Please mark your calendars! SMC-IT 2006 is a little over a month away!
Even sooner, Advanced Registration ends in just 2 days (5PM EDT June 15).
The successful inaugural meeting of the International Conference on Space Mission Challenges for Information Technology (SMC-IT) was held on July 13-16, 2003, in Pasadena with over 330 attendees drawn from space agencies, national labs, defense, academia, and aerospace and related industry.
The next SMC-IT, the Second IEEE International Conference on Space Mission Challenges for Information Technology (SMC-IT 2006), is now scheduled for July 17-20, 2006, in Pasadena, CA. As with the first, this forum will provide an excellent opportunity for system designers, engineers, scientists, practitioners, and space explorers to foster technical interchange on all software and hardware aspects of IT applications in space missions.
SMC-IT 2006 will continue its focus on current IT practice and challenges as well as emerging information technologies with applicability for future space missions. IT in all aspects of the space mission will be explored, especially those of a cross-cutting multi-disciplinary nature. This includes ground systems, science data processing, software engineering and reliable software, engineering and development tools, modeling and simulation methods, human and robotic systems interfaces, high performance computing, autonomous systems, image processing and visualization, operations, and telecommunications. The entire IT lifecycle of mission development will also be covered, such as conceptual design, engineering tools development, integration and test, operations, science analysis, quality control, and outreach.
A few of the confirmed Featured, Invited and Keynote Speakers include:
- Dr. Vint Cerf, co-Father of the Internet, Chief Internet Evangelist, Google
"The Future of the Interplanetary Network"
- Dr. Michel Doyon, Program Manager, CSA
"International Space Station Teleoperations"
- Dr. Scott Hubbard, Carl Sagan Chair, SETI Institute
"SETI IT Challenges" (prelim)
- Dr. Steve Kilston, Ball Aerospace & Technologies
"The Ultimate Project - A Plausible Path to the Stars"
- Dr. Hans Koenigsmann, VP Avionics & Systems, SpaceX
"From the Ground Up - Software Development for a New Launch Vehicle"
- Dr. Marcia McNutt, President and CEO, MBARI
"Exploring the Unihabitable: A Comparison of Ocean to Space"
- Dr. Richard Satava, MD, FACS, University of Washington
"Medical Challenges and Opportunities for Future Space Missions"
- Lt. Gen. (ret.) Eugene Tattini, Dep Director, JPL
"Welcoming Remarks"
There will be over 70 contributed papers, 7 mini-workshops encompassing approximately 50 speakers, assorted technical demonstrations, a poster session, a vendor exhibition, and a special student workshop track for students to present on university level space IT projects and research.
The Mini-Workshops in particular are new to SMC-IT 2006. They run over the first two days of the conference and include the following themes:
- Deep Space Communications: Today & Tomorrow (Parts 1 & 2)
- Autonomous and Autonomic Systems in Space Exploration
- Nano-Technology and Information Technology for Space Applications
- Student Space IT Research and Projects
- Collaboration and Knowledge Management in a Global Space Environment
- Revolutions in Advanced Modeling, Simulation, and Analysis for Future Space Missions
- Visualization Technology for Space and
Hollywood
: Compare, Contrast, and Cooperate
Details of each mini-workshop program can be found on the web site.
NIGHT OUT EVENT:
Wednesday evening, July 19, 2006 we will be holding our SMC-IT 2006 Conference Night Out event at the JPL Von Karman Auditorium. A very special thought provoking dinner talk promises to stimulate your imagination on possible future directions of inter-stellar space travel.
Tickets are included in full registration additional tickets for guests can be purchased either online or at the SMC-IT Conference onsite registration booth.
*Note: Students' registration fees do not include the JPL Dinner event. Tickets may be purchased separately through our website.
VENUE:
The conference will be held at the Pasadena Conference Center, which is conveniently located near the historic "Old Town" shopping area of Pasadena, California, home of the Tournament of Roses Parade, Rose Bowl, Caltech, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Hotel, travel, registration and other logistical information are available on the conference web site.
SCHEDULE:
Advanced Registration Opens ............................
May 11, 2006
Advanced Registration Closes ............................
Ju
ly 9
, 2006
5pm, EDT
Regular Registration Opens ................................
June 15, 2006
5pm, EDT
Regular Online Registration Closes ......................
Onsite
Conference (on site registration available) .............
July 17-20, 2006
EXHIBITION:
Interested in exhibiting? Commercial, national labs, government, and academic are all welcome. For more information, please contact:
Pat Elson at 
or (650) 604-4498.
SOLICITATION OF STUDENT VOLUNTEERS:
If you have an interest in volunteering to help with conference operations in exchange for a complimentary registration, please drop us an email at 
with your contact information and which day(s) you would be available. Volunteer registration requests will be accepted on a first come first serve basis until such time that a target working group has been reached.
FURTHER INFORMATION:
For more detailed information on specific IT topic areas, papers, schedule, and general logistics information please refer to the conference website:
http://smc-it.jpl.nasa.gov
To join the SMC-IT informational mailing list, please send a blank email message to:
To unsubscribe to the list, please send a blank email message to:
For all other information or general inquiries, please direct those to:
We look forward to seeing you in
Pasadena
in July of 2006!
CONFERENCE GENERAL CHAIRS:
Larry Bergman (+1 818 393-5314)
Sven Grenander (+1 818 354-0156)
California Institute of Technology
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
4800 Oak Grove Drive
Pasadena
,
California
91109-8099
