AIA Space Council Hosts VIP Luncheon at Farnborough Air Show
(From left to right: ATK Senior Vice President Blake Larson, NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden, and AIA President and CEO Marion Blakey at the Farnborough Air Show’s Space VIP Luncheon)
The AIA Space Council hosted its third annual Space VIP Luncheon at the Farnborough Air Show. The event brought together high-level government space leaders and AIA member company senior executives at the air show. As U.S. space programs make greater use of international partnerships, AIA continues to host a number of events at air shows to cultivate dialogue on partnerships that are complimentary to the U.S. space industrial base.
This year’s luncheon was sponsored by ATK, and featured discussion with NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden. With International Space Station construction now complete, full utilization of the station by the science community depends on international partnerships. Moreover, as NASA looks to develop new human spaceflight missions beyond Earth orbit with foreign partners, it has become increasingly clear that much of the agency’s strategic direction will rely upon joint international ventures. The discussion with Administrator Bolden was both timely and relevant.
After the luncheon with Administrator Bolden, AIA and ADS helped reconvene a group of industry and international aerospace trade associations for a discussion on international space cooperation. The meeting built on last year’s inaugural discussion during the Paris Air Show that examined ways the International Coordinating Council of Aerospace Industries Associations could be used for space policy discussions. Topics this year included export control reform and industry views regarding the ongoing United Nations’ space sustainability dialogue.
In addition to the VIP Space Luncheon, AIA President and CEO, Marion C. Blakey was also on hand for the unveiling of Virgin Galactic’s newest satellite launching venture, LauncherOne. The exciting new air launch vehicle from Virgin was all the buzz at Farnborough – highlighting once again that private sector investments by U.S. industry are enabling the emergence of new domestic space launch capabilities. These new systems have the potential to increase the U.S. share of the commercial launch market while also opening up exciting new markets.
AIA Source: dan.hendrickson[at]aia-aerospace.org
