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Author
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Topic: Spacefest IV, June 2012, Tucson, Arizona
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ColinBurgess
Member Posts: 2031
From: Sydney, Australia
Registered: Sep 2003
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posted 08-19-2011 08:53 AM
   
With the announcement of Dr. Marc Rayman, there's a possible and strong panel, Kim - Dr. Rayman, Dr. Michael Drake and former astronaut Tom Jones - all of whom have a deep involvement in the robotic and even human exploration and study of asteroids. It has the makings of a fascinating discussion that I believe would be well attended. |
Spacefest
Member Posts: 1168
From: Tucson, AZ
Registered: Jan 2009
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posted 08-22-2011 03:30 PM
My thoughts exactly. There's also Drs. Hartmann and Durda whose field of study is small objects (asteroids and comets) In fact, Dan Durda himself is a small object (astro-humor.) |
Spacefest
Member Posts: 1168
From: Tucson, AZ
Registered: Jan 2009
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posted 08-22-2011 03:37 PM
quote:
Originally posted by jiffyq58:
I'm going to go back to the possibility of having a Skylab panel discussion this time around.
Yes, Jeff, we're planning a Skylab panel, with David Hitt as mod, Gibson, Weitz, Lousma, and Sy Liebergot. |
Steve Procter
Member Posts: 1031
From: Leeds, Yorkshire, UK
Registered: Oct 2000
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posted 08-22-2011 03:52 PM
Will Sy be able to quote 'The EGIL has landed'?  |
Spacefest
Member Posts: 1168
From: Tucson, AZ
Registered: Jan 2009
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posted 08-26-2011 12:53 AM
Emily Lakdawalla, sci-tech coordinator for The Planetary Society, has signed on as a speaker for Spacefest. She is the female Carl Sagan, a fountain of knowledge. |
Daugherty54
Member Posts: 591
From: Cabot, Arkansas, USA
Registered: Sep 2010
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posted 09-05-2011 01:26 PM
Meeting Tom Stafford and Jim Lovell at the last Spacefest was probably the highlight for me. At Spacefest II I had met many astronauts of the Apollo era, but didn't think I'd ever have the chance to met these guys. My daughter who is 14 had her picture taken with several moonwalkers and she has gotten some milage out of that lol!My only regret is I missed so many of the scientists talks. Money is tight but I'm going to this one! |
Spacefest
Member Posts: 1168
From: Tucson, AZ
Registered: Jan 2009
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posted 09-05-2011 09:08 PM
We're very proud of our lineup for Spacefest IV. We're working hard on the website and hope to have it up by the end of this month. Tickets will go on sale sometime the first week of November. |
mjanovec
Member Posts: 3811
From: Midwest, USA
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted 09-06-2011 01:44 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Spacefest:
Tickets will go on sale sometime the first week of November.
Oddly enough, that's the same week as the ASF show. |
Spacefest
Member Posts: 1168
From: Tucson, AZ
Registered: Jan 2009
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posted 09-06-2011 05:15 PM
Fancy that! Really, we have a mutual respect and don't sell tickets until the middle of each other's shows, so as not to interfere. |
Spacefest
Member Posts: 1168
From: Tucson, AZ
Registered: Jan 2009
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posted 09-15-2011 07:06 PM
Vance Brand, Richard Gordon, Dave Scott, Jack Lousma, and Charlie Duke have accepted our invitation to Spacefest IV. |
Spacefest
Member Posts: 1168
From: Tucson, AZ
Registered: Jan 2009
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posted 09-23-2011 01:24 PM
Dr. Michael Drake, head of the Lunar & Planetary Lab (LPL) at the U of AZ, passed away last night after undergoing heart surgery. He was 65.He was recently named Principal Investigator of the OSIRIS-Rex asteroid sample return mission, and was scheduled to speak on the mission at Spacefest IV. We send our deepest condolences to his family. |
Spacefest
Member Posts: 1168
From: Tucson, AZ
Registered: Jan 2009
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posted 10-13-2011 04:23 PM
We've opened up our Spacefest IV website to the public.See our lineup of guests, (more to come) new programming, hotel rates, etc. Tickets go on sale Nov. 11. (11/11/11) 11 a.m. EST. Hotel reservations available now ($109/night). |
jiffyq58
Member Posts: 218
From: Durham, NC, USA
Registered: Jun 2011
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posted 10-15-2011 10:30 PM
I am really kind of amazed that there has been no reaction whatsoever here to the announcement that the Spacefest website is now open. It's been TWO DAYS now, and more. Is everyone on vacation? (I am, in fact, on vacation myself.)I'll make a comment, if I might. I see that the lunch with the astronauts on Friday and the one with the space celebrities on Saturday are now planned to have speakers. I'm just wondering why? At this year's Spacefest, I cannot imagine improving the time I had sitting at either Al Bean's table or Carolyn Porco's. The discussion at each table was lively, just about everyone participated, and Al and Carolyn were interesting and fun to talk to. Both of these were incredibly enjoyable experiences. So if there had been a speaker at either or both of these, we would have just had less time to talk to our "guests of honor." I thoroughly enjoyed the talks at Spacefest, and look forward to them again next year, but is the addition of speakers to the luncheons really adding value? I think it takes time away from having the chance to converse with one of your astronaut (or planetary science) heroes. Maybe that's just me, but that's the way I feel about it. And if this is one of the reasons that the ticket prices jumped up so much over last year, I'm even more in doubt about it. How do others feel? |
arjuna
unregistered
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posted 10-16-2011 05:35 AM
I wasn't able to go to Spacefest III because of a schedule conflict, but hope to go to IV. So with the caveat that I'm not familiar with what programs were or the admission fee was for III, nor have I had a chance to look at the Spacefest IV website yet:Having organized several major conferences (of the non-space variety), I can attest to the fact that these things cost substantial amounts of money to organize. Organizers have to pay not only for venue costs and meals, but for the travel, hotel, per diems, and honoraria for guest speakers, and the more high profile the guest (ex. astronauts) the more those costs. Organizers also have to pay for their own staff time in arranging all of these things, which definitely takes several people closely coordinated for at least 9 months. It's hard work. I'm not associated in any way with the folks at Astronaut Central or Spacefest, so I'm not shilling for them. I can appreciate that in these difficult economic times, a higher admission fee is a burden for a lot of people. I can also appreciate the position the organizers are in to balance costs (which directly correlates with conference quality) with what the market will bear for the prices they charge for registration. This is always a difficult issue, and I'm sure they're aware of it. Anyway, since I wasn't there I'm agnostic on the issue of speakers at the luncheon. For what it's worth, given the near-universal glowing reviews I read here at cS for III, I'm sure they're trying to make IV even bigger and more attractive - which means it may cost more. I hope they go big, and I don't mind paying for the experience, but I understand higher admission fees might be frustrating for others. |
DChudwin
Member Posts: 1096
From: Lincolnshire IL USA
Registered: Aug 2000
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posted 10-16-2011 07:45 AM
While the cost of the Universal and Galactic packages are higher than last year, additional events have been added such as the art reception.Also, there is an extensive a la carte menu for admissions and the various lunches, talks and other opportunities. Admission alone is only $35 per day which allows one to hang out all day (and includes the fabulous Star Party on Friday night). Furthermore kids are admitted free. Spacefest 4 can be done on a budget by being selective. For example, one could buy the 3 day admission for $75, the all-talks pass for $89 (highly recommended) and one of the meal events such as the Sunday breakfast with the astronauts for $185. For a total of $349 this would still give a great time. I agree that $300 alone for the banquet is pricey, but there are many other chances to meet the special guests and speakers. Some of my best experiences at Spacefest 3 were informal ones not requiring any ticket e.g. drinks on the patio of the hotel (with Ed Mitchell and Charlie Duke)and at the bar and the adjacent Starbucks (breakfast with Fred Haise and Gene Cernan). Also, the $109 room rate is lower than last year and is a great bargain. The Starr Pass is a world-class hotel in a magnificent desert setting with all the amenities. Can't wait! |
Spacefest
Member Posts: 1168
From: Tucson, AZ
Registered: Jan 2009
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posted 10-16-2011 10:36 PM
I really appreciate this discussion. Jeff, I understand your luncheon speakers concerns. I didn't even consider that, and I'm not married to the idea. We've lengthened the lunches to an hour and half. And we had planned speakers in the latter part. We're trying to spread the speakers out to avoid the kind of bottlenecks and choices we had last time. We're even having evening talks. |
Rizz
Member Posts: 1208
From: Upcountry, Maui, Hawaii
Registered: Mar 2002
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posted 10-17-2011 02:28 AM
quote:
Originally posted by jiffyq58:
How do others feel?
I'd have to agree about the speakers speaking during the meals with the astronauts.It does change the focus and energy around the table, but I know that the Spacefest crew continually strive to make improvements, and are certainly open for constructive feedback. That's one of the reasons they picked Starr Pass again, and lowered the room fees. Keep up the great work! |
Spacefest
Member Posts: 1168
From: Tucson, AZ
Registered: Jan 2009
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posted 10-17-2011 01:07 PM
The room fees were a pleasant surprise to me too. I thought last year's were reasonable, and they were, but they lowered them again based upon blowing away our projections of attendance, and room usage.
Did anyone who was at the banquet last time feel the keynote talk from Mark Larson was disruptive to your table conversations? |
ilbasso
Member Posts: 1522
From: Greensboro, NC USA
Registered: Feb 2006
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posted 10-17-2011 02:49 PM
Yes, Kim, I did. His talk was more "on point" this year in terms of what we can do to keep interest in space exploration alive. But his talk at Spacefest II was so politically charged that a number of people got up and walked out, including the wife of the astronaut that was sitting at my table. And no matter what a keynote speaker talks about, 20 minutes of listening to a speaker is 20 minutes less that I have available for a once-in-a-lifetime conversation with an astronaut. If you have a speaker, I'd much rather it be an astronaut or scientist than a radio personality. |
Spacefest
Member Posts: 1168
From: Tucson, AZ
Registered: Jan 2009
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posted 10-17-2011 03:22 PM
Thanks, Jonathan.By the way, our initial schedule is up. It will be refined and added to, but you can see the general structure. |
HistorianMom
Member Posts: 105
From: Columbia, Missouri USA
Registered: Nov 2010
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posted 10-17-2011 03:42 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Spacefest:
Did anyone who was at the banquet last time feel the keynote talk from Mark Larson was disruptive to your table conversations?
Well... the best part of the whole thing was when Stafford took the mike and presented the Buzz Aldrin t-shirt to Cernan. I don't think Larson added much to the evening, honestly, and I was among those who was offput by the political commentary. If you can't have an astronaut, I would much rather have something like a talk from a director of a major space education facility telling us how these facilities are educating the next generation and what space enthusiasts can do to help rather than somebody running down the public schools, which are a pretty cheap and easy target, honestly, particularly in California right now. |
Spacefest
Member Posts: 1168
From: Tucson, AZ
Registered: Jan 2009
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posted 10-17-2011 06:06 PM
Interesting. We had Jerry Doyle speak at 1 and 2, and the astronauts (mostly) loved the conservative talk. I'm an Obama guy, and I recognize most of the astronauts are REALLY conservative. Ask Walt about global warming!Since 2012 is an election year, I'm stressing civility, although sparks may fly between NewSpacers and NASA-can-do-no-wrong Apollo guys. Any opinions? |
AJ
Member Posts: 511
From: Plattsburgh, NY, United States
Registered: Feb 2009
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posted 10-17-2011 06:13 PM
My theory is: the keynote should actually have something to do with space, not politics. that was my main problem with Jerry Doyle. Instead of pissing off half the crowd and delighting the other half, it would be cool to have someone who engages the entire audience. But then, I'm not the person in charge. |
Spacefest
Member Posts: 1168
From: Tucson, AZ
Registered: Jan 2009
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posted 10-17-2011 08:10 PM
Roger. |
MCroft04
Member Posts: 1634
From: Smithfield, Me, USA
Registered: Mar 2005
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posted 10-17-2011 08:50 PM
As a hopeful first time Spacefest'er, I'd prefer the keynote speaker to be heavily space related. I also agree that it's best to not have any interference at dinner; I recall the negative reaction to the band at a recent ASF dinner. We want to be able to have a meaningful discussion with the guest. |
spkjb
Member Posts: 144
From: Merritt Island, Florida USA
Registered: May 2011
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posted 10-17-2011 08:54 PM
Slightly off topic, but I would like to point out (my view) that the Starr Pass is a MAGNIFICENT VENUE. I have never experienced such a primo resort at a fee like this (opening up myself for comments that I must not get around much... heh... heh...). If I weren't interested with the activities, it would be worth the room price just to hang at the Starr Pass. |
328KF
Member Posts: 1234
From:
Registered: Apr 2008
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posted 10-17-2011 11:09 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Spacefest:
Interesting. We had Jerry Doyle speak at 1 and 2....sparks may fly between NewSpacers and NASA-can-do-no-wrong Apollo guys.
I was there and thought Doyle was a great, entertaining speaker, although admittedly I did not know who he was or what his political leanings were. He came across to me as a genuine space enthusiast who really appreciated who the heroes in the room were. Your second comment sounds alot like the devisive right vs. left politics that has brought this country to the brink of disaster. I don't think most space supporters can be grouped into such radical factions. We all want to see the same goals accomplished for the most part, but have some differences in opinion of how best to go about pursuing them. The solution is undoubtedly somewhere in the middle, and I am a firm believer in the balanced approach to space exploration. NASA cannot do it alone and stay within it's budget limitations, while commercial is just in it's infancy and cannot be entrusted with all of our eggs in it's very fragile basket...a lesson learned from the space shuttle. |
Spacefest
Member Posts: 1168
From: Tucson, AZ
Registered: Jan 2009
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posted 10-18-2011 12:47 AM
Jerry IS pretty funny. Though he was much more political in San Diego. We often listen to his syndicated radio show, for some laughs. Even Al Hallonquist has phoned in.I don't think the NewSpace movement is left or right. We ARE on the same side and differ only in method. Nevertheless, I'll keep Rick Tumlinson away from Gene Cernan. There are a significant number of banquet people interested in only astronomy and exploration, so we need to consider them too. |
Spacepsycho
Member Posts: 818
From: Huntington Beach, Calif.
Registered: Aug 2004
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posted 10-18-2011 02:13 AM
I was at SF 1, the event was outstanding, however, having to suffer through the profane rants of Jerry Doyle during dinner was inappropriate, especially in the company of many women in the audience. As many of you on this board know, I enjoy a little profanity to keep things lively, but Jerry Doyle was so over the top that every astronaut, their wives and many others were very unhappy during his speech. My opinion, this is a gathering of historic figures at every table, we're all deeply into the space program and exploration, so why ruin a great event with some big mouth who intentionally uses profanity to shock the audience. Honestly, who cares what the speakers political leanings are, those attending want to hear and share stories about the space program. Personally I'd love to hear Dr. Ed Buckbee share stories, an Apollo engineer talk about the challenges of building the CM, a Grumman guy talk about building the LM, astronauts talk about their favorite stories or anything else space related. |
mjanovec
Member Posts: 3811
From: Midwest, USA
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted 10-18-2011 03:42 AM
As much as I enjoyed Spacefest I, I also disliked Jerry Doyle's talk and thought he added nothing to the evening. In fact, it seemed like he hadn't even prepared his speech in advance, but instead just tried to wing it...with fairly awful results. (I was shocked he was actually invited back for a second year.) The focus of the evening should be on a common topic that everyone agrees on...space exploration. Politics, no matter what side it's from, should not be part of the dinner presentation.I think Andrew Chaikin would make a much better speaker for the dinner, as he does a great job of articulating the awe and sense of wonder we get from our spaceflight history. He has the ability to end the dinner on a high note, making everyone appreciate the history that is sitting within the room. |
Spacefest
Member Posts: 1168
From: Tucson, AZ
Registered: Jan 2009
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posted 10-18-2011 01:28 PM
Well, Jerry spoke for free (Mark Larson, also,) vs. 10s of 1000s for a Mark Kelly or a Miles O'Brien. I like the Chaikin idea, or Carolyn Porco. I'll give it some thought. Thanks for the input, everyone. |
Aztecdoug
Member Posts: 1405
From: Huntington Beach
Registered: Feb 2000
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posted 10-18-2011 04:05 PM
How is Mike Mullane as a speaker? We all know he is quite the writer. I see he has a program called, "The Lighter Side of Spaceflight?" I could imagine that this guy could be dangerously funny while eating or drinking your meal. |
ilbasso
Member Posts: 1522
From: Greensboro, NC USA
Registered: Feb 2006
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posted 10-18-2011 04:22 PM
According to his bureau, Mike charges $10,000-$15,000 to speak. I would love to hear him, but not if it adds $100 to my meal tab! |
Spacefest
Member Posts: 1168
From: Tucson, AZ
Registered: Jan 2009
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posted 10-18-2011 05:17 PM
Not being much of a reader (my eyes don't focus too well these days), I bit the bullet and read the Kindle versions of Worden's book, and Mullane's recently. Riding Rockets is the definitive book for the shuttle as Collins' book was for Apollo. No ghost writers, either. |
DChudwin
Member Posts: 1096
From: Lincolnshire IL USA
Registered: Aug 2000
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posted 10-18-2011 08:49 PM
Carolyn Porco would be a great idea for a dinner speaker. Her talk at the last Spacefest was fascinating. Andy Chaikin would also be good. Among the astronaut attendees, Gene Cernan or Al Worden are great speakers and might do it for less than their usual speaking fees. |
jiffyq58
Member Posts: 218
From: Durham, NC, USA
Registered: Jun 2011
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posted 10-18-2011 09:07 PM
I thoroughly enjoyed the part of the banquet speaking at Spacefest III that involved Tom Stafford and Gene Cernan. This was mostly impromptu, off the cuff stuff, and was just terrific. Larson's talk was okay, but nothing special.I'm not opposed to having a speaker at the banquet at all. There was plenty of time for us to talk to our special guest. My table had Dave Scott, a real hero of mine. He was a little slow to warm up to us, but once he did, we had some great give and take. He really seemed to appreciate our well-informed questions. In fact, he lingered at our table after the speeches and after the other tables had cleared and continued to talk to us. That evening was a real highlight of the entire event. As for this year's banquet, I like the idea of having Andy Chaikin give the keynote. He is such a great, articulate advocate of our efforts in space, past and present. His talk this year was one of the best I saw. You learn a lot when you listen to (or read) Andy. And you are uplifted, as well. Carolyn Porco would also be a great choice. As I said, I sat at her table for one of the lunches, and she is very engaging. I thoroughly enjoyed her talk, too. You couldn't go wrong with either of them. |
jiffyq58
Member Posts: 218
From: Durham, NC, USA
Registered: Jun 2011
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posted 10-18-2011 09:43 PM
Kim, is Scott Carpenter likely to come next year? I was hoping to get to meet him this year, but he had to cancel. I hope you can get him back this time. |
328KF
Member Posts: 1234
From:
Registered: Apr 2008
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posted 10-19-2011 10:56 AM
It might be another cost issue, but as Kim pointed out above, if the goal is to please both the "astronaut crowd" and the "astronomy crowd", one of the Hubble mission astronauts might be a consideration for speaker.Jeffrey Hoffman or John Grunsfeld come to mind being that they are both astronauts and astronomers. I wasn't aware of Doyle's offensive commentary off-stage and that is really unfortunate. Too bad about Mullane's fees...while his book was edgy I think he is a funny, entertaining speaker who is certainly capable of restraining himself in a manner appropriate for any given audience. |
HistorianMom
Member Posts: 105
From: Columbia, Missouri USA
Registered: Nov 2010
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posted 10-19-2011 12:48 PM
I probably can't come to Spacefest IV so I should probably shut up, but partly for the sake of the astronaut guests and their wives, all of whom have probably heard everything the others have to say many times over, I like the idea of someone like Carolyn Porco doing something on current science or someone doing a talk on Mars (Chaikin?). I can't remember what talk it was Sunday, it might have been the MARS panel, but I was sitting there minding my own business and in walked Rusty Schweikart -- he was interested enough in the talk to leave his table and come hear it. |
Spacefest
Member Posts: 1168
From: Tucson, AZ
Registered: Jan 2009
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posted 10-19-2011 01:40 PM
Naw, Rusty was bored at his table on Sunday |
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