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Space commission to meet in Tampa

By Times Staff Writer
Published August 29, 2005

The Commission on the Future of Space and Aeronautics in Florida is holding its second meeting Wednesday in the Interdisciplinary Research Building at the University of South Florida's Research Park in Tampa. The session will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is open to the public.

The group intends to make recommendations to Gov. Jeb Bush by the end of January on how the state can maximize its opportunities in the space arena. The commission, headed by Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings, will meet several more times before year's end.

Participating in the session in Tampa will be Jim Kennedy, director of the Kennedy Space Center; Eric Anderson, president and chief executive of Space Adventures; and Bob Henry, senior vice president at Harris Corp.

USF graduate Mark Powell, who works at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California and works on the Mars Exploratory project, will present video taken by the Mars rover.

USF robotics specialists Robin Murphy and Kimon Valavanis will demonstrate the school's robotics and unmanned systems throughout the day.

Anderson, whose Arlington, Va., company promotes space tourism, will talk about developing space-related research in the state.

"Florida should have a policy of being the world leader in space tourism and commercial human space flight," Anderson said. "Commercial space travel will become a major component of the space industry, and Florida needs an environment that enables innovation."

[Last modified August 26, 2005, 20:36:49]