CASIS CEO Duane Ratliff speaks at ISPCS. (Credit: CASIS)

At the ISPCS this morning, CASIS Chief Operating Officer Duane Ratliff gave a keynote address about his organization’s efforts to facilitate research aboard the International Space Station. He also appeared with SpaceX President and CEO Gwynne Shotwell and Fast Company Magazine Editor-at-large Jon Gertner in an afternoon roundtable chaired by AIAA Executive Director Sandy Magnus.

Although I was not able to go to Las Cruces this year, I have compiled a series of Tweets of what Ratliff said during the two sessions that are reproduced below.
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The International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight (ISPCS) got started formally this morning in Las Cruces, NM, with its first four speakers. The conference runs through Thursday evening.

Although I couldn’t be there, several people are Tweeting the event live. Below is a compilation of Tweets from Jeff Fust and others on the talk by SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell on Wednesday morning.

I will try to keep up with the conference from Mojave and provide summaries of speakers as I can.
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SpaceX has released two photos showing the first stage of the controlled descent of the Falcon 9 v1.1 launch vehicle’s first stage during a demonstration flight from Vandenberg Air Force Base on Sept. 29.  The images are part of a mission overview on the company’s website that includes the following description: “Though not a primary mission objective, SpaceX was also able to initiate two engine relights on the first stage. […]

ISPCS Chair Pat Hynes (Credit: ISPCS)

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (ISPCS PR) – International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight (ISPCS) 2013 chair, Patricia Hynes, Ph.D., kicked off the symposium today noting that, despite the government shutdown, the work on commercial space continues.

“This is one of the goals of our industry, to develop commercial capability that is not subject to only government support for its existence,” Hynes said during her opening remarks. “Better yet, the win-win is a robust industry with healthy partners, including but not limited to the government. A strong reflection of the progress we’ve made as an industry is that our attendance numbers this year have not been significantly affected by the shutdown. We have work to do and it is work that matters.”

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Torrance, CA (Millennium Space Systems PR) — Millennium Space Systems announced today the successful high-altitude balloon test of its new microsatellite bus, developed under the company’s DARPA SeeMe contract.

During a 1.5-hour flight to nearly 30 kilometers altitude over California’s Mojave Desert, Millennium engineers exercised key satellite subsystems and operational capabilities. The SeeMe prototype carried a telescope and new technology digital camera developed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), which successfully captured images of the Earth during the mission, simulating the intended orbital capability.

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The International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight (ISPCS) is now underway in Las Cruces, NM.

The annual conference kicked off yesterday with a keynote address by one of Virgin Galactic’s future spaceflight participants about a pressing need: luxury accommodations and services for wealthy fliers like himself.

Michael Blum, founder and president of investment research and media firm Hedgeye Risk Management and former senior manager at PayPal, kicked off the annual symposium at the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum on Tuesday.

Southern New Mexico needs six-star hotels, restaurants and other upscale amenities to serve the wealthy ticket-holders who will take suborbital spaceflights from Spaceport America, Blum said. A southern road from Hatch to the complex, just north of Doña Ana County, is also needed to more easily access the spaceport, he said….

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ARLINGTON, Virg. (AIA PR) — Aerospace Industries Association President and CEO Marion C. Blakey calls on Congress and the administration to end the shutdown and allow exporters to take advantage of export control reforms in support of U.S. national security and economic prosperity as soon as possible.

The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) welcomes today’s enactment of the first set of revisions to the U.S. Munitions List (USML) that are removing onerous controls on exports of essentially commercial technology used in military aircraft (Category VIII) and military aircraft engines (Category XIX).  Subjecting these technologies to the export control requirements of the Commerce Control List (CCL) will allow for more appropriate reviews and restrictions while making trade with America’s closest military allies and partners more predictable, efficient and transparent.

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Video Caption: On Sunday, Sept. 29th, SpaceX successfully completed the demonstration mission of its upgraded Falcon 9 rocket, delivering the CASSIOPE, CUSat, DANDE and POPACS satellites to their targeted orbits. Read more about the mission at www.spacex.com/news.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL., October 15, 2013 (CASIS PR) – The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), the nonprofit organization responsible for managing and promoting research aboard the International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory, has announced grant awards for seven researchers focused on non-embryonic stem cell biology. The award amounts total over $2 million. CASIS continues to facilitate groundbreaking research through solicitations for proposals that are designed to expand the knowledge of the scientific community and advance research processes, technologies and treatments.

These winning experiments were chosen from among numerous submissions in response to the CASIS Request for Proposals titled “The Impact of Microgravity on Fundamental Stem Cell Properties.” Stem cells are cells that have not yet completed differentiation, the change that occurs when cells and tissues become more specialized in their functions. They display remarkable plasticity in their ability to give rise to a spectrum of cell types and ensure life-long tissue rejuvenation and regeneration. Each experiment will use the unique microgravity environment aboard the space station to conduct experimentation that could produce tremendous health benefits for humankind – via advancements in drug screening, tissue engineering/regeneration, cell replacement therapy and cell reprogramming.

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The crew of Shenzhou-10 after 15 days in space. (Credit: CNSA)

Today marks the 10th anniversary of China’s first manned spaceflight, an occasion that has resulted in some soul searching over the Middle Kingdom’s significant progress in space and whether it is poised to take the lead from the United States in the decade ahead. The anniversary comes as NASA is all but shutdown due to a budget impasse in Washington.

Former NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao, just back from the International Astronautic Congress in Beijing, sees a perfect storm brewing between China’s ascent and budget restrictions on America’s space program.Writing in Space.com, Chiao sketched out a scenario where China surpasses the U.S. in space in about seven years.

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