Dear AIAA Commercial Space Group Email List Member, 

I wanted to get an email out to everybody because I've been getting an increased number of requests for information about our group. 

Below is a quick glance some Current Events, the Purpose of the Commercial Space Group (CSG), and Activities we've already carried as well as some that are coming up soon. 

===== CURRENT EVENTS ===== 

There are two events that we want to call your attention to that will take place in the month of March: 

1. The Satellite 2009 Conference will be taking place in Washington DC on March 24-27. (Go to www.satellitetoday.com/satellite2009 for more detailed information about the conference.) We are encouraging anybody who is interested in learning more about the Telecommunications industry to take advantage of the free registration for the Welcome Reception and Exhibit Hall events. You can register on the web at www.satellitetoday.com/satellite2009. 

The Welcome Reception is on Tuesday, March 24 from 5:30PM – 7:30PM, but you won't be able to go into the Exhibit Hall at that time. (The Exhibit Hall, by the way, is in a different venue anyway.) If you register for the Reception and Exhibit Hall, you don't have to go to the Reception to pick up your Exhibit Hall pass, so you can stop by to see the vendor exhibits on any of the days that the hall is open, starting on Wednesday, March 25. 

We encourage you to take advantage of this great opportunity if you can! 

2. The  "2009 Aerospace Markets - The Decade Ahead" is a Teal Group luncheon hosted by AIAA. It will be held on March 11 at the Renaissance Washington Hotel, Ballroom West A999 Ninth Street NW in Washington, DC. Registration begins at 11:30 and lunch and Q&A will follow. Guests include Richard Aboulafia, Vice President, Analysis, Teal Group Corp.; Pierre Chao, Managing Partner and co-founder of 
Renaissance Strategic Advisors; and Philip Finnegan, Director, Corporate Analysis, Teal Group Corp.

===== PURPOSE ===== 

Next, here is the current draft of our Purpose statement. We are very close to finalizing this wording, so please don't be surprised if you see a slightly different version in subsequent communications from or presentations about our group. 

The purpose of the AIAA Commercial Space Group is to: 
 
1) Provide communication of relevant and timely information regarding the emerging commercial space sector to target audiences. 
 
2) Communicate information to the public about the emerging commercial space sector for educational purposes. 
 
3) Provide AIAA members and all aerospace professionals with timely and relevant information about the different aspects, sectors, and people of commercial space and provide volunteer opportunities in this new and dynamic aerospace sector. 
 
4) Provide the wherewithal for the emerging commercial space sector to obtain information about, and access to, all of AIAA’s available resources and demonstrate the benefits of AIAA Commercial Space Group membership and support. 

===== ACTIVITIES ===== 

Finally, here's a brief description of the activities that the CSG is conducting and specific examples of events, past and future: 

The following are the major activity categories that the CSG is conducting: 

• Conference Sessions 
• General Meetings 
• Tours 

The following is a list of planned future AIAA CSG conference paper and/or panel sessions. 

• 2009 Sept: Space 2009 Conference in Pasadena, CA: 6 Paper/Panel Sessions 
• 2010 Aug: Joint Propulsion Conference in Nashville, TN: 1 NewSpace Propulsion Session 

The following is a list of past and planned future AIAA CSG general meetings. 

• 2008 Feb: FAA Commercial Space Conference in Washington, DC. 
• 2008 July: AIAA Joint Propulsion Conference in Hartford, CT. 
• 2008 Sept 09: AIAA Space Conference in Pasadena, CA. 
• 2008 Sept 30-Oct 2: IAF Congress in Glasgow, Scotland. 
• 2009 Jan 07:20AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting in Orlando, FL. 
• 2009 Aug 2-5: AIAA Joint Propulsion Conference in Denver, CO. 

The following is a list of past and planned future commercial space tour events. 

• 2008 Nov 17 - NewSpace Tour #1 to Mojave, CA. (More Planned in 2009) 
• 2009 Jan 8 - Commercial Cape Canaveral Tour #1 (Supported by Space Florida, NASA, and the Air Force) 
• NLT 2009 Jun - NewSpace Tour #2 - This is in the "wish list" phase... more details will hopefully be coming soon. 
• 2009 Aug - Tour in conjunction with 2009 Joint Propulsion Conference in Denver, CO... details are coming soon. 

===== CONCLUSION ===== 

So you see, we've been very busy, but we are just getting started. I hope to send out another email blast in the near future with more information for you. 

Thank you for your patience, interest, and support, 

Ken Davidian 
Lead, AIAA Commercial Space Group