An annual international meeting, which emphasizes
disseminating information and beneficial technical exchange in the many exciting areas of space technology.

February 2-6, 2003
Albuquerque, NM

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) is pleased to announce that IEEE will again cosponsor the annual Space Technology And Applications International Forum (STAIF-2003).  The theme for STAIF-2003, “Expanding the Frontiers of Space”, captures the imagination. As children we probably have all wondered how far we can go, realizing now that there are no real boundaries.

STAIF-2003 will host five conferences, namely:

1. Conference On Thermophysics In Microgravity, Co-Chaired by Ad Delil, National Aerospace Laboratory Space Division, The Netherlands and Ted Swanson, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD;

2. Conference On Commercial/Civil Next Generation Space Transportation, Chaired by William Gaubatz, Universal Space Lines, Newport Beach, CA;

3. 20^th Symposium On Space Nuclear Power And Propulsion, Co-Chaired by Stanley Borowski, NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH and James H. Lee, Jr., Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM;

4. Conference On Human Space Exploration, Co-Chaired by Gary L. Martin, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC and Douglas R. Cooke, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX;

5. 1^st Symposium On Space Colonization,Co-Chaired by Eric Rice, Orbital Technologies Corporation, Madison, WI and William Siegfried, The Boeing Company, Huntington Beach, CA

As noted by the conference names, this annual international Forum provides the attendees a unique opportunity to gain knowledge in a number of different but related areas. These conferences cover a variety of topics on human space exploration; nuclear power and propulsion; advanced energy conversion technologies; safety and environmental effects; planetary exploration missions; advanced concepts; spacecraft thermal control and management technologies; next generation space transportation; space exploration; and space colonization. Prominent scientists and engineers from the United States and many other countries are scheduled to speak at the technical and plenary sessions.

Astronaut Bonnie Dunbar with several of the students who participated in the Space Design Competitiion at STAIF-2002

In addition, as in past meetings since 1984, the technical program includes a half-day education and outreach program devoted for high school teachers and students from throughout the State of New Mexico.  The students compete annually in a space design project and the winning projects are selected by a committee made up of experts attending the Forum. The students are recognized at the meeting’s luncheon and presented certificates and monetary awards. This education and outreach event has attracted more than 20 teachers and 100 students annually.  This is in addition to a number of parents who attend to support their children. The attendees of this event visit the industrial exhibits on display at the Forum and interact with the exhibitors and the technical experts who influence the students as role models.

The technical program for STAIF-03 and the short course offering are designed to provide the needed information exchange and the professional training in response to the expected increase in R&D spending by NASA to develop and demonstrate the technologies of Advanced Radioisotope Power Systems (ARPS) and Space Nuclear Reactor Power Systems (SNPPS) for electrical propulsion to the outer planets in the solar system. This spending is part of NASA’s Space Nuclear Initiative (SNI), to be funded for a total of $950 M over five years, starting FY 03. The objective of the SNI is to develop the technologies to enable the ARPSs to operate at at least twice the current State-Of-the-Art Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators, thus using much less 238-PuO₂ fuel and more than double the specific power density at the Beginning-Of-Mission from about 5.3 We/kg to as much as 8-10 We/kg.

This initiative will also advance the technologies of electrical propulsion to develop large thrusters in the range of 10 to 25 kWe, and which could be used in conjunction with nuclear reactor electrical power systems generating up to 100 kWe, to 10 –15 years. This technology of SNRPS with electric propulsion would cut down the travel time to the outer plant in the solar system “Pluto” to about 5 years, versus more than ten years with the current SOA technology. In addition, SNPPS will provide ample electrical power for surface and subsurface operation, fast and large data transmission, and offer the capabilities for multiple destination missions. These electrical power systems will revolutionize the future of space exploration, and will be designed for multiple shutdown and restarts. Those who have not been at STAIF in the past should seriously consider attending STAIF-03 to familiarize themselves with the new developments in the technology and future funding opportunities.

For more information and a complete listing of the technical sessions and the people involved in the technical program and in the organization of STAIF-03, please visit the website at www.unm.edu/~isnps, call at +1 505 277-0446, or email to isnps@unm.edu. At the time of this writing, abstracts were still being considered, please contact the STAIF organizers for up to date information.