Cafe Scientifique Arlington May 4, 2010

CAFÉ SCIENTIFIQUE ARLINGTON

WHAT: New Commercial Ventures in Space: From Space Tourism to Solar Power

WHEN: Tuesday, May 4, program begins at 6:15 PM. Come early to order food and drinks.

WHERE: The Front Page Restaurant, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA, located near Ballston Metro on the ground floor of the NSF building. Parking is available under the NSF Building or at Ballston Common Mall.

WHO: John Gedmark, the Exec. Director of the Commercial Space Flight Federation and Joseph N. Pelton, Former Dean, International Space University and author of License to Orbit: The Future of Commercial Space Travel.

HOW: 5:30 p.m. Special half price burgers; please come early to order table service and socialize. Presentation begins at 6:15 p.m. followed by Q&A
No science background required, only interest!
Free and open to the public Registration requested www.arlingtonvirginiausa.com/bsta

ABOUT THE TOPIC: Are we on the verge of a breakthrough in new commercial space ventures? Commercial space today represents about a quarter of a trillion dollar industry worldwide, but new breakthrough promise a surge in the commercial space industries. New satellites now being launched for broadcast and mobile services have antennas the size of basketball courts. Space adventure flights to become “Citizen Astronauts” are scheduled to start in 2011. There are already tens of millions of dollars in reservation fees already booked by royalty, sports and movie stars. Soon NASA will likely award commercial contracts to develop space plane technology to fly astronauts to and from the International Space Station in lieu of the Shuttle. Hypersonic jet flights may one day fly from NYC to Sydney Australia in 3 to 4 hours. Bigelow Aerospace already has already launched prototype commercial space stations (Genesis I and II) to orbit. The start-up company Solaren has signed a contract with energy companies to deliver solar-derived electric power from space starting in 2016. Even game-changing technologies such as “space elevators” and “tether-lift” systems are now under serious commercial study. Come hear--and see--some of these amazing new commercial space technologies that could revolutionize our 21st century world. Come hear from leading space experts, Dr. John Mankins and Dr. Joseph N. Pelton about the next generation of commercial space breakthroughs on May 4, 2010.

SUPPORT THIS CAFE: The Ballston Science and Technology Alliance, a nonprofit organization, is the sponsor of Café Scientifique Arlington. Since April 2006, the goal of Café Scientifique has been to make science more accessible and accountable by featuring speakers whose expertise spans the sciences and who can talk in plain English. Café is held each month on first Tuesdays at the Front Page in Arlington. Please go to www.arlingtonvirginiausa.com/bsta and contribute. Help keep Café open and free to all!

COMING NEXT MONTH: June 1, 2010: The Latest and Greatest News on the Cosmos: New Exoplanets, a Snapshot of the Universe when it was under a billion years old--and More!

For more information contact Kaye Breen, ballstonscience@yahoo.com , visit www.arlingtonvirginiausa.com/bsta

Official Website: http://www.arlingtonvirginiausa.com/bsta