COMMERCIAL SPACEFLIGHT FEDERATION
Board Meeting – March 29, 2010
Minutes
Offices of K&L Gates
1601 K Street NW
Washington, DC 20006
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION
Member Representatives:
Eric Anderson – CEO, Space Adventures
Lance Bush – CSO, Paragon Space Development Corporation
John Carmack – CEO, Armadillo Aerospace
Frank DiBello – President, Space Florida
Daniela Glick – Office of the Governor, Spaceport America
Jeff Greason – CEO, XCOR Aerospace
Steve Landeene – Executive Director, Spaceport America
Todd Lindner – Cecil Field Spaceport
David Masten – CEO, Masten Space Systems
Vernon McDonald – Director of Commercial Human Spaceflight, Wyle
Scott Parazynski – Director of Business Development, Wyle
Matt Stinemetze – Program Manager, Scaled Composites
Mark Sirangelo – Chairman, Sierra Nevada Corporation Space Systems
Patti Grace Smith – Senior Advisor, Virgin Galactic
Larry Williams – VP of Strategic Relations, SpaceX
Stuart O. Witt – General Manager, Mojave Spaceport
Commercial Spaceflight Federation Staff and Advisors:
Brett Alexander – President, Commercial Spaceflight Federation
John Gedmark – Executive Director, Commercial Spaceflight Federation
Matthew Isakowitz – Associate Director, Commercial Spaceflight Federation
James Muncy – Senior Advisor, Commercial Spaceflight Federation
Benjamin Jacobs – Volunteer Assistant, Commercial Spaceflight Federation
Bruce Heiman – Partner, K&L Gates
Christopher Hopfensperger – Associate, K&L Gates
Esther Dyson – Patron
Special Guests:
George T. Whitesides – Chief of Staff, NASA
Jim C. Kohlenberger – Chief of Staff, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
AGENDA
(Presentation slides attached as Appendix A)
1) Call to Order; Approve Minutes
2) State of the Industry Briefing / CSF Updates
3) Discussion of CSF Priorities and Objectives
4) Discussion with Special Guests from White House and NASA*
5) Review of New Member Applications
6) Discussion of CSF Budget and Dues
* Order of agenda items differed from printed slides due to scheduling availability of special guests.
Meeting called to order at 2:30 pm.
1) Approve Minutes
After a quorum was noted, minutes from the May 2009 Principals’ Meeting were approved.
2) State of the Industry Briefing; CSF Updates
· Members and staff reviewed recent accomplishments by member companies.
· CSF staff described recent expansions in CSF organization and capabilities: formation of the Spaceports Council and the Suborbital Applications Researchers Group (SARG), expanded media presence and new website, hiring of Matt Isakowitz, and new member Cecil Field.
· The ongoing focus on regulatory issues was discussed by members and staff: including Bretton Alexander’s and Jeff Greason’s testimony before Congress, the GAO safety study, the Commercial Orbital Human Spaceflight “Human Rating” Working Group, and the CSF-created informed consent document. Members asked about the FAA vs. NASA relationship for commercial crew and CSF staff discussed the need for a unified regulatory regime.
· Members and staff discussed the new NASA direction as detailed in the President’s FY2011 budget proposal, as well as the FAA budget:
o Commercial Crew program: CSF and external advocacy efforts were enumerated, and members held a detailed discussion on the political situation, job dislocations, messaging tactics, CCDev, “taxi vs rental car,” etc.
o Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research program: CSF advocacy efforts such as SARG and the Next-Gen Suborbital Conference were discussed.
o Commercial R&D: the need for a unified industry position on the framework and goals to drive new NASA spending in R&D was discussed.
o Spaceports: need for continue Congressional support for STIM-Grants was discussed, as well as existing liability regimes on the state level and the potential of waivers embedded in law.
Action items:
· CSF should prioritize a list of space conferences for the members, so as to simplify the packed space conference “circuit” for the members.
· Each CSF member should reach out to his or her members of Congress.
· CSF should creating an industry position paper on technology R&D, with a focus on NASA’s new $4.7 billion Space Technology Program. Rather than a laundry list of technologies, members discussed the need to articulate an “overriding agenda” that connects the technologies, and explain how “technology innovation is key to safety.”
3) Discussion of CSF Priorities and Objectives
CSF summarized the previous discussion and members agreed that the consensus was that the current set of priorities (including a continued focus on regulations and targeted efforts on specific NASA and FAA programs) should be maintained.
Action items:
· Develop messages to support Presidential event in Florida
· Expand CSF presence on social media outlets
4) Discussion with Special Guests from White House and NASA
Closed doors discussion with the White House’s Jim Kohlenberger, Chief of Staff to the President’s Science Advisor, and NASA Chief of Staff George Whitesides. Topics included the White House vision for space, the value of private sector involvement, jobs and innovation, the Internet analogy, industry geographic diversity, exploration timelines and destinations, the upcoming Presidential Space Conference, and technology R&D.
5) Review of New Member Applications and Proposed Amendments to Bylaws
Members discussed applications from Raytheon, SwRI, SAS, Jacobs, and DCI. Members discussed the need to preserve the essential character of the CSF, and only allow new applicants to participate to the extent that they align with CSF positions and values. The need to maintain regulatory issues as the top priority of CSF was covered, as well as distinctions between Executive and Associate members.
RESOLVED: That the following organization shall be admitted as an Executive Member of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation:
· Southwest Research Institute
FURTHER RESOLVED: That the following organizations shall be admitted as Associate Members of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation:
· Jacobs Engineering
· Raytheon Company
· DCI Consulting
· Special Aerospace Services
Members further discussed proposed amendments to the Bylaws of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation for the purposes of adjusting the rules governing the admittance of additional associate members into the organization.
RESOLVED: That the Bylaws of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation shall be amended to strike “The number of Associate Members shall be no greater than the number of Executive Members” from Section 3.1 after the words “three (3).”
RESOLVED: That the Bylaws of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation shall be amended to insert the words “current or potential” in Section 3.3 after the words “Executive Membership”
Action items:
· Distribute an amended Bylaws to the Members
6) Discussion of CSF Budget and Dues
CSF staff updated the members on the 2009 and proposed 2010 budgets. 2009 actual budget was $206,000 in expenditures, with an $8,000 deficit. The request by the Executive Committee (officers) to increase Brett’s time from 15% to 25% was discussed, as well as the context of increased public and congressional scrutiny of the industry, the need to retire accumulated debt, and the need to support current staff costs, as Matt Isakowitz was hired partway through 2009 so the 2010 budget needed to include his full salary. Staff, in consultation with the officers, proposed a 2010 budget of $247,363 and detailed proposed offsets, as well as a dues increase.
RESOLVED: That the Members Dues of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation shall be set at $12,000 annually for Executive Members and $6,500 annually for Associate Members.
RESOLVED: A dues committee, chaired by David Masten, shall develop a new dues structure proposal in advance of the fall meeting.
Action items:
· Support activities of Dues Committee
· Recruit new members
· Continue to find additional cost savings.
Meeting adjourned at approximately 6:30 pm.