ISPCS APPLAUDS SPACEPORT AMERICA, SPACEPORT SWEDEN ‘SISTER’ AGREEMENT
Spaceport Sweden’s announcement earlier last week [January 29] that it had entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with officials from the New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA) to align with Spaceport America as ‘Sister Spaceports’, is “another exciting, vitally important development for our industry,” said Patricia Hynes, Chair of the International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight (ISPCS). “Working together, the spaceports will advance international collaboration in the commercial space industry, improve cultural understanding and promote local economic development, tourism and education.”
“Spaceport Sweden is well on track, and working with Spaceport America, we feel we can continue to make great progress on regulatory issues and forward our business processes,” said Bengt Jaegtnes, Vice Chairman of Spaceport Sweden. “Our relationship to Spaceport America is important as we all work toward the goal of developing the commercial space industry.” Jaegtnes and his team attended the International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight (ISPCS) at New Mexico State University in 2007 and 2008, where the relationship between the two spaceports began and culminated in this collaboration.
“I’m not surprised this agreement was launched, so to speak, at ISPCS 2008,” Hynes noted. “Each year we gather the most important and innovative leaders in the industry for a unique opportunity to swap ideas, cut deals, and network in a productive environment.”
ISPCS is the industry’s leading gathering for the visionaries and builders delivering the promise of spaceflight for mankind. ISPCS features informative sessions, networking opportunities and provides attendees with the latest news, trends, best practices, and case studies that demonstrate personal and commercial spaceflight is an emerging sector within the aerospace industry.
Held each October in Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA, ISPCS is organized by the New Mexico Space Grant Consortium, a member of the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program, administered by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
For more information on ISPCS 2009, please go to www.ispcs.com.