Download symposium poster (.pdf)

“Building on the Past to Power the Future”
October 21-22, 2008
Von Braun Center
Huntsville, Alabama
An AAS Symposium organized in conjunction with the Huntsville National Space Club and NASA Marshall Space Flight Center

Event Sponsor:  The Boeing Company
Education Sponsor:  Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne

Hotel and Travel Information

Go to the logistics page for information about traveling to the Symposium.

Symposium Program

Download a PDF version of the symposium program.

Slides from the sessions at the Von Braun Symposium are posted here:

• Session 1: Ares - A Project Making Progress
• Luncheon: Mike Griffin, NASA Administrator
• Session 2: Constellation: Enabling Research and Discovery
• Session 3: Huntsville and the U.S. Space Program - An Historical Perspective
• Session 4: What’s Ahead for the Space Program with a New Administration and Congress?
• Session 5: Industry Perspective and the Future of Exploration

Tuesday October 21

8:00 am Registration Opens / Networking / Continental Breakfast   sponsored by ATK

8:30 am Welcome

• Frank Slazer, AAS President
• David King, Director, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center

9:15 am Ares – A Project Making Progress

• Moderator: Steve Cook, Ares Projects Manager, MSFC
• Ares Development Approach – Back to the Future – Steve Cook
• Ares I Booster Status and Progress – Fred Brasfield, Ares I First Stage Program Manager, ATK
• Ares I Upper Stage Status and Progress – Danny Davis, Ares I Upper Stage Program Manager, NASA MSFC
• Ares I Instrument Unit Status and Progress – Dwight Potter, Ares I IUA Program Manager, The Boeing Company
• J-2X Status and Progress – Walt Janowski, Deputy Program Manager, J2X Engine, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne
• Ares I/Orion Integration Approach – Jim Reuter, Vehicle Integration Manager, MSFC
• Ares I Integrated Test Approach – Jim Taylor, Flight and Integrated Test Manager, MSFC

12:00 pm Luncheon   sponsored by Lockheed Martin

• Guest Speaker: Michael Griffin, NASA Administrator (confirmed)  

1:30 pm Constellation: Enabling Research and Discovery

• Moderator: N. Wayne Hale, Jr., Deputy Associate Administrator for Strategic Partnerships, NASA HQ
• Constellation - Dale Thomas, Deputy Manager, Constellation Program, NASA MSFC
• Ares V Update - Phil Sumrall, Manager, Ares Project Advanced Planning, NASA MSFC
• Science and Exploration - John Horack, Director, Science and Mission Systems Office, NASA MSFC
• Altair Report - Clinton Dorris, Deputy Project Manager, Altair Project Office, NASA JSC

3:00 pm Break   sponsored by ATK

3:15 pm Huntsville and the U.S. Space Program - An Historical Perspective

• Moderator: Roger Launius, Senior Curator, Division of Space History, National Air and Space Museum
• “Rocket City Rising: Huntsville and the Early Space Race, 1940-1963,” Stephen Waring, The University of Alabama in Huntsville
• “Rocket City: Signs, Symbols, and Icons,” Michael D. Wright, MSFC Historian
• “Rocket City USA: MSFC in the Saturn Years – A Personal Memoir, Jesco von Puttkamer, NASA Headquarters

5:00 pm Aerospace Leaders Networking Reception   sponsored by Boeing

Wednesday October 22

7:30 am Registration Opens / Networking / Continental Breakfast

8:30 am What’s Ahead for the Space Program with a New Administration and Congress?

• Moderator: Thomas Koshut, Associate Vice President, Research, The University of Alabama in Huntsville
• Alan Ladwig, Manager, Space Systems Consultancy, Whitney Bradley & Brown
• Damon Wells, Senior Policy Analyst, Office of Science and Technology Policy
• William B. Adkins, President, Adkins Strategies, LLC

10:00 am Break

10:15 am Industry Perspectives on the Future of Exploration

• Moderator: Jack Lee, NASA, retired
• Jim Chilton, Vice President, Exploration Launch Systems, The Boeing Company
• Michael Rudolphi, Vice President, Launch Systems Site Operations and Integration, ATK
• Ron Wetmore, Vice President, Human Space Flight, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company
• Rick Bachtel, General Manager, Alabama Operations, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne
• Lawrence H. Williams, Vice President, Strategic Relations, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX)

12:00 pm Final Remarks

12:30 pm Adjourn (box lunch / networking opportunity)   sponsored by Teledyne Brown Engineering

DR. WERNHER VON BRAUN MEMORIAL CELEBRATION
New Davidson Center at the US Space and Rocket Center
5:30 pm Reception
7:00 pm Dinner

For information on the dinner click here.