Center for American Progress

ADVISORY: 50 Years After First U.S. Space Walk, CAP to Host Keynote with Secretary of the Air Force and Discussion With Experts on the Future of the Human Space Program
Press Advisory

ADVISORY: 50 Years After First U.S. Space Walk, CAP to Host Keynote with Secretary of the Air Force and Discussion With Experts on the Future of the Human Space Program

Washington, D.C. — Fifty years after Air Force Maj. Ed White became the first American to walk in space, the future of America’s human spaceflight program sits on a fulcrum. However, there is great momentum underway. While the space shuttle has been retired, the United States and its international partners are developing capabilities that could take humans to Mars in the 2030s, and private companies are working on spacecraft to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station by 2017.

To commemorate the anniversary of the first spacewalk, on June 3, the Center for American Progress will welcome Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James and a panel of experts to discuss the future of the U.S. human spaceflight program—where we’ll go, how we’ll get there, and who will come with us.

WHO:
Welcoming remarks:
Rudy deLeon, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress

Keynote address:
Deborah Lee James, Secretary of the Air Force

Participants:
Wes Bush, Chairman, CEO, and President, Northrop Grumman
Maria Zuber, Vice President for Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Moderators:
Peter Juul, Policy Analyst, Center for American Progress
Rudy deLeon, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress

WHEN:
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
10:00 a.m. ET – 11:30 a.m. ET

WHERE:
Center for American Progress
1333 H St. NW, 10th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20005

RSVP to attend this event.

For more information on this topic or to speak with an expert, contact Tom Caiazza at [email protected] or 202.481.7141.