On the third anniversary of the Columbia disaster, the Israel Space Conference will be held at the Air Force Base in Herzliya * Ahead of the conference, Zvi Kaplan says that the success of the satellite will help open the gates of Europe to the Israeli space industries and may even lead to their integration into the advanced European space program GMES
3 astronauts will be hosted at the conference:
• Colonel Eileen Marie Collins, Commander of the Space Shuttle Discovery will outline NASA's policy for the future.
• Astronaut Dr. Steven Robinson will describe the repair of a shuttle belly in space, a procedure he performed during the Discovery mission.
• Astronaut Andy Thomas will tell about the experience of staying for five months on the Russian space station Mir.
At the conference, the Director General of the Israel Space Agency at the Ministry of Science and Technology, Dr. Zvi Kaplan, will reveal new details about the cooperation between the space agencies of Israel and France in the construction of "Venus" - a scientific satellite for the study of the Earth's resources, one of the most advanced of its kind in the world. It will review, among other things,
the technological innovations of the project, all of the factors involved, the cost of the project and the expected products. In addition, Prof. Mina Teicher, Chief Scientist and CEO of the Ministry of Science and Technology, will discuss Israel's place in space. According to her, "In Israel, an admirable space and scientific research industry has developed that contributes to Israel's advanced position in the world and directly affects the economy and science in the country. Israeli scientific articles in the fields of space are cited 1.5 times more than articles by corresponding scientists in the world. Israel's position in space has a direct effect on the economy and science in Israel, and as we see in relation to the Venus project - also on Israel's foreign relations."
Senior officials from the Israeli defense and scientific system will also participate, including Roni Brown, Minister of Science and Technology, Major General Eliezer Shakdi, Commander of the Air and Space Branch, Chairman of the Israel Space Agency, Director of the Israel Space Agency and the Israeli space industries: IAA, Elbit, Rafael, Imag '-Sat, communication space and more.
The conference will be held at the Air Force House in Herzliya, the home of the Fisher Institute. The Fisher Institute for Strategic Air and Space Research conducts research, organizes conferences and seminars, and operates a database center in the fields of aviation and space that is available to the public.
The institute consists of research centers in various fields, with the Flight Safety Research Center and the Space Research Center already active, and more centers will be opened in the future. The institute is headed by Brigadier General Assaf Agmon.
An event at the president's house
Two days earlier, next Sunday, 29/1/06, the President of the State, Moshe Katsav, will host the gathering of the President's Circle of Science on the topic of space exploration in Israel. Among the participants are Prof. Avishai Dekel from the Hebrew University who will talk about the mystery of dark energy in the universe, Prof. Zvi Maza from Tel Aviv University on the discovery of planets outside the solar system, Prof. Dina Prielnik-Kovacs from Tel Aviv University who will talk about comets - Mekor Haim or danger to life, and Dr. Yoav Yair from the Open University - who will tell about the results of the Medex experiment on the space shuttle Columbia. Eileen Collins will also participate in this event, and Jonathan Clark, the husband of the astronaut Laurel Clark who died in the Columbia disaster, will be added to her, and of course Rona Ramon as well.
