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Greater Washington Initiative, U.K. Industrial Space Committee To Co-Host Conference on U.S-U.K. Space Business at Farnborough Air Show

Business Wire, July 13, 2004

WASHINGTON & LONDON -- The Greater Washington Initiative (GWI) and the U.K. Industrial Space Committee (UKISC) will co-host "U.S.-U.K. Space Business," a conference on opportunities for U.S. and U.K. companies in the space business, at the Farnborough International Air Show on Tuesday, 20 July.

The Farnborough Air Show, one of the world's largest, is organised by the Society of British Aerospace Companies, the trade association for the U.K. aerospace industry. This year's show runs 19-25 July at the Farnborough Aerodrome in Hampshire and is expected to attract more than 300,000 visitors. More than 1,300 exhibitors from 32 countries will participate. There will be more than 200 aircraft on display and a daily air show.

This is the first year that Farnborough will host an International Space Pavilion. The pavilion will provide an opportunity for the space industry to showcase its advances and capabilities and to highlight the synergies between the space and aerospace industries.

The keynote speaker at "U.S.-U.K. Space Business" will be Rear Admiral Craig E. Steidle, Associate Administrator, Exploration Systems, for the National Aeronautics and Space Agency, who will discuss NASA's increased focus on space exploration. The event will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the QinetiQ Conference Centre in the International Space Pavilion at Farnborough. Featured speakers include the Honorable Ronald M. Sega, Director of Defense Research and Engineering (DDR&E) and chief technical advisor to the Secretary of Defense and the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics (USD-AT&L); Thomas G. Morr, Managing Partner of GWI and board member of the National Air & Space Museum in Washington, DC; and Professor Richard Brook, OBE, President of SIRA and Chairman of the UKISC.

The event will include panels of top government officials and industry executives discussing:

--U.S. & U.K. Space Industry Trends & Development

--Doing Business with NASA: How to Win Space Contracts

--How U.S. Small Firms Compete for Space Industry Business

--Opportunities and Resources for U.K. Companies

--U.S. & U.K. Company Success stories in space technology

--Case Studies in U.K. Industry Innovation

--Doing Business with NASA through the British National Space Centre

--R&D Opportunities

U.S. panelists will include:

--Joseph H. Bogosian, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation and Machinery, U.S. Department of Commerce;

--John Karas, Vice President, Space Exploration, Lockheed Martin Corporation

--Alan Ross, President, A.L. Ross Associates, Inc.

--Harold Stinger, CEO, SGT, and President, Maryland Space Roundtable

U.K. panelists include:

--Karl Pringle, Director ARM Business Development - Strategic Thought

--John Auburn, Executive Director, SciSys (Space & Defence) Ltd & Chair Elect, UK Industrial Space Committee;

--Dr. David Leadbeater, Deputy Director General, British National Space Centre

--Dr. David Parker, Director Particle Physics & Astronomy Research Council (PPARC)

Greater Washington Initiative (GWI) is the regional economic development marketing organization that promotes the area encompassing the District of Columbia, Northern Virginia and Suburban Maryland as a premier business location. GWI is an affiliate of the Greater Washington Board of Trade. For more info, visit www.greaterwashington.org.

The United Kingdom Industrial Space Committee (UKISC) is the Trade Association of the British space industry. Founded in 1975, UKISC is sponsored jointly by the Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC) and the Federation of the Electronics Industry (FEI) and collectively represents over three-quarters of the total turnover (GBP 750 Million) and employees (6000 ) of the industry. For more info, visit http://www.ukspace.com/.>