Notes from the Next Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference press conference:
Mark Sirangelo, Chairman of Commercial Spaceflight Federation:
We will be announcing an expansion of the federation to include a number of academic affiliates later today.
Michael Mealling, Masten Space Systems:
Masten will fly the winner of today’s student experiment contest on a flight for free.
Jeff Greason, XCOR CEO:
NASA’s embrace of the commercial suborbital field will be “transformative” for research and education.
The opportunity to actually fly into space will excite a new generation of students to pursue science and technology fields.
Alan Stern, SwRI:
The key part will be the ability to fly microgravity experiments on a day-in, day-out basis. To repeat the experiments many times.
Pete Worden, NASA Ames Director:
Suborbital flights is key to exploring what is known as the “ignorosphere,” a section of the upper atmosphere that we know almost nothing about. It’s too high for aircraft and too low for conventional rockets. This could be key to developing a full understanding of global warming.