CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- John M. Logsdon, director of George Washington University's Space Policy Institute, will speak on "U.S. Space Activities in the Twenty-First Century: Many Paths to Orbit (and Beyond?)" at the Massachusetts Space Grant Consortium's ninth annual public lecture at MIT on Wednesday, April 1.
The talk will be at 3 p.m. in MIT's Building 37, Marlar Lounge (Room 252). The Massachusetts Space Grant Consortium is one of 52 such entities established by NASA to support science and math education; to promote space-related research, education and business opportunities; and to recruit and train students and minorities for space-related careers.
As space policy is increasingly driven by commercial forces, the days in which the highly visible U.S. civilian space program held center stage may be over. Dr. Logsdon will address how, in the early 21st century, space policy will be largely affected by trade, economic, environmental, regulatory, security and social forces instead of the governmental initiatives that drove it for its first 40 years.
Logsdon is professor of political science and international affairs at the university's Elliott School of International Affairs and director of the Center for International Science and Technology Policy. His research interests include U.S. and international space policy, the history of the U.S. space program and the structure and process of government decision-making for research and development programs. He is the author of The Decision to Go to the Moon: Project Apollo and the National Interest.
