A leading NASA astronaut and telescope expert will share their research and discoveries in a free two-day virtual event

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va., May 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — American public university system (APUS) and the Organization of political studies (PSO) have announced two keynote speakers for the third annual Space Education and Strategic Applications (SESA) Conference, to be held virtually September 22-23. The event is free and open to the public; visit here to see the latest event updates.

dr. Sian’s Overseerthe first African-American woman to pilot a spacecraft, and Carl Stara well-known telescope expert and head of mission operations for NASA, will be the keynote speakers at an event that will bring together industry leaders, innovators and decision makers to focus on “Fifty Years of the Moon: the future of commerce, government, and military space exploration.’

The lecturers each have decades of experience and have made significant scientific contributions to space studies. Dr. Proctor is a geoscientist, explorer, space artist, educator, and astronaut who is now the mission pilot for Inspiration4, the first all-civilian mission to orbit space. She is an analog astronaut, notably leading the all-female SENSORIA Mars 2020 mission to Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) Habitat.

“I believe that we must all fight for a JEDI space: a fair, equitable, diverse and inclusive space as we advance human spaceflight.” said Dr. Proctor. “SESA offers our industry the opportunity to come together at all levels and explore this mindset from many different and valuable perspectives, because when we solve for space, we also solve problems on earth. .

Starr, a 2020 Goddard Outstanding Public Leadership Medal recipient who earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in space studies from the American Military University, is now the mission operations manager for the James Webb Space Telescope Project at Goddard Space Flight Center. from NASA to Greenbelt, Marylandand has been part of the team since 2004. In this role, he was responsible for the operations of the Observatory after the separation of the telescope from the launch vehicle.

“In my work with the James Webb Space Telescope Project, I see firsthand the importance of coordinated communication within the space industry, where collaboration is the key to exciting new breakthroughs,” Starr said. “The third annual SESA Conference is sure to lead to rewarding conversations for space professionals, scholars and students as we strive to find new answers.”

The conference will foster multidisciplinary conversations on issues related to both military and commercial space, at the intersection between science, technology, education and policy. Conversations on ethics and philosophy will also cover the social and political spectra that impact space studies today. Lectures by numerous professors, students and visiting experts will cover topics such as science, engineering, law, exploration, business and military development, education, defense and security, and women in the world. ‘space.

SESA’s organizer, APUS, through its schools – American Military University and American Public University – offers undergraduate and graduate programs in space studies that align with the growing demand for professionals space in the military, as well as in the public and private sectors. For example, APUS offers a remote access experience with its 24-inch online robotic telescope, located in an APUS observatory Charles Town, West Virginia Campus. The University Observatory has one of the largest telescopes in the region – a fully remote-controlled Planewave CDK-24 Telescope – equipped with sophisticated digital cameras to enable innovative research and exploration under the program.

“As the space industry continues to conquer new frontiers for the private sector as well as the military, the American Public University System is proud to lead our third annual SESA Conference bringing together the brightest minds in the industry, from government, military and academia for critical conversations about crucial developments,” said Dr. Vernon C. Smith, Provost of the APUS. “Beyond the SESA conference, APUS remains committed to scientific work in space studies, through our curriculum and academic quarterly Journal of Space Education and Strategic Applications.”

Through the APUS Center for Space Studies (CSS), faculty work with students to support the development of a workforce for the growing needs of the space sector – while coordinating space-related educational research and scholarly publishing activities across the ‘University. APUS also publishes a SESA journal in collaboration with the Policy Studies Organization (PSO), to organize recent knowledge in the field.

About the American Public University System

American Public University System (APUS) provides accessible and affordable online higher education to adult learners from all backgrounds. APUS, a five-time recipient of the Online Learning Consortium (OLC) Effective Practice Award, offers more than 200 online degree and certificate programs through American Public University as well as American Military University, the leading provider of higher education for US military and veterans. * With over 114,000 alumni worldwide, APUS is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the US Department of Education. APUS is a wholly owned subsidiary of American Public Education, Inc. (Nasdaq: APEI). For more information, visit www.apus.edu.

*Based on Department of Defense FY 2019 tuition assistance and Veterans Administration student enrollment data, as reported by Military Times, 2020.

CONTACT

Kathleen Liebenberg

Public Relations Manager, APEI

[email protected]

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SOURCE American public university system