Hey all you space fans.  Official ISDC troublemaker Ian Murphy here .  Tim Bailey gave me the keys to the ISDC blog so I am going to do my best to feed your insatiable appetite for all things ISDC throughout the weekend.  I am going to post as much info as I can get from as many sources as I can get give it to me and from time to time will bug you with my own opinions.  NOTE: there is something wrong with the photo upload function so look for pics to come later tonight.

1st up is an update from Jason Rhian on the morning sessions of Space Investment Summit 6…

SIS 6 Opening Remarks

ORLANDO, Fl – Space Investment Summit 6 laid out new and innovative ways to interweave pre-existing hospitality venues with the emerging private space industry. The summit began with opening remarks from Paul Eckert, Ph.D. of Boeing and the National Space Society’s Associate Director Brett Silcox, welcoming guests and informing them of the multitude of opportunities that are already out there and new ones that are arising.  This year’s summit was held at the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate on Wednesday May 27.

Interim President of Space Florida, Frank Dibello’s remarks focused on both maintaining already established aerospace ties and seeking new ones.

Co-Founder of Earth2Orbit LLC Amaresh Kolipara, founder of MC Squared Michael Leventhal and Barry Bloom of Universal Creative constituted the summit’s first panel that discussed how space is an enabler for pre-existing businesses and went on to further expound upon common themes of how separate space market segments are actually intermeshed.  

President of Desert Sky Holdings Robert Jacobson, Senior Show Producer of Walt Disney Imagineering Luc Mayrand, Steven Blum of Universal Creative and William Moore Chief Operating Officer of Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Delaware North Parks and Resorts constituted the members of the second panel of the day.  The topic that they discussed was theme parks entitled “Really Being There: Space-Themed Physical Attractions.”  Topics ranged from the development of Disney’s “Mission Space” ride to the ins and outs of operating the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

“It is the place where average men and women get to walk in the footsteps of astronauts,” Moore said.  “People really need to understand what is possible in space.”

After a brief opportunity for attendees to meet and network the next panel addressed the multi-media aspects of the various virtual-reality endeavors in the space market.  Dave Hosley of D & B Professional Development, Marc Watson, president of Imagine Creative Technology LLC, Chester Kennedy Vice-President of Engineering and Simulation for Lockheed Martin and Tami Griffith of the U.S. Army’s Research and Development Engineering Command were the members tackling the topics on this panel.  With topics ranging from medical uses, entertainment and military applications the virtual aspects the panel discussed were both diverse and profound.

The feature presentation and luncheon’s guest speaker is USN Captain (Ret) former NASA astronaut and Vice President of Strategic Development for the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Jon A. McBride.

Next update on the afternoon sessions coming from Jason Rhian after lunch…

also once the photo function is fixed, I will post a ton of photos…