50 Years of the Space Age:
Looking Back, Looking Forward |
Symposium
180-084 |
Friday, Feb 15, 2008 |
8:30 a.m. -11:30 a.m. |
Sheraton Boston |
Second Floor, Back Bay Ballroom A |
In October 1957,
the Soviet launch of Sputnik
officially ushered in the space
age. Nearly a year later, the
Eisenhower administration created
NASA, with the goal of accelerating
the U.S. space program. The space
race between two Cold War adversaries
led to unprecedented levels of
technological achievements and
scientific advances. It also
transformed math and science
education and catalyzed the creation
of a generation of scientists
and engineers. Exploration of
the outer reaches has taught
us more about the universe, and
Earth observations from space
have taught us more about the
earth than we could ever imagine.
Over the past 50 years, space
has become not only a place for
science discovery but it has
represented the pinnacle of international
cooperation. All this time, the
nature of space exploration has
changed, involving more countries,
and today, bringing in the private
sector and individual entrepreneurs,
who aim to make space accessible
to all. Looking forward to the
next 50 years, activities and
discoveries in space will change,
as will the nature and number
of those involved in the enterprise
of space. |
Cherry Murray, Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory, Livermore,
CA |
Symposium Co-Organizer |
Vaughan Turekian, AAAS International Office, Washington, DC |
Symposium Co-Organizer |
Roger Launius, National Air and Space Museum, Washington, DC |
Moderator |
Roald Sagdeev, University of
Maryland, College Park, MD |
It All Started With Sputnik |
Gilberto Câmara, Instituto
Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais,
Brazilia, Brazil |
Space as a Research Platform |
Kathy Sullivan, Battelle Center
for Math and Science Education
Policy, Columbus, OH |
Perspectives from a Shuttle
Astronaut |
Andrew Aldrin, United Launch
Alliances, Seal Beach, CA |
Role of the Private Sector In Space |