Tag: Kara Cunzeman

NASA, ISS National Lab, and AIAA Team Up for Live Space Station Downlink at 2023 ASCEND

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 18, 2023 – Reston, Va. – The world’s premier outcomes-focused, interdisciplinary space gathering – 2023 ASCEND – will hear directly from the crew onboard the International Space Station (ISS). Each year in Las Vegas, ASCEND brings together space industry professionals, students, and enthusiasts to accelerate building our off-world future.

On Monday morning, 23 October, the event will open with a unique session entitled, “From Dreaming to Doing: Utilizing Creativity and Imagination to Accelerate our Off-World Future,” moderated by Kara Cunzeman, director of Strategic Foresight, The Aerospace Corporation, and ASCEND Guiding Coalition member. The speakers will explore what it means to create and inspire, and why systematic thinking about the future is essential for building humanity’s sustainable off-world future.

During that exciting session, the conference will receive a special call from space, as NASA astronauts Loral O’Hara and Jasmin Moghbeli join ASCEND live from the International Space Station. Cunzeman will lead a discussion with the astronauts on the importance of space exploration, improving diversity in STEM fields, and ways to build our sustainable off-world future through collaboration.

For those planning to attend 2023 ASCEND, the opening session and downlink conversation are set to begin at 0800 hrs PT in the Summit Ballroom, Caesars Forum, Las Vegas. The panelists may be available for potential interviews from media attending the event. Please contact Rebecca Gray, AIAA Director of Communications, at [email protected] to coordinate.

Media Contacts
AIAA: Rebecca Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270 cell
ISS National Lab: Patrick O’Neill, [email protected]

About the International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory: The International Space Station (ISS) is a one-of-a-kind laboratory that enables research and technology development not possible on Earth. As a public service enterprise, the ISS National Lab allows researchers to leverage this multiuser facility to improve life on Earth, mature space-based business models, advance science literacy in the future workforce, and expand a sustainable and scalable market in low Earth orbit. Through this orbiting national laboratory, research resources on the ISS are available to support non-NASA science, technology and education initiatives from U.S. government agencies, academic institutions, and the private sector. The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) manages the ISS National Lab, under cooperative agreement with NASA, facilitating access to its permanent microgravity research environment, a powerful vantage point in low Earth orbit, and the extreme and varied conditions of space. To learn more about the ISS National Lab, visit www.issnationallab.org.

About ASCEND
Powered by AIAA, ASCEND, which stands for Accelerating Space Commerce, Exploration, and New Discovery, is the world’s premier collaborative, outcomes-driven, interdisciplinary community designed to accelerate the building of our off-world future. For more information, visit ascend.events, or follow ASCEND on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit aiaa.org, or follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

“Fast Forward,” ASCEND’s New On-Demand Interview Series, Envisions Our Off-World Future

Pilot Episode Forecasts Biomedical Discoveries in Space that Will Improve Life on Earth

September 7, 2021 – Reston, Va. – ASCEND, the only community on the planet dedicated to building humanity’s off-world future faster, today premiered “Fast Forward” – an original on-demand interview series featuring champions of industries pursuing large-scale growth in space. Powered by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), ASCEND was launched in 2020 to Accelerate Space Commerce, Exploration, and New Discovery. ASCEND’s centerpiece annual event will convene this November.

“Fast Forward” is hosted by two of the most space-obsessed prognosticators on the planet — Devin Liddell, principal futurist at Teague, a design and innovation firm, and Kara Cunzeman, lead futurist for strategic foresight for the Center for Space Policy and Strategy at The Aerospace Corporation.

“People tend to think of space as some faraway realm, the exclusive domain of NASA and astronauts. On ‘Fast Forward,’we’ll try to demystify space by presenting a rich discussion in everyday terms about the off-world future and what that means for all of us,” said Liddell.

The pilot episode, “Accelerating Biomedical R&D in Space,” features Rich Boling, Vice President of Techshot, a one-stop commercial research and manufacturing gateway to space. The company works with NASA and the International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory to operate its equipment onboard the station.

Boling is optimistic about the prospects for industry-specific technology, science, and engineering advances in microgravity to improve life on Earth. “This is the golden age of human spaceflight. Never before have so many options been available to so many people to conduct biomedical R&D in microgravity – aboard aircraft in parabolic flight, suborbital rockets and spaceplanes, orbital-class capsules and space planes, and space stations,” said Boling. “As costs come down, more companies are getting into the game. To many, conducting biomedical R&D in microgravity is now considered just another opportunity to gain an advantage over competitors.”

Read more from Boling in his article on the ASCEND blog, “10 Reasons Biomedical R&D is the Next Big Growth Sector in Space.”

Future episodes of “Fast Forward” will feature executives from other adjacent, non-space industries including ASCEND infrastructure champion Michael Costas, General Manager for Defense and Space at Bechtel Nuclear, Security and Environmental, and ASCEND telecommunications champion Brian Barritt, Facebook Engineering Manager focused on connectivity.

“If you did cross-enterprise mapping over these adjacent sectors, you’d find a lot of opportunities that are not being pursued because they haven’t been addressed or identified,” said Cunzeman. “‘Fast Forward’will accelerate our awareness and sharpen our focus.”

Hear more about large-scale growth in space at the ASCEND centerpiece annual event. Join the conversation live in Las Vegas and Washington, DC, and online everywhere, 8–10 and 15–17 November. Registration is open now, with early-bird pricing available through 15 September.

Media Contact: Rebecca B. Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270 cell

About ASCEND
Powered by AIAA, ASCEND promotes the collaborative, interdisciplinary, outcomes-driven community of professionals, students, and enthusiasts around the world who are accelerating humanity’s progress toward our off-world future! For more information, visit ascend.events, or follow ASCEND on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit aiaa.org, or follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

AIAA Announces 2023 ASCEND Guiding Coalition Comprised of Prominent Leaders Across the Aerospace Community and Adjacent Industries

June 26, 2023 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is proud to announce the 44 members of the 2023 ASCEND Guiding Coalition who represent a diverse mix of leading aerospace companies, government agencies, and academic institutions, each with a shared commitment to the mission of ASCEND to Accelerate Space Commerce, Exploration, and New Discovery.

The ASCEND Guiding Coalition is an advisory board of technology, science, engineering, and business leaders selected to help maximize ASCEND’s reach and impact, including the design and content of its centerpiece annual event. 2023 ASCEND is scheduled for 23–25 October, Caesars Forum, Las Vegas, focused on building our sustainable off-world future through collaboration.

“The members of the ASCEND Guiding Coalition bring a wealth of experience and expertise as leaders in commercial space operations, government space policy, science and technology policy, new entrepreneurial ventures, and business strategy. We are thrilled for their involvement so we can build our off-world future faster,” said Julie Van Kleeck, ASCEND Executive Producer and AIAA Space Domain Lead.

The members of the 2023 ASCEND Guiding Coalition are:

  • Sirisha Bandla, Vice President, Government Affairs, Virgin Galactic
  • Bill Beckman, Director, NASA Programs, Boeing Global Sales and Marketing
  • Tejpaul Bhatia, Chief Revenue Officer, Axiom Space
  • Robert (Bobby) D. Braun, Head, Space Exploration Sector, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
  • Tory Bruno, CEO, United Launch Alliance
  • Lt. Gen. DeAnna Burt, Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Operations, Cyber, and Nuclear, United States Space Force*
  • Steven (Bucky) J. Butow, Director, Space Portfolio, Defense Innovation Unit (DIU)*
  • Johnathon Caldwell, Vice President and General Manager, Military Space, Lockheed Martin
  • Ahsan Choudhuri, Associate Vice President for Aerospace Center and Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas at El Paso
  • Carissa Christensen, CEO, BryceTech
  • Sandra Connelly, Deputy Associate Administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA*
  • Michael Costas, General Manager, Defense and Space, Bechtel Nuclear, Security & Environmental
  • Laura Crabtree, Chief Executive Officer, Epsilon3
  • Kara Cunzeman, Lead Futurist, Strategic Foresight, The Aerospace Corporation
  • Robert Curbeam, Senior Vice President, Space Capture, Maxar
  • Dan Dumbacher, Executive Director, AIAA
  • Ariel Ekblaw, Director, Space Exploration Initiative, MIT Media Lab
  • Carol Erikson, Vice President, Digital Transformation, Space Systems, Northrop Grumman*
  • Debra Facktor, Head of U.S. Space Systems, Airbus U.S. Space and Defense, Inc.
  • James Free, Associate Administrator, Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, NASA
  • Michael Gazarik, Vice President, Engineering, Ball Aerospace
  • Bill Gerstenmaier, Vice President, Build and Flight Reliability, SpaceX
  • Phillip Ingle, Manager Director, Morgan Stanley
  • Lt. Gen. Larry James, USAF (Ret.), Deputy Director, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory*
  • Steve Jurczyk, Co-Founder and CEO, Quantum Space*
  • Janet Kavandi, President, Sierra Space*
  • Joe Landon, CEO, Crescent Space
  • Sandra Magnus, Principal, Astroplanetview, LLC
  • Clare Martin, Executive Vice President, Astroscale U.S.*
  • Jim Maser, Senior Vice President, Space, Aerojet Rocketdyne
  • Rob Meyerson, CEO, Delalune Space
  • Mark Mozena, Vice President, Government Affairs, Planet Federal*
  • Todd Nygren, Senior Vice President, Engineering and Technology Group, The Aerospace Corporation
  • Shawna Pandya, Director, Space Medicine Group, International Institute for Astronautical Sciences (IIAS)
  • Lt. Gen. John Shaw, Deputy Commander, U.S. Space Command*
  • Wanda Sigur, President, Lambent Engineering LLC
  • Lauren Smith, Senior Program Manager, Satellite Servicing, Northrop Grumman
  • Melanie Stricklan, CEO & Co-Founder, Slingshot Aerospace
  • Russ Teehan, Principal Solutions Architect, Government Satellite Systems, Amazon
  • Derek Tournear, Director, Space Development Agency
  • Julie Van Kleeck, ASCEND Executive Producer and AIAA Space Domain Lead
  • Matthew C. Weinzierl, Senior Associate Dean and Chair, MBA Program; Joseph and Jacqueline Elbling Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School*
  • Vanessa Wyche, Director, NASA Johnson Space Center

Registration for 2023 ASCEND is open now. Journalists from around the world are invited to cover the event; press passes are available for credentialed media by request.

*New Members in 2023

Media Contact: Rebecca Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270 cell

About ASCEND
Powered by AIAA, ASCEND, which stands for Accelerating Space Commerce, Exploration, and New Discovery, is the world’s premier collaborative, outcomes-driven, interdisciplinary community designed to accelerate the building of our off-world future. For more information, visit ascend.events, or follow ASCEND on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit aiaa.org, or follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.