Posts Tagged ‘New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum’
ISPCS Public Forum – October 19, 2010

Space Week in New Mexico
Release courtesy of the New Mexico Space Grant Consortium
New Mexico Space Grant Consortium will host the fifth annual FREE ISPCS Public Forum (previously named the Leonard R. Sugerman Public Forum) on Tuesday, October 19th, 1:30-3:00 at the Pan American Center on the campus of New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Discover how the future of commercial spaceflight will impact our community. The mayor of Titusville Florida will present on what happened when NASA came to town. Local mayors will discuss what preparations they are making as Spaceport America becomes operational. Speakers include:
- John Hummer, moderator, CCIM, Owner/Broker, Steinborn TCN Commercial Real Estate
- Mayor Tulley from Titusville Florida
- Las Cruces Mayor Miyagishima
- Truth or Consequences Mayor Montgomery
- Hatch Mayor Nordyke
You are welcome to also attend the public forum 12:00 – 1:15 focused for university students and faculty. Speakers include:
- Pat Hynes, New Mexico Space Grant Consortium Director
- Clay Anderson, NASA Astronaut, STS-117, STS-131, ISS
- George Whitesides, Chief Executive Officer, Virgin Galactic
- Aaron Prescott, Commercial Division Director, Spaceport America
- Mark Severance, International Space Station Laboratory, Education Projects Manager
- Doug Weathers, NMSU student, Student Launch Program
- Ivan Ferrell, NMSU student, Microgravity Program
- Selene Virk, NMSU student, Transcriptomic Profile of the Inner Ear Vestibular Organs
Come join us as we discuss preparing for this exciting industry in southern New Mexico!
On Wednesday and Thursday, October 20-21 the International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight will be held at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum. For more information or to register for the symposium go to http://www.ispcs.com
International Space Symposium Brings Commercial Space to Las Cruces
Release courtesy of the New Mexico Space Grant Consortium
LAS CRUCES, NM – The International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight (ISPCS) is a ‘go’ at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum from October 20 through 21 in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The symposium will feature industry experts and renowned speakers discussing the current state and future developments in the growing commercial space industry.
New Mexico Space Grant Consortium (NMSGC) Director Dr. Pat Hynes said, “We are excited about this year’s symposium since we are at a critical time in the growth of the commercial space industry. The purpose of ISPCS is to bring key industry stakeholders together in New Mexico. Throughout the world, New Mexico is becoming a well-respected leader for this growing industry.”
The ISPCS event is not only important for the commercial space industry, but also for the city of Las Cruces, New Mexico. Along with establishing the city as a hub for commercial space activity, the event will have tremendous economic impact and bring a greater level of international awareness to the community.
ISPCS has an extensive list of speakers scheduled for this year:
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 20
8:45 a.m. Keynote Address – Neil Sheehan, Pulitzer Prize winner and Author of A Fiery
Peace in a Cold War
10:00 a.m. Past is Prologue: The Future of the Space Industry From the Perspective of
Those Who Helped Get It Started
Jeff Greason, Guruswami Ravichandran, Neil Sheehan, Bill Campbell, Rick Sturdevant, Fredrick Bachtel
11:00 a.m. Closing the Credibility Gap: The Role of Suborbital Testing as a Pathfinder to
Orbital Markets or as an End Market in Itself
Debra Facktor Lepore, Jeff Greason, Julia Tizard, Neil Milburn
1:30 p.m. Establishing the Commercial Space Market: Matching Business Strategy
with Funding Sources
Lee Rand, Grant Anderson, Mark Sirangelo, Tim Pickens, Robert Bigelow
2:30 p.m. FAA Center of Excellence for Commercial Space Transportation
Ken Davidian, Samuel Durrance, Farrukh Alvi , Pat Hynes, Van Romero, Jim Vanderploeg
3:30 p.m. The Practical Impact of ITAR Reform on Commercial Space
Bob Dickman, Craig Weston, Sven Grahn, Franceska Schroeder
4:30 p.m. The Path Forward from DC-X/XA
Bill Gaubatz, Jess Sponable, Tom Ingersoll, David Masten, Yoshifumi Inatani, Neil Milburn, James Ball, Fredrick Bachtel
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21
8:30 a.m. Keynote Address – Lori Garver, Deputy Administrator, NASA
10:00 a.m. The Microgravity Market
Dennis Stone, Cheryl Nickerson, Andrew Nelson
11:00 a.m. Crew Transportation Systems: The Game Changer in Human Spaceflight
Brett Alexander, Keith Reiley, Kenneth Reightler, Robert Bigelow, Mark Sirangelo, Ken Bowersox
1:30 p.m. Space Policy Evolution: Changes Portend Larger Commercial Markets to
Service Government Needs and Greater International Cooperation
Clay Mowry, Brendan Curry, Valerie Skarupa, Philip McAlister
2:30 p.m. Creating the Demand: Free and Low Cost Flight Opportunities for Education
and Research in Space
David Masten, Doug Comstock, Susan Newsam, Brienna Henwood, Mark Severance, Jerry Larson, Charles Chafer
4:00 p.m. Spaceports
Karin Nilsdotter, Rick Homans, Stu Witt
This year’s conference is expected to attract over 400 company executives, government officials and industry and university researchers. The event is scheduled to coincide with Space Week in New Mexico. Attendees can register online at www.ispcs.com for the two-day conference.
For additional information on ISPCS, please visit www.ispcs.com or contact Joylynn Watkins at jwatkins@nmsu.edu or 575-646-6414.
CEO’s Report – October, 2009
Yesterday, we held our October Business on the Border Luncheon where Wayne Savage and Pat Hynes presented on the upcoming Leonard R. Sugerman Public Forum and International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight (ISPCS) events which will be taking place October 20th to the 22nd at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum in Las Cruces. MVEDA will be sponsoring the opening reception for all registered attendees of ISPCS. As economic developers we work very hard and spend time and resources to get in front of industry decision makers and encourage business attraction to our region. The fact that ISPCS is taking place in our own back yard with industry leaders attending creates a very powerful marketing tool for MVEDA and the region as a whole.
To recap lead generation activity over the past month, MVEDA generated fifteen new leads compared with ten the last month, thereby showing a very healthy pipeline of projects and interest. Although alternative energy companies continue to make up over 1/3 of all our leads in the past two months, the overall percentage has dropped slightly and we have seen an increase in the percentage of lead generation within the aerospace and food processing sectors. We currently have 25 new leads in the pipeline for this fiscal year totaling 2,512 potential jobs and over 1 million square feet of potential real estate needs.
As announced last week, Frontier Airlines stated that they would be closing their Las Cruces reservation center towards the end of this year. MVEDA has already begun to market the facility as a plug-n-play call center to the site selector community and have currently received two inquiries.
In September, MVEDA attended the Industrial Asset Management Council (IAMC) conference in Minneapolis. This is the premier event for site consultants. MVEDA co-hosted a site consultant dinner put on by the New Mexico Partnership which received strong attendance.
For the month of October, MVEDA has a very busy marketing and travel schedule consisting of:
- Oct. 12-16: Prospect mission to Washington D.C. to meet primarily with defense related firms and site consultants
- Oct. 20-22: Leonard R. Sugerman Public Forum and ISPCS
- Oct. 26-29: Prospect mission in Los Angeles and attendance at the Solar Power International Show.
Finally, I am happy to say that on September 22, 2009, the County Commission voted unanimously on the passage of the Local Economic Development Act (LEDA) in Dona Ana County.
Space Week in Southern New Mexico – October 20-23, 2009

“Space Week in Southern New Mexico” is held each year in conjunction with the International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight, organized by the New Mexico Space Grant Consortium.
This year’s events begin with the PSL Leonard R. Sugerman Public Forum, on Tuesday, October 20th beginning at 9:00 a.m. The theme for this year’s event is “Building a Spaceport Community” and will focus on the roles that various private and public sector organizations will have in building a spaceport community. The event will be held at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum and is free and open to the public.
As a prelude to this year’s symposium, a workshop and tour of the NASA White Sands Test Facility is scheduled for Tuesday, October 20th. It will include a panel of experts who will speak to assets in the local community that are capable of supporting the commercial space industry.
The ISPC S symposium begins at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, October 21st and continues through Thursday, October 22nd. Topics to be covered include:
- Flight Safety: Lessons Learned and Opportunities for Innovation
- Space Operations: Lessons Learned and Opportunities for Innovation
- Personal Spaceflight – What to Expect
- Survey Results on Commercial Human Spaceflight
- Augustine Committee Review of Manned Space Flight at NASA
- University Aerospace Research Programs as Enablers of Growth of Commercial Space
- The Suborbital Future Beyond Tourism: The Research and Education Market
- Small Satellites for Orbital and Sub-Orbital Applications
- Launch Vehicle Options for Future Operators in the Sub-Orbital Environment
- Unique Capabilities in New Mexico for RLV and Payload Processing
- Spaceports Investments to Enable Commercial Spaceflight
All ISPCS sessions are plenary, allowing everyone to receive the same information simultaneously. Responding to feedback, ISPCS has created multiple means of engaging the audience in discussions with speakers during the sessions. Additional networking opportunities are scheduled throughout the two days.
To conclude the week’s activities, there will be a tour of Spaceport America led by Steve Landeene and Dr. Jerry Brown on Friday, October 23rd. The tour will include the construction site (World HQ for Virgin Galactic); the runway and terminal hanger; the existing site- mission control; and launch pad.
Registration is required for the tours and the symposium. Early bird registration closes October 1st and on-line registration closes October 16th.
Leonard R. Sugerman Public Forum – October 20, 2009
The Leonard R. Sugerman Public Forum is an annual event to help inform the public about the progress of the commercial space business in Southern New Mexico. This year’s event, “Building a Spaceport Community” is free and open to the public. It will be held on Tuesday, October 20 at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum beginning at 8:30 a.m. and ending at 1:00 p.m.
This year’s forum will focus on the roles that various private and public sector organizations will have in building a spaceport community.
- The role of Government will include speakers from local, state and federal governmental offices.
- The role of Business will include speakers from Spaceport America, Virgin Galactic, economic development agencies, the banking community and the construction industry.
- The role of Education will include speakers from New Mexico State University, Dona Ana Community College, and Southern New Mexico public school systems.
Following the panel presentations, Steve Landeene, Executive Director of Spaceport America, will provide an update on Spaceport America. There will be time allotted for the public to network with the panelists prior to adjournment. The complete agenda, including panelists, is available on the Sugerman Forum website.
The event is hosted by the New Mexico Space Grant Consortium and sponsored by New Mexico State University, the Physical Science Laboratory and the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce. The forum is held each year in conjunction with the International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight.



