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USA Hosts Suppliers Conference in Washington

From the left, retired Senator John Breaux (D-LA), Apollo Astronaut Gene Cernan and USA CEO Mike McCulley discuss the future of space exploration at the Capitol Hill reception. Cernan was the featured speaker at the event that concluded the week’s activities.
USA CEO Mike McCulley thanks NASA Administrator Mike Griffin following Griffin’s presentation at the Suppliers Conference.
Congressman Bart Gordon (D-TN) describes a bipartisan coalition of Republicans and Democrats promoting funding for NASA programs. Bill Gerstenmaier, right, NASA Associate Administrator for Space Operations and Mission Directorate, shown above with USA Space Shuttle Program Manager Howard DeCastro, challenged the audience to provide creative solutions for future space exploration.
USA COO Dick Covey thanks Dr. Scott Horowitz, NASA Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems and Mission Directorate, for Horowitz’s presentation to suppliers.
Congressman John Culberson (R-TX) discusses NASA funding. He told conference attendees that America’s leadership in space is critical to national security.

United Space Alliance organized and hosted the Annual Space Shuttle Suppliers Conference for the ninth year in a row, with a focus on budget, policy and legislative issues relevant to the space program now and in the future.

More than 150 Space Shuttle suppliers from across the country assembled for briefings from key decision makers and visited more than 75 Capitol Hill offices to advocate for NASA’s budget.

“I think it is important to demonstrate to our political representatives the commitment to the space program from all sizes of businesses, not just the large contractors,” said conference participant Jason Brady, President of A-B Computer Solutions. “The fact that USA facilitates this process is impressive – and appreciated – and it really makes us all feel like part of the team. The conference also enables us to ‘see the future’ regarding upcoming plans and missions, things we may not get to see in our
day-to-day operations.”

Gemini and Apollo astronaut Eugene Cernan was invited by USA to address the participants and guests at a Capitol Hill reception capping off the week. The commander of Apollo XVII, Cernan encouraged them to press forward with the Vision for Space Exploration, saying it is crucial to America’s future that the Nation return to the moon and prepare for more ambitious missions of exploration.

“Don’t let me be the last man on the moon,” he said.

He also hailed the astronauts of the Shuttle era, saying that their courage as space pioneers made it possible for the nation to reach for new space goals.

“The space program is all about the future; we must do this for our young people … ,” Cernan said. “They will ultimately be the generation that will journey to Mars and beyond.”

Kicking off the conference was NASA Administrator Mike Griffin who discussed the need to return the Space Shuttle to safe space flight, complete the International Space Station (ISS) and begin the exploration programs.

“The Space Shuttle is the most amazing machine we’ve ever imagined,” he said.

Griffin pledged to conduct the transition from the Shuttle to the new Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) and Crew Launch Vehicle (CLV) with an emphasis on preserving the Shuttle workforce as much as possible. He also asked the suppliers represented at the conference for their help in “building the best programs that money can buy under $16.8 billion,” a figure that he said NASA was thankful to have received from the Bush administration.

Providing perspectives from Capitol Hill were Congressmen Bart Gordon (D-TN), John Culberson (R-TX) and Ken Calvert (R-CA), and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-TX).

Gordon, who is the ranking Democrat on the House Science Committee, told the suppliers that the current NASA leadership was “stellar,” and had brought new credibility to the agency’s dealings with elected officials. He went on to explain how a bipartisan coalition of a dozen or so members from both the Republican and Democratic parties are actively engaged in promoting funding for NASA programs.

Gordon said those coalition members are working diligently to help guide the NASA programs through the Congressional policy and funding processes.

Culberson, a key member of the House Appropriations Committee, said he is excited by the level of funding in the President’s FY ’07 request but also emphasized that the NASA budget is about $1 billion short.

The West Houston Congressman expressed strong support for the Vision and said it was important to national security that America dominate space and explore the moon before other nations, such as China, begin their own lunar programs.

Culberson also gave a vote of confidence to the NASA administrator and said he believes Griffin is capable and willing to make the right decisions on the schedule for flying the Shuttle.

Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee Chairman Calvert spoke to the suppliers about the critical importance of maintaining U.S. leadership in space.

“Space resources are used for many aspects of our world – military, commercial and civilian uses – and for these we need reliable, affordable space access,” he said.

Calvert also focused on work force transition issues and its importance to achieving the Vision. He said he understands the importance of maintaining the skills of the current workforce if the nation’s future space programs are to be successful.

Hutchison said that while she is not pleased that the Shuttle will retire in 2010, she is now committed to working with Griffin and NASA to ensure that the transition between programs is smooth and that the critical skills of the work force are maintained.

Hutchison also said she is a supporter of the ISS. She emphasized the importance of the ISS and of honoring commitments to the international partners. She also told conference attendees that she believes NASA should be involved in the hard sciences and that NASA should be doing some of that type of work on the ISS.

Suppliers heard the White House perspective from Dr. Robie Samanta Roy, who provided detailed information on NASA, the overall Federal Science and Research Agenda, and the President’s American Competitiveness Initiative.

Samanta Roy, who is responsible for civil, military and commercial space issues in the President’s Office of Science and Technology Policy, said the Vision can be achieved under current and future projected budgets. He also discussed the importance of science and math education and the need for qualified teachers in those disciplines.

Key NASA officials also briefed suppliers.

Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA Associate Administrator for Space Operations and Mission Directorate, said STS-114 was “a tremendously successful flight,” and reported that the ISS was at the half-way point in its construction, with 400,000 pounds of its structure now on orbit and another 400,000 pounds yet to be launched over 16 shuttle flights.

Gerstenmaier asked suppliers for their best ideas in keeping operations costs as low as possible. He also told the group that his office was working hard on transitioning from Shuttle to exploration.

Dr. Scott Horowitz, Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems and Mission Directorate, reported that NASA was on track in bringing the CEV and the CLV online as soon as possible, with the target date for the operational start of the CEV as 2012. He said major inputs would be sought from industry and the international community this spring to lay out a detailed lunar exploration program.

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