Sept. 11, 2007 - Reston, Virginia - Education Alley and the Future Space Leaders Networking Event are two of the special programs at AIAA SPACE 2007 Conference & Exhibition aimed at building tomorrow's aerospace workforce. SPACE 2007 takes place September 18-20 at the Long Beach Convention Center in California.

"Ever since the start of the Space Age, industry has partnered with government and commercial interests to understand and explore space," said Roger Krone, president of Boeing's Network and Space Systems business. "For continued leadership in space, our industry must encourage and support young people to pursue degrees in science and engineering. Their vision, backed by education, will further expand our boundaries in space for years to come."

More than 1500 Long Beach area teachers and students will learn first-hand about the space industry as they attend Education Alley, sponsored by The Boeing Company. Education Alley is aimed at generating excitement about math and science and providing hands-on demonstration of space-related technologies that will thrill students and teachers alike. Education sessions on shuttle design challenges, NOAA, science fun, ask a rocket scientist, GPS demonstrations, and California's newest space science center, are just a few of the topics.

Exciting interactive exhibits, including those from NASA, the U.S. Air Force, Raytheon, and The Boeing Company, will engage local students from public and private schools, grade 3 through high school. Education Alley takes place Sept 18-20, 9:30 am until 1:30 pm.

Aimed at college students and recent graduates, the Future Space Leaders Networking Event introduces today's leaders to tomorrow's workforce. College students from local area universities, recent college hires and entry-level managers from government, industry and academia, along with SPACE 2007 registrants, will attend the Tuesday, Sept 18 event at 5:00 pm in the Grand Ballroom. Speakers include Roger Krone of Boeing Network & Space Systems, Debra Facktor-Lepore of Air Launch LLC, Mike Mealing of Masten Space, Alan Ladwig of Whitney, Bradley & Brown, Inc. and Dr. Woodrow Whitlow of NASA Glenn Research Center.

AIAA SPACE 2007 is co-chaired by The Boeing Company, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the U. S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, and supported by The Aerospace Corporation, Raytheon, Space Florida, Stellar Solutions, Inc., Cimarron/DKI, and California Space Authority. Space News is the official conference media sponsor.

AIAA's premier annual space conference, AIAA SPACE 2007 serves as a venue for senior government and industry leaders and technologists. Under the theme, "Space: The Next 50 Years," the three-day event will highlight the numerous advances in space technologies and applications over the past half-century, focus on the next 50 years of space exploration, and further refine the vision NASA has started to implement. Leaders from government, industry, and academia will convene to share ideas and offer their perspectives on the political, economic and social issues that must be addressed to take space utlization to the next level.

More information is available at www.aiaa.org/space2007.

Media please contact Sharon Grace, sharong@aiaa.org, 703/264-7532, to register.

Sharon Grace
Corporate Communications
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)
1801 Alexander Bell Drive, Suite 500
Reston, VA 20191
703/264-7532
www.aiaa.org