Space Congress returns to Cape Canaveral

Started in the Apollo era, the Space Congress once drew more than 1,000 aerospace industry professionals from around the country and even internationally to Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral for panel discussions and exchanges of technical papers.

Buses shuttled guests to multiple hotels and the Congress leadership team could be identified by their colorful blazers.

But over the past decade, for reasons no one is entirely sure about, the event faded and stopped being held regularly. The National Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, held for the 31st time earlier this month, rose to prominence as the industry's main annual gathering.

The Space Congress returns to the Space Coast this week, as local organizers try to revive the once-proud event and build momentum in the run-up to the 50th anniversary of the first Apollo moon landing four years from now.

"Our goal is to bring something to the community of interest to the people, and make it not only for space but for aviation, technology, manufacturing, logistics, to broaden the scope of it a little bit, and that's what we've tried to do this year," said Dwight Easterly, a retired engineer and consultant serving as general chairman for the 43rd Space Congress.

The 43rd Space Congress runs Tuesday through Thursday at the Radisson Resort at the Port in Cape Canaveral.

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It is hosted by the Canaveral Council of Technical Societies, in partnership with Career Source Brevard and the Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast.

The opening panel Tuesday will discuss "NASA and Air Force Innovation at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport," followed by one on emerging roles for states and local governments in space programs.

U.S. Rep. Bill Posey of Rockledge, who sits on the House's space subcommittee, will deliver a video message at lunch that day, with a keynote speech by former NASA astronaut Winston Scott of the Florida Institute of Technology.

A panel on Thursday will offer the latest on the return of human spaceflight to the area, featuring former astronauts Chris Ferguson and Garrett Reisman of Boeing and SpaceX, respectively, which have contracts to fly NASA astronauts by 2017.

Eddie Ellegood, a local space policy analyst who organized some of the panels, said the Congress sought to bring industry members together and continue to dispel misperceptions that local space activity stopped with the shuttle program.

"Without Space Congress, without some local annual or even biannual conference of that sort, there's a real void locally that needs to be filled," he said. "It brings visibility to the area, and it allows the local community to become engaged and aware of what's going on at the Cape."

The 43rd Space Congress is the first since a one-day program in 2012 held in Cocoa, which followed years without one.

That decline somewhat mirrors the area's space program, which has faced uncertainty since plans to retire the shuttle were first announced in 2004, and endured thousands of contractor layoffs with that program's retirement in 2011.

Consolidation among space contractors over the years also hurt the Space Congress. That reduced the number of companies working here, and in turn the number of senior executives based here who would commit their prestige, time and money to the event.

"It was a big event," remembered Lee Solid, a Merritt Island resident and retired Rockwell executive who chaired the 30th Space Congress in 1993.

Solid still has a mug from that year with the event's motto: "Yesterday's vision is tomorrow's reality." Congress leaders wore maroon blazers and color-coordinated ties that year.

But by 2005, Solid was off to the National Space Symposium in Colorado Springs as part of an economic development team trying to persuade companies to build NASA's next crew exploration capsule here.

"That's where it all started," he said of the talks that ultimately brought assembly of NASA's Orion capsule to Kennedy Space Center.

He plans to attend the 43rd Space Congress, and thinks it will be a test of the Congress' ability to survive.

"It's a most appropriate thing to have here," he said. "That's what we're known for. We're the Space Coast, right?"

Instead of colorful blazers, this Congress leadership this year opted for less expensive — and cooler — polo shirts that Easterly said have been described as "grasshopper green."

He said the new Space Congress is a homegrown event that doesn't aim to replicate the Space Symposium in Colorado and will offer a much more affordable price. Registration options range from $25 to $250.

"We think there's a niche for this," said Easterly. "Two or three days a year I don't think is unreasonable to try to bring a little more knowledge to the public."

Contact Dean at 321-242-3668 or jdean@floridatoday.com. And follow on Twitter at @flatoday_jdean and on Facebook at facebook.com/jamesdeanspace.

If you go

The 43rd Space Congress runs Tuesday to Thursday at the Radisson Resort at the Port, 8701 Astronaut Blvd. in Cape Canaveral. Visit spacecongress.org for more information.