Call for Papers Now Open!

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Since 2005, the International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety (IAASS) has been celebrating important conferences around the world, and now it is time for the seventh IAASS space safety conference: “Space Safety is No Accident.” The conference will be held on 20-22 October, 2014 in Friedrichshafen, Germany.

In recent years, the private space sector has grown significantly, and every year there are more new space companies which are creating strong relationships with government and academia. SpaceX, as one of the strongest private space companies, has already proven to have the technological capability to provide commercial cargo to the International Space Station (ISS), and now has an upgraded Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon cargo capsule ready for launch to the ISS in the middle of this month. The influence of private space companies is increasing, and earlier this year NASA opened applications for companies that have interest in mining the Moon. With the increase of space vehicles and air traffic, there is the need for better traffic control and regulations to ensure safety for human spaceflight, launch, and reentry. There are current projects that talk about sending humans to Mars for the first time, an endeavor involving long duration manned missions that must ensure a level of safety. Thanks to recent coverage in the media on the topic of space debris due to the movie Gravity, more people are aware of the problem that this represents for safe space operations; it is an issue IAASS has long sought to remediate.

The IAASS conference is the first international forum dedicated to the discussion of a wide variety of space safety topics. It offers unique opportunities to get updated on key space safety and sustainability topics and to meet and network with international professionals from industry, academia, and agencies. It promotes the exchange of views and the establishment of new professional networks towards the common goal of improving an international space safety culture.

The conference is organized in cooperation with the International Space Safety Foundation (ISSF), and it presents an average of 150 papers. The event has around 40 specialized sessions, including panel discussions where the participants can get insights into important aspects of space safety. Some of the topics of the conference are:

Designing safety into space vehicles Safety on long duration manned missions
Safety of extravehicular activities Launch safety
Space debris remediation Reentry safety
Quality engineering of critical items Nuclear safety for space systems
Human factors and performance for safety Safety critical software design and Independent Verification & Validation
Safety risk management Probabilistic risk assessment
Commercial human spaceflight safety Regulations and standards for safety
Space-based safety critical systems Space Situational Awareness & Space traffic control
Operations safety Space materials safety

At the occasion of the IAASS safety conference, the Association recognizes leading space safety and sustainability professionals and systems designers who have made outstanding contributions to space safety with awards like the “Jerome Lederer – Space Safety Pioneer” award, “Joseph Loftus – Space Sustainability” award and the “Vladimir Syromiatnikov – Safety by Design” award.

Should you be interested in submitting a paper, please note that the deadline for abstracts submittal is 30 May 2014. Submittals may be made at the conference website.

About the author

Carmen Felix

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Carmen Felix is a Mexican space professional with a Master in Space Science from the International Space University in Strasbourg, France, and a BS. in Electronics and Communications from the Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico. She is the Deputy Manager for the Space Safety Magazine and the National Point of Contact in Mexico for Space Generation. She is driven by space exploration and human spaceflight. She has experience in Telecommunication industry, satellite technology and space analogs.

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