Obama Space Conference: Not the President's Only Event April 15

Obama Space Conference: Not the President's Only Event April 15

Who will be invited to President Obama’s space “conference” in Florida on April 15 and what will happen there remains a mystery, but at least we know it’s not the only reason he’ll be in Florida. Jeff Foust at SpacePolitics.com notes that the President will be attending two fundraisers in Miami that day, one at the home of rock singer Gloria Estefan and her husband for $30,400 a couple.

And while not a mystery, there had been some anticipation that SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launch might take place about that time as a demonstration of the potential of commercial crew. However, SpaceX has announced that the first flight of Falcon 9 will occur no earlier than May 8. In an emailed message very late on April 2, company spokeswoman Emily Shanklin said that Space X was working with the supplier of key components of the Falcon 9’s flight termination system to supply final data to SpaceX and the Air Force for “review and acceptance.”

Meanwhile, SpacePolicyOnline.com was worried that its invitation to the April 15 conference had been lost in the mail, but Representative Bill Posey (R-FL) apparently has not received his either. In a March 30 letter to the President, Rep. Posey said that he had not been invited yet and would “very much appreciate the opportunity to participate in the event with you.” Rep. Posey is a strong supporter of the space shuttle program and a co-sponsor of H.R. 4804 that would prohibit terminating the shuttle until certain conditions are met to ensure the continued operation of the ISS until at least 2020.

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