 50 YEARS OF AMERICANS IN ORBIT
WASHINGTON -- Feb. 20 marks the 50th anniversary of the day in 1962 when U.S. Sen. John Glenn piloted his Friendship 7 spacecraft on the first U.S. orbital flight. In the next two weeks, NASA Television will broadcast a series of live events and special programming to commemorate 50 years of Americans in orbit, including the premiere of a new documentary and special interactive online features. Here is a list of scheduled activities, all of which will be broadcast on NASA Television: Thursday, Feb. 16 8-8:30 p.m.: Premiere of "Friendship 7: 50th Anniversary of Americans in Orbit" on NASA TV, a documentary on Glenn's historic mission featuring new interviews with Glenn and fellow Mercury astronaut Scott Carpenter. Friday, Feb. 17 10-11 a.m. EST: Glenn and Carpenter, the first two Americans to orbit Earth, will join NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and Kennedy Space Center Director Robert Cabana for a presentation about NASA's past, present and future. The event is open to employees at the space center in Florida. 3-3:30 p.m. EST: Glenn and Carpenter will conduct a news conference in the Mercury Mission Control exhibit of the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Saturday, Feb. 18 6:30 p.m. EST: Glenn and Carpenter will participate in "On the Shoulders of Giants," a ceremony at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex honoring all who made NASA's Project Mercury possible. The program will include remarks from Cabana, Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) and astronaut Steve Robinson, who flew with Glenn on his second trip into orbit on space shuttle Discovery's STS-95 mission in 1998. Monday, Feb. 20 1:30-3:15 p.m. EST: Glenn and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will speak live with the crew on board the International Space Station to kick off the agency's two-day Future Forum at Ohio State University in Columbus. Glenn also will participate in a panel session, "Learning from the Past to Innovate for the Future," at the event. Tuesday, Feb. 21 3-3:15 p.m. EST: Glenn will deliver closing remarks at the NASA Future Forum. Friday, March 2 1-2 p.m. EST: Glenn will deliver the keynote address at "Celebrating John Glenn's Legacy: 50 Years of Americans in Orbit" a special event hosted by NASA's Glenn Research Center at Cleveland State University's Wolstein Center, 2000 Prospect Ave., in Cleveland. The tribute will be included in a Tweetup which the research center is hosting for its Twitter followers on the same day.
