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Related Materials Seminar Agenda Event Information Date and Time September 6, 2006 8:45 a.m. Location George Mason University – Arlington Campus 3401 North Fairfax Drive "Original Building" Arlington, VA 22201 Event Partner George Mason School of Public Policy American Astronautical Society

With the age of globalization, increased connectivity is increasingly the rule.  To make efficient use of this trend and remain competitive both economically and technologically, interoperability becomes a necessity. In many disciplines, such as information technology, aerospace, and software, interoperability has become an essential and fundamental requirement.  Yet this same type of integration is still relatively rare within the space exploration field itself – countries have few common standards, definitions, practices, or objectives.  For space exploration to be successful and sustainable, space exploration must absorb and implement the lessons and best practices of interoperability from other sectors. 

To address this issue the Human Space Exploration Initiative (HSEI) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the Center for Aerospace Policy Research of the School of Public Policy at George Mason University, and the American Astronautical Society co-organized a major international seminar on Interoperability and Space Exploration at the Arlington Campus of George Mason University near Washington, DC. 

This seminar included panels with case studies from both inside and outside of the space sector discussing various facets of interoperability, followed by discussions of lessons learned from both the private and public sector on interoperability.

Panel 1: Hardware Interoperability

In a number of sectors, practitioners have included ease of interoperability as a primary defining feature of their product. In other cases, the use of open-source designs and architectures for hardware enables new products to include interoperability as a principle feature.

Moderator: Lyn Wigbels, vice president, international,  American Astronautical Society
Speakers:

• Program Development: Greg Glaros, Synnexus Corporation
• ISS Hardware: Sam Scimemi, senior integration manager, International Space Station Program Office, Office of Space Operations, NASA Headquarters, Presentation
• Intermodal Freight: Ken Button, professor, director, Center for Transportation Policy and Logistics, GMU School of Public Policy, Presentation

Panel 2: Software and Middleware Interoperability

Interoperability in software and middleware is critical as it affects things beyond the realm of systems integration into more complex arenas such as interagency cooperation, joint operations, and basic information exchange, to name a few. This session explores interoperability in the context of software, interfaces, systems, and information flow mechanisms.

Moderator: Michael Schrage, co-director, eMarkets Initiative, MIT Media Lab, and senior advisor, MIT Security Studies Program
Speakers

• Air Traffic Control: Jere (Chip) Meserole, director, engineering and programs, Advanced Air Traffic Management, Phantom Works, The Boeing Company, Presentation
• Middleware: Jeff Schick, vice president of social networking software, Lotus IBM Software Group, Presentation
  
• Shuttle-Mir Integration: Frank Culbertson, senior vice president and deputy business unit general manager, Science Applications International Corporation
• NATO Interoperability: J. Troy Turner, section head, C4 Interoperability Standardization & Architectures, NATO Supreme Allied Command Transformation, Presentation

 
Panel 3: Orgware and Interoperability

While a given set of items may be interoperable, if an organization cannot take advantage of this due to fundamental structural shortcomings, then the interoperability itself can be rendered useless. The set of organizational tools needed to truly make best use of interoperability are sometimes referred to as orgware.

Moderator: G. Ryan Faith, program coordinator, Space Initiatives, Technology and Public Policy Program, CSIS
Speakers

• COSPAS/SARSAT: Ajay Mehta, SARSAT program manager, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Presentation
• Space and Logistics: William (Andy) Evans, Space Logistics Project, United Space Alliance, Presentation
• Institutional Issues In The Deployment Of Intelligent Transportation Systems: Brien Benson, professor, manager, ITS Implementation Research Center, GMU School of Public Policy, Presentation

Panel 4: Space Industry Perspectives on Interoperability

This session reviews the results of previous panel discussions, exploring what can be gleaned from previous experience in and outside of the space sector, and how these experiences can be applied to address current problems and open new opportunities to private sector participants in space exploration. This panel will also discuss the role of standards development and consensus standards building processes and their role in space exploration.

Moderator: James Lewis, director and senior fellow, Technology and Public Policy Program, CSIS
Speakers

• Galileo-GPS Integration: Bruce De Cleene, navigation program manager, Aircraft Engineering Division, Federal Aviation Administration, Presentation
• Boeing: Paul Eckert, international and commercial strategist, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems – Space Exploration, Presentation
• Northrop Grumman: Harrison Freer, director, Space Programs, Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems, Presentation
• Standards and Interoperability: Craig Day, standards program manager, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Presentation

Panel 5: Space Agency Perspectives on Interoperability

This panel discussion presents the observations from civil space agencies regarding interoperability, cooperation, and their future space exploration plans.

Moderator: Vincent Sabathier, senior fellow and director of Space Initiatives, Technology and Public Policy Program, CSIS
Speakers

• NASA: Jeffrey Volosin, lead, Global Exploration Strategy Program, NASA, Presentation
• CNES: Jean-Jacques Tortora, CNES representative in the United States; space attaché, French Embassy, Presentation
• JAXA: Kiwao Shibukawa, director, Washington D.C. office, JAXA, Presentation