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GWU Faculty Honored at AIAA Awards Gala

8 May 2013

Two GWU faculty members were honored at the 2013 Aerospace Spotlight Awards Gala, an annual ceremony held by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Michael W. Plesniak, Professor and Chair of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, was named a 2013 AIAA Fellow for his contributions to turbulent flow physics and for extraordinary leadership in the engineering community and in education.

SPI Director Scott Pace was given the International Cooperation Award for his outstanding and sustained analysis and assessments to civil, commercial, and national space security policy, and space projects and programs entailing international space cooperation and competition.

SPI Professor Emeritus John Logsdon Writes Feature Article in Quest

April 2013

Former SPI Director Dr. John Logsdon penned a feature article for the latest volume of Quest, the History of Spaceflight Quarterly. The article, entitled 'John F. Kennedy and "The Right Stuff", describes the early days of the U.S. manned spaceflight program and President Kennedy's interactions with the 'Mercury Seven'.

Read the article here.

SPI Director Scott Pace Gives Ohio State Universite Lecture on 'Frontiers of Innovation in Human Space Flight'

April 30, 2013

Dr. Scott Pace visited Ohio State University to give the inaugural John Glenn lecture on the Future of Space Policy and Exploration. He discussed the ongoing symbolic value of human spaceflight, both domestically and internationally, and its relevance to policy makers.

Read his speech here.

SPI Director Scott Pace Discusses the Future of US Space Policy at CFR Live Meeting

April 15, 2013

Former Congressman Robert Walker and SPI Director Scott Pace participated in a meeting of the Council on Foreign Relations to discuss U.S. space program budget cuts, the indefinite cancellation of U.S.-government-sponsored human space exploration, and the rise of private sector activity in the area.

Watch a video of the meeting.

SPI Visiting Scholar Speaks at JAXA Washington Office

March 26, 2013

Keiichi Anan, Unit Chief of the Space Development and Utilization Division of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, gave a presentation at the Washington office of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) on March 26th. His presentation marked the conclusion of his year-long tenure at the Space Policy Institute as Visiting Scholar, and summarized current Japanese space policy and its relation to American space policy.

You can see his slides here.

SPI Director Scott Pace Writes Guest Blog for The Diplomat

March 28, 2013

The Diplomat published an article today by SPI Director Scott Pace, 'American Space Strategy: Choose to Steer, Not Drift'.

The article discusses the desirability of civil space cooperation with Asia-Pacific countries with growing space power in order to support international space security interests.

George Washington University Team Competes in Quarter Finals of 2013 North American Space Law Moot Court Competition

March 2013

The George Washington University team in the 2013 North American Space Law Moot Court Competition. From left to right: Claire Brown, Nathan Johnson, coach Professor Henry Hertzfeld, and Katie Bendoraitis.

SPI Alumna to Moderate NASA's First Spanish Language Google+ Hangout

March 25, 2013

NASA will host a video 'Hangout' on its Google+ website on Thursday, March 28th from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. EDT. Spanish speakers around the world can join in the conversation with two prominent Hispanic women at NASA, Earth scientist Erika Podest and principal investigator and systems engineer Michela Munoz Fernandez.

This event was organized and will be moderated by SPI alumna Laura Delgado Lopez.

»See the event website

»See a NASA press release on the event

C-SPAN, SpacePolicyOnline, The Space Review and Aviation Week cover SPI-AIAA Event, "Columbia+10: Lessons Learned and Unlearned"

March 10, 2013

On March 8th 2013 the Space Policy Institute collaborated with the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics to present a symposium on the 2003 Columbia Space Shuttle disaster, the reponse of NASA and the nation to this tragedy, and the lessons that were taken away from it. The symposium was in part an effort to ensure that these lessons were not forgotten.

C-SPAN covered the entire event live.
» Watch the video

Reviews of the event were written by SpacePolicyOnline, The Space Review and Aviation Week.

SPI Professor Henry Hertzfeld interviewed on The Space Show

March 5, 2013

The Space Show, an internet radio program focusing on issues influencing the development of outer-space commerce and space tourism, among other related subjects, recently interview SPI Professor Henry Hertzfeld. The topics of the show were commercial space, Mars, human spaceflight, regulations & economics.

» Listen to the episode.

Science Direct.com includes Papers by SPI Faculty in Top 25 Hottest Articles for 2012 in the journal Advances in Space Research

March 2013

The scientific database Science Direct published a series of Top 25 Hottest Articles from 2012. Among articles from the journal Advances in Space Research, two papers from SPI Professor Pascale Ehrenfreund, one of which was co-authored by SPI Professor Henry Hertzfeld, were ranked in the top five.

» See the list.

SPI Director Scott Pace cited by Der Spiegel

February 8, 2013

Der Spiegel Online cited Dr. Scott Pace, among others, in an article discussing the possibility of future European-Chinese cooperation in human spaceflight. Dr. Pace was quoted regarding the tenuous state of the International Space Station given its complete dependence on Russian Soyuz rockets, and the need to improve Chinese-American political relationships before cooperation in space can take place.

Click here to read the article.

SPI Students Discuss Space Policy

February 4, 2013

James Court, a former student of the Space Policy Institute, had an op-ed published in Space News this week. In the article Court discusses the possibility that the progress of manned spaceflight in Asian countries might revitalize the American human spaceflight program. Read the full article here.

PhD candidate Brian Weeden was also called upon for his expertise at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting at Davos, Switzerland last week. The panel on which he spoke was entitled 'The Future of Space', and a review of the panel can be found here.

Space Policy Institute and Secure World Foundation Release 'A Guide to Space Law Terms'

January 31, 2013

The Space Policy Institute and the Secure World Foundation have released a guide to words, terms, and phrases commonly used in space law. Edited by SPI Professor Henry Hertzfeld, this accurate and usable guide is an important initial step to clarifying the language used in space law for the benefit of students and professionals alike. All readers are invited to comment and suggest both
corrections and revisions to these definitions as well as additional words, terms and phrases to be included in future editions.

»Full Electronic Copy Available Here

SPI Professor Emeritus John Logsdon speaks in panel on the need for a definitive U.S. space policy

January 24, 2013

Professor Emeritus John Logsdon took part in a panel discussion at the Baker Institute at Rice University, "Lost in Space: Need for a Definitive U.S. Space Policy." The panel of space policy experts discussed the present status and future of NASA and the nation's civil space program.

» Event website and webcast

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