The NASA History Program Office and the National Air and Space Museum’s Division of Space History are pleased to announce a symposium marking four significant anniversaries in the history of human spaceflight in 1961 and 1981.
This Key Moments in Human Spaceflight conference marks the 50th anniversaries of Yuri Gagarin’s first human spaceflight, Alan Shepard’s first U.S. human spaceflight, and President John F. Kennedy’s “urgent national needs” speech
before Congress, all in the spring of 1961, and the 30th anniversary of the first flight of the Space Shuttle in spring 1981. The conference will be held on 26-27 April 2011 at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC.
In addition to featuring a variety of engaging panels, the symposium will include a keynote speech by Dr. Michael Robinson from the University of Hartford on the theme of exploration in space. Dr. George Herring from the University
of Kentucky will be the keynote speaker for the second day, addressing the Cold War context of the 1960s “space race.”
Stephen Garber
NASA History Program Office
Mail Suite CO72, Room 5N11
NASA Headquarters
Washington, DC 20546
202-358-0385
202-358-2866 fax
http://history.nasa.gov