The Following Is a Sampling of Activities and Happenings Around the World of AIAA

The following is a sampling of activities and happenings around the world of AIAA….

•On 20 May, AIAA held a roundtable to discuss human rating of space launch vehicles, and in particular current standards, design requirements, regulations, and the policy framework needed to satisfy safety considerations. This forum was in response to the Administration’s dramatic shift in NASA’s space exploration program which proposes that both cargo and human spaceflight to low Earth orbit be transitioned to the commercial space industry.

•Communications is working with the AIAA History TC to cover the final space shuttle launch. The plan is to create a Web page on for members to post content pertaining to the final launch as well as stories from AIAA members who in some way were a part of the shuttle program throughout the years.

•TAC approved the formation of the Green Engineering Program Committee (GEPC). The GEPC will serve as the AIAA focal point for all “green” aerospace-related programs and technologies, and will work synergistically with the appropriate technical committees to assure that the AIAA membership is adequately informed about all aspects of this critical aerospace activity.

•The Daily Launchcontinues to be one of our most appreciated member benefits. It is currently distributed to 28,554 members. An effort is under way to begin offering a 30-day trial of the DL to AIAA prospects to entice them to become members.

•Reminder – 2010 will be the last year DVD’s containing technical papers at conferences are made available to conference attendees. Papers will be provided on-line only.

•Professional membership is down by 2% from this time last year. Student membership is up 22% from this time last year. As of 1 July 2010, there were 35,702 members of AIAA, including 28,256 professional members (this includes 5,126 were international members, 1,139 Lifetime Members, and 1,023 Lifetime Emeritus Members). There arealso 2,930 Educator Associates members.

•AIAA recently noted 934 press citations over a two month period, 133 more than last year during the same period. We are now at 3,264 press citations for the year against a key indicator of 1680.