28 October 2019
The Watson Institute for SciEng Research is honored to have had the 70th annual International Astronautical Congress (IAC) take place in its metropolitan area this year. The week long event, hosted by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) from 21 – 25 October 2019, was held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.
The IAC commemorated the “one giant leap for mankind”: the 50th anniversary of a feat once thought unfathomable: humans walking on the moon. This year SciEng Research contributed to the recognition of this scientific engineering achievement in its recently published research: Modeling for Concise Space Mission Utility Simulation with Apollo as Exemplar. This, and the discussion of the advancement and progress of space in its various features by other space players, made it possible to celebrate the international accomplishments and partnerships that have become the hallmarks of space exploration.
IAC 2019 offered a rich program of plenaries and lectures, as well as a Global Networking Forum. Under the theme “SPACE: The Power of the Past, the Promise of the Future”, it offered an extensive and multidisciplinary technical program that reflected the diversity of disciplines within space, including:
- 181 Technical Sessions (including 5 Global Technical Sessions)
- More than 1,900 Oral Presentations
- More than 230 Interactive Presentations
- 19 Special Sessions
- 33 Keynote Lectures
The messaging of the IAC 2019 will continue to motivate not just the return of humans to the Moon, but also for the next giant leap of humans exploring the surface of Mars: an area of research highlighting SciEng Research’s 2019 contributions, culminating in Statistically Architected Human Spaceflight Missions to Mars being published by Acta Astronautica.
