Proceedings
of the
Georgia Space Leadership Summit
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
8:30AM to 4:00 PM
GTRI Conference Center
250 14th Street Atlanta, GA 30318
Presented by:
Georgia Center of Innovation for Aerospace
Georgia Tech Center for Space Technology and Research (C-STAR)
Facilitated by:
The Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Tech
Compiled and Edited By:
Dr. Mariel Borowitz – Assistant Professor
San Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Tech
Dr. Robert Braun – Director
Georgia Tech Center for Space Technology and Research
R. Steven Justice – Director
Gary O’Neil – Deputy Director
Georgia Center of Innovation for Aerospace
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Proceedings
Georgia Space Leadership Summit
Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................ 1
Key Findings and Recommendations ............................................................................................................ 2
State Policy.......................................................................................................................................................... 2
Outreach & Communication ......................................................................................................................... 3
Space Industry Ecosystem ............................................................................................................................ 3
Summary of Discussions .................................................................................................................................... 5
Welcome and Introductions ......................................................................................................................... 5
Panel #1 - Academic and Organizational Perspectives on Georgia Space ................................. 5
Panel #2 - Industrial and Investor Perspectives on Georgia Space .............................................. 8
Panel #3 - Government & Legal Perspectives on Georgia Space ................................................ 10
Group Discussion #1 - Launch Services ............................................................................................... 11
Group Discussion #2 - Space Systems and Operations................................................................... 12
Group Discussion #3 – Outreach ............................................................................................................. 14
Appendix A - Summit Agenda........................................................................................................................ 17
Appendix B – Participants .............................................................................................................................. 18
December 15, 2014
Proceedings
Georgia Space Leadership Summit
Introduction
The Georgia Space Leadership Summit brought together aerospace leaders from across the
state to develop a long range plan that builds on Georgia’s strengths in military and civil
aerospace, along with our excellent aerospace education infrastructure, to take advantage of
emerging opportunities in the global space market to expand the space industry within the state
of Georgia.
The summit featured national context on space activities provided by space ‘thought leaders’; the
current state-of-the-state in space from local industry and academic leaders; and focused group
discussions on the opportunities and challenges ahead.
The Georgia Space Leadership Summit addressed the following key questions:
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Where can Georgia provide a meaningful impact in the development and operations of
space systems, payload services, and space operations?
How can Georgia be developed as a significant provider of vertical and horizontal launch
services?
What is a successful communication strategy for Georgia’s space activities, both internal
and external to the state?
Ms. Mariel Borowitz of the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Tech
served as the moderator and facilitator during the summit to help identify specific, actionable
short- and long-term recommendations for all stakeholders to grow space within the state of
Georgia.
These Proceedings of the summit were prepared by the Sam Nunn School of International
Affairs at Georgia Tech, the Georgia Tech Center for Space Technology and Research, and
Georgia Center of Innovation for Aerospace to serve as the roadmap for the Georgia space
community as all parties work together to grow the state’s space industry.
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Key Findings and Recommendations
The discussions during the Leadership Summit can be categorized and collated into three main
areas:
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State Policy
Outreach & Communication
Space Industry Ecosystem
The following sections summarize the key issues and recommendations discussed at the Summit.
State Policy
Commercial space growth has provided an opportunity for growth in Georgia, with the
opportunity for heightened visibility to national activities. But to be able to exploit that
opportunity will require more emphasis at the state level.

Recommendation - The Governor should make the space industry a focus for state
efforts at the GDEcD and other agencies. This could be done in coordination with any
announcement of the Camden Spaceport.

Recommendation - The Governor should consider appointing a Space Advocate to
coordinate and promote space industry activities within the state. This could be an
existing state resource or a new resource.
With the announcement of the Camden Spaceport, the state General Assembly may need to
establish an authority, like that for the Georgia ports, to focus attention and resources to the
project.

Recommendation – The General Assembly should establish a Georgia Spaceport
Authority to be a central point of contact for spaceport activities. In conjunction with the
Authority, the legislature should consider enabling legislation that provides statutory
structure for liability and indemnification issues related to design, manufacture and
launch of space systems.
Other policy actions can focus state resources on the growing space industry and attract space
companies to the state, much like what was done with the film industry. Specific actions
include:
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Specifically target for recruitment companies that want to be close to launch providers
either at the Camden Spaceport or in Florida.
Specifically target for recruitment companies that design and fabricate subsystems,
systems or full space vehicles that are compatible with the infrastructure which Georgia
offers.
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Along the lines of the current sales tax exemption for manufacturing, adopt a “Zero G,
Zero Tax” law to exclude from state taxes items that are destined for launch.
Offer significant incentives for space startups and for space companies doing business
within Georgia similar to the incentives that helped bring the film industry to the state.
Outreach & Communication
Georgia is not a traditional ‘space state” therefore significant effort is needed to promote the
potential for the space industry in Georgia both within and outside the state. This is not the sole
responsibility of state economic development, but a shared effort between state, university,
industry and organizations. Any outreach plan should focus on big, visible activities by local
companies (small satellite development, space launch systems development, and spaceport),
targeted articles and videos in the news, and convincing more companies to move here. There
was a sense with the group that we didn’t need to focus on one particular portion of the space
sector –welcome all comers, particularly companies that are growing, to create a general space
center of mass.

Recommendation – Develop an integrated public relations strategy including state
government, the university system, industry, and space organizations. The strategy
should include:
o Develop and widely distribute “Success Stories” about companies in Georgia that
are developing new space technologies and products.
o Publicize current efforts within the state by the Space Working Group, GT CSTAR, Space Grant Consortium, Middle Georgia State College, other university
system units, and COI-Aerospace.
o Develop suitable printed and web accessible materials to highlight the space effort
in Georgia.
o Attend high profile national conferences on the space industry to highlight the
space efforts in Georgia.
o Sponsor locally developed symposia and forums with a focus on the space
industry.
o Actively solicit national conferences with a space focus to locate their events in
Georgia.
Space Industry Ecosystem
To grow within and attract from outside new space activities, Georgia needs a strong space
industry ecosystem to support that growth. Georgia has a strong aviation/aeronautics industry
with over 500 companies and 86,000 employees across the state, but the challenge is to leverage
the considerable skills and resources in the aeronautics sector to support space activities within
the state. The state does have strong space research and education programs at Georgia Tech
which can serve the technology and workforce needs of the space sector. The Space Working
Group serves as the first public-private forum to activity discuss and identify activities to move
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the space industry forward, but more can be done to improve our business environment for the
space sector.

Recommendation The Georgia Department of Economic Development should
encourage the formation of statewide and regional groups or collaborations that provide
venues for networking and workshops that benefit the state’s emerging space activities.
Also local and state economic development organizations can take the following actions to
support space industry growth:
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Provide low cost, or free, office and other space to companies that relocate to Georgia.
Develop incubators to encourage the growth of local start-up companies, particularly near
emerging space industry clusters such as in Camden County.
Industry itself can foster growth and excitement about the space industry by:
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Creating more internships and cooperative education (Coop) slots for our local university
students.
Compete for more Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grants with support from
organization such as the GT Enterprise Innovation Institute (GT-EII) and other SBIR
resources with the university system.
Investigate the formation of a Georgia Space Business roundtable along the line of
similar organizations founded in Colorado, Maryland, and Washington DC. This could
serve as a successor group or operate in conjunction with the existing Space Working
Group.
Finally more capital is needed for start-up and growing Georgia space companies:
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Work with the Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) to identify opportunities for investment
in new space focused R&D at the university level that will support industry growth.
Monitor and engage with the formation of the Invest Georgia Fund to allow Georgia
space companies to successfully compete for capital funding.
Using existing investment networks, provide private groups with awareness of potential
investment opportunities related to space in the state.
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Summary of Discussions
The Georgia Space Leadership Summit provided a forum for leaders in industry, academia,
organizations, and state government to discuss the opportunities for growth in in the space
industry and specific actions to take to achieve that growth. While the discussions and
recommendations presented above are important, the most important aspect of the
Summit was the willingness of the participants to give their time and expertise toward
building the Georgia space industry. Their continued active support is essential to the
success of the effort.
Welcome and Introductions
Mr. Steve Justice – Director, COI-Aerospace
Dr. Robert Braun – Director, GT C-STAR
Dr. Steve Cross – GT EVP for Research
Dr. Mariel Borowitz – Associate Professor, GT San Nunn School of International Affairs
The event started at 8:30 AM with initial welcoming remarks from Steve Justice. He introduced
Dr. Bobby Braun of GT Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering and C-STAR
(Center for Space Technology and Research) and Dr. Mariel Borowitz of the Georgia Tech Sam
Nunn School of International Affairs.
Bobby Braun then gave some brief welcoming remarks and introduced Dr. Steve Cross, Georgia
Tech Executive Vice President for Research.
Dr. Cross expressed hope that we could develop a positive view of how we could do big things
in space in Georgia. He noted Georgia Tech’s long history with space, the continued support for
and exponential growth of space related activities on campus. He discussed the formation of the
Georgia Tech Center for Space Technology and Research.
Steve Justice followed with a brief overview of aerospace in Georgia and its importance to the
state. In the discussion related to his presentation, there was an observation that space is a
$300B market and Georgia should be more involved.
Mariel Borowitz, as moderator, discussed Key Questions to frame the overall discussion of the
summit. She then discussed the ground rules for the rest of the day and there was a short break
before the first panel discussion.
Panel #1 - Academic and Organizational Perspectives on Georgia Space
Dr. Robert Braun – Director, Georgia Tech Center for Space Research and Technology
Mr. Mike Mealling – President, Georgia Space Society
Dr. Stephen Ruffin – Director, Georgia Space Grant Consortium
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Panelist Presentations
Bobby Braun: We are at a pivotal time in our nation, with big changes in the way space is
managed. Market for launching and services is shifting to commercial. Federal government is
usually the ‘pathfinder’ and will continue to invest in R&D and National Security and to
stimulate additional commercial growth. Academia has a big role to provide those researchers
and engineers with training – MS is needed as entry level to work in space related research or
companies. We educate a lot of engineers in Georgia. Unfortunately, they all end up in CO, TX,
and CA because that’s where the space sector jobs are. His lab has ~4 student openings a year
and about 80 applicants. Growing research into great ideas and growing the ideas into
companies is something GT and Georgia do well, and we can do more.
Mike Mealling: National Space Society was formed in 1987 composed of “people who want to
do something” in the area of space. He is currently the President of the Georgia Space Society –
part of National Space Society. “Space Up” is their primary event to get average citizens
involved in the promotion of space. The next Space Up event is coming this fall. Generally he
believes that lower launch prices will open up access for a wide range of academic and
commercial purposes and make space more inclusive. Mike is a proponent of a Southeast
Georgia launch site for which he described the opportunity as “most awesome” We want to make
it easy in this state to operate a Space business.
Steve Ruffin: The Space Grant Consortium is focused on getting more students, and a diverse
mix of students, interested in science. The consortium has 17 colleges and universities, two
industry partners (SpaceWorks, Generation Orbit), Museum of Aviation, Orbit Education. Their
mission is to grow and maintain talent within the state through support to students at
participating institutions. The funding from the Consortium is at the undergraduate and graduate
level with 40 projects across the state supporting over 100 students. In total the Consortium’s
activities reach 30,000 residents each year. The consortium wants to expand links between
industry to schools. Dr. Ruffin also noted that there is practically no space activity currently in
SE Georgia.
Question and Answers
Stephen Fleming asked: Are students going to startups or big companies? In CA and CO, there
are a lot of startups fueled by VC money, and these tend to sweep up a lot of students.
Dan Murray of MERC thanked the Space Consortium for support of Aviation Museum. He
asked what should Mercer focus on? Various attendees expressed interest in looking for
potential collaborative research areas.
Darrell Preble – Space Solar Power – wants to link things together – mentioned efforts with
China including classes by GT Shenzhen along with visiting GT professors at other institutions
and his upcoming lecture in China about space solar power.
Mariel Borowitz asked “how can people get involved in your organizations?”
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Bobby Braun pointed to the new C-STAR website for information and articles. He also
noted that the formation of C-STAR has integrated several internal GT activities that
should be more visible now.
Steve Ruffin pointed to the Space Grant Consortium website as well and highlighted the
industry relationships with SpaceWorks and Generation Orbit as models for other
industry connections.
Mike Mealling noted the Georgia Space Society website and invited all to participate in
this fall’s “Space Up”.
Mariel Borowitz asked what are the biggest challenges, opportunities, and changes coming in
the space sector?
Mike Mealling commented on challenges and obstacles – the primary obstacle being that
capital in Atlanta is not pointed to space. He noted that we have all the resources to do
many things related to space in the state, but the pieces are not put together. He feels that
there should be more cohesive economic development efforts from the state.
Bobby Braun noted that the commercial model is being spread throughout the space
sector, noting there could even be commercially motivated space exploration. “Should
be lots of ideas and opportunities to take advantage of in the future.”
Steve Justice compared the visibility of JPL landing probes on Mars and asked “Will we
ever see something similar” in Georgia? Bobby Braun referred to Dave Spencer and the
CubeSat Prox1 launch. He is confident that there will be a long pipeline of ‘small sat’
missions that we will become famous for. Georgia Tech also has a unique program in reentry technology that is focused on developing the technology to enable future missions.
There area also 6-10 Georgia Tech scientists involved in NASA missions, For example,
David Ballantyne (Physics) was a part of the NUSTAR mission and James Wray (Earth
and Atmospheric Sciences) has been part of the Mars rover missions. In addition, several
high-profile faculty are coming in to Tech in this next year.
Steve Ruffin discussed outreach opportunities for minority students, conferences,
funding opportunities, and the benefit of networks that grown and build on themselves.
He then talked about the Columbus State College Coca-Cola Space Science Center and
introduced Director Shawn Cruzen. Mr. Cruzen announced their receipt of the ¼ scale
model of the space shuttle from NASA. This is a vital piece of space history and a great
teaching tool.
The panelists also noted the resources we already have in Georgia include students,
engineering companies, land in southeast Georgia, and the low cost of living. Also more
opportunities are being created by the fact that the federal administration is interested in
commercial space (like the NASA Commercial Crew program, though also in Earth
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science, weather, astrophysics, and exploration, or small-sats) – this is a new area that
Georgia can take advantage of.
Panel #2 - Industrial and Investor Perspectives on Georgia Space
Mr. Michael Blake – Partner, Habif, Arogeti & Wynne
Dr. John Bradford – President, SpaceWorks
Mr. Stephen Fleming – Vice Provost, GT Enterprise Innovation Institute
Mr. Jacob Vallo – Principal, Amsterdam Capital
Panelist Presentations
Michael Blake: Mr. Blake gave a quick overview of his experience as a CPA and Venture
Capitalist with valuation experience. His message was: with government space budgets not
projected to grow, to grow the local space industry into something vibrant private capital needs
to be injected with space launch as a good first target. VC returns are currently below average –
getting about 10%. He noted that VC is getting too much into risk management – more like
private equity. Telecomm, rail roads, etc. were funded by private capital, and the returns were
far higher. VC needs to do ‘fundamental change’ investing, and he is bullish on space launch and
operations.
John Bradford: - He related a brief history of his 15 year evolution as a small business, noting
that his work, mostly studies and analysis, is becoming more commercial. His company is a
project-based business, and his company’s growth been pretty stable over the past couple of
years. Customer and projects include NASA for the Space Launch System (SLS), DoD work on
hypersonic weapons, and commercial clients for point-to-point hypersonic transportation and
market studies. SpaceWorks has a robust internship program using both college and high school
students. Space in Georgia has room to grow and he noted that as a general rule, Georgia based
firms have a very low “win rate” on SBIR proposals, far lower than other states.
Stephen Fleming: - Stephen was an early investor in XCOR and a member of the Space Angel
Network. Georgia is all about logistics; first the Savannah port, followed by a rail network, then
roads, and finally the investments that led to Hartfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Space is the next piece of that puzzle. The whole lifecycle and support of space is what Georgia
has been part of since the beginning.
Jacob Vallo: He related the efforts of 19th century industrialist Henry Flagler to build Florida
into a tourist powerhouse. First he established destinations (hotels), then the means to travel to
those destinations (rail), followed by supporting services. Space tourism can follow much the
same path to create an excellent tourism experience in low Earth orbit. So how do we change the
perception of the opportunity in Georgia for space? First we need high profile capital events to
demonstrate the potential high returns to the investors. Those successes can be used by
investment research specialists to highlight further investment opportunities to move the local
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space industry forward. He noted that a successful IPO by SpaceX would be a catalyst for other
informed investment.
Question and Answers
Mariel Borowitz asked how to identify companies that are good investment targets and how to
get them to Georgia?
An audience member noted that a company called NewSpace Global was actively
tracking investments in space related business.
Michael Blake suggested that we use the BioTech industry as model for funding for
Space – a high tech, highly regulated industry that seems to have figured out the path
from VC to IPO. BioTech is similar to aerospace in that it has long lead times, is capital
intensive, and operates in a highly regulated environment.
Stephen Fleming noted that industry is being encouraged by this administration, and that
government as customer is a huge lever to assist a growing market. He noted that airlines
were first sustained by hauling Air Mail for the government. He suggested that there
needs to be ‘predictability’ in the market without too much intervention as to who, what,
where.
Jacob Vallo suggested that we could seek funding from various foundations for a seed
fund to support space in Georgia, much like the Guggenheim family supported the
growth of aviation in the early 20th century. He also mentioned the Cox and Kennedy
foundations as a place to seek funding.
The issue of SBIR/STTR wins was discussed again, with the audience offering observations that
the other states have more SBIR related businesses, so they win more. Also suggested was that
the other states with NASA centers have more experience in SBIR and therefore better ideas
about what ‘sells’ for SBIR funding. Several people discussed the need for relevance in
suggested research; most are hardware/software related, where Georgia companies are more
focused on engineering analysis.
The moderator asked: What areas are the most promising for space growth in Georgia?
Michael Blake reference Bigelow Aerospace and their development of inflatable habitats
for space tourism, semi-permanent settlements, and commercial research. Also asteroid
mining could be a source of rare minerals for use on earth and possibly for space
industry.
John Bradford answered small satellite and operations/services that SpaceWorks can
potentially provide. He also highlighted the Camden Spaceport, but also related that
satellite operations are the biggest market opportunity.
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Stephen Fleming believes that suborbital manned missions are potentially a good idea
for tourism and particularly for climate research 20-150 miles up.
Jacob Vallo suggested that formalizing space property rights will be important to
commercialization; specifically for mining of asteroids and the moon.
Panel #3 - Government & Legal Perspectives on Georgia Space
Mr. Steve Howard – County Manager, Camden County
Mr. Steve Justice – Director, Center of Innovation for Aerospace
Rep. Ed Setzler – Chair, Science & Technology Committee, GA House of Representatives
Mr. Robert Turner - 360 Venture Law
Panelist Presentations
Steve Howard: Camden County is looking at a potential spaceport on a site previously used for
solid rocket testing in the 1960s and showed a picture of such a test. He also showed an aerial
view of the site with conceptual layout of possible launch pads and industrial sites. The County
is in negotiations with the landowners, and has started the environmental impact study (IES)
process with assistance from Georgia Tech. His message and vision was a future sign along I-95
in Camden County that would say “Welcome to Georgia’s Space Coast”.
Steve Justice: The Center Director mentioned the ‘sea change’ in space leadership discussions
within state government in the last 12 months, and viewed space as the next big opportunity for
Georgia’s aerospace industry. Space launch may not be huge jobs-wise, but it will be very
visible. Space activities in general will raise the high tech image of the state leading to impact
will be felt across many sectors in Georgia.
Ed Setzler: As Chair of the House Science & Technology Committee, he stated the belief that
“90% of what people know about is what YOU tell them” and we need to be better at talking
about our systems and economy. High tech industry comes here and thrives…we need to
continue this, and to celebrate it.” Our universities are really good. Our public schools are
better than we realize.
Rob Turner: His main message was that the state is very conducive to conducting business
which should help in bringing a new spaceport online and recruiting new space businesses.
Question and Answers
The moderator asked a question about space company liability law – “California and Colorado
have new laws – will Georgia?”
Ed Setzler was willing to jump into it in the new General Assembly session. Bob
Scaringe mentioned Senator Albers as wanting to do so to support Camden County.
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Bobby Braun asked about the Science and Technology Study Group of a couple of years ago.
Ed Setzler replied with a summary of the study – UAS is part of the focus along with
aerospace, biotech and autonomous vehicles. He reaffirmed that the state wanted to be
‘out of the way’ of the innovators but visible in its role to ensure fair play.
Steve Justice recapped the state’s successful efforts in the UAS arena and promoted it as
a model for the space sector.
Mariel Borowitz asked if Camden County might be overwhelmed by the size of the effort or by
influx of companies – will they need help from the state.
Steve Howard explained they have set a 5 year plan in place, and that yes, eventually,
support from other parts of the state will be needed.
Bobby Braun asked about the need for a ‘state authority.’ Steve Justice responded with
one concept to take the existing Georgia Aviation Authority and convert it into a Georgia
Aerospace Authority to support space efforts and overall aerospace growth.
Ed Setzler offered that creating an authority is easy, but getting the answers to key
questions is needed: what’s the mission? What authority is needed?
Bobby Braun noted that Space Florida is always ‘in the conversation’ about anything related to
space in the state of Florida. When they go to Washington, they get any meeting they want. He
noted they are well tied into Florida’s Senators. Ed Setzler compared that to Georgia Ports
Authority. Need a ‘place to start’ for folks from outside the state to engage the industry/network.
Setzler was firm on making a ‘market driven’ space economy in Georgia independent of an
“appropriations driven” culture reliant on federal funding.
Group Discussion #1 - Launch Services
The moderator Mariel Borowitz began the discussion with:
“How can Georgia provide a meaningful impact in the development of operations of space
systems, payload services, and space operations?”
Mr. Preble noted that launch services market is heating up. Launch sites in South America, will
drive the market in his opinion.
Bob Scaringe noted there were two opportunities – the Camden County Spaceport coupled with
a transportation infrastructure that could provide quick access by companies locating in Georgia
to other launch facilities along the Atlantic coast. Also with any influx of large companies then
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suppliers to assist the major players will follow; much like we have seen with the new KIA plant
in West Point.
Mike Mealling noted that the SE Georgia location is our advantage with quick access to major
NASA center in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Virginia.
Marty Broadwell of GTRI noted that the operations/servicing of the vehicles are where most of
the money is – so how do we connect the launch to the rest of the support system? It was noted
by several in the group that space launch is a small percentage of the total space market, but the
conversation turned back to focus on the launch site.
Steve Howard from Camden noted that there is ‘low hanging fruit’ for a launch site in Georgia,
so Steve Justice asked “Is it so compelling that we would kick ourselves if we don’t succeed?”
The response was that Kennedy Space Center views Camden as their chief competition – that
KSC thinks it is the best ‘greenfield’ site for launches on the east coast. Steve Howard noted that
this is a ‘slam dunk’ because they are rehabilitating a past industrial park, which also presents
opportunities to site the supporting activities close to the launch site itself.
Dan Murray asked “What would the future look like without the Camden county site?”
Roadmap for the future would be more complicated in his opinion.
Question to Steve Howard again was “What help do you need? Answer – none right now.
Bobby Braun noted that we can begin now to build a communication plan to tell others “Why
Camden?” and putting together plans to recruit other industries/companies to the state. Steve
Howard mentioned that some of that has already been done.
Darel Preble talked about putting a “Lunar Camp” in Georgia – he wants to put animals and
plants on the moon first, before people, in preparation for when people live there. He thinks this
‘energizes the kids’ to think about doing things differently. He also thinks that electromagnetic
launch systems at the site should be considered.
John Bradford noted the need to get other companies to come here to build a ‘critical mass’ for
continued investment and growth.
Group Discussion #2 - Space Systems and Operations
Mariel Borowitz focused on the question:
“What are we missing? What should we prioritize?”
There was a brief discussion surrounding Georgia’s strengths:
 Quality of Life
 Low Cost of Living
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
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
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Right to Work
Universities – e.g. aerospace engineers at Georgia Tech
Logistics infrastructure
Synergy with Aviation Industry
Open space – the largest state east of the Mississippi
Large amount of other related industry and university research
Geographically located in the middle of existing NASA space center and facilities in
Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi
Bobby Braun noted we are at the geographic center of the current space ecosystem- Huntsville,
Stennis, and Kennedy - so we could be the anchor for a Regional Consortium at some point.
Darel Preble commented on our using our “imagination resources” – such as DragonCon – to
reach the public. He thinks they should be part of a primary communication strategy
There was more discussion about what Georgia is missing –that we have many of the parts, but it
hasn’t come together yet. Bobby Braun mentioned that time has changed some things – most of
the successful states have NASA sites/ecosystem. Our past weakness could be a strength
because we don’t have the NASA heritage.
Bobby Braun then went on to make two strong points:


We aren't among the top states in the new commercial space industry.
We need to separate ‘space’ from ‘aerospace’ to make sure that everyone understands we
aren’t doing well in the space industry.
Mike Mealling offered that we are missing “Intentionality” and “Leadership.”
The moderator asked “What would that leadership do?” and the response was:



More political participation – see the Governor say that increasing space is a goal of the
state, and develop political leverage. Also help create a ‘statement’ by business
leaders/political leaders about making space a priority.
State should offer incentives for space related companies. Goal of 100 startups should be
set (suggested by Bobby Braun).
It was noted that we are competing with states that offer large economic development
grants and we need some way to counter that.
The question was asked as to what types of companies should the state target for recruitment?

Types of companies include small companies that complement existing industry and new
start-ups.
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

Mike Mealling suggested that we strive to get the end users of space products here in the
state. Some could already be here; we should identify those first.
Darel Preble suggested that “Skylon” (a design by a British company that is still in
development) is the “Porsche’ of the space world and that Georgia should recruit them.
Group Discussion #3 – Outreach
Mariel Borowitz began the discussion with the question:
“Who do we want to communicate with?”
That started a free form discussion that noted we needed to speak to:
Internal Audiences:
 Students (all levels)
 Startups
 Existing companies
 Local Governments
External Audiences:
 Industry
 Congress
 Space Executives
 Site Selection Consultants
Steve Justice noted that we are already doing some communicating:



Legislative Days at State Capitol
National Congressional Staff Visits
Media interviews
Bob Scaringe suggested that we target the executives of space companies who are GT grads and
send the press releases to them. He also suggested that we need to find the site selection
committees of the various companies that we want to attract to Georgia – 15-20 Tier 1
companies and noted “….’realistically, GDEcD is not going to do this…”We’re not on the
map…”
Bobby Braun noted the obvious need to tailor the message to what the audience is. He repeated
the goal of 100 startups and noted that we are “…not growing companies in the state fast
enough.” He also advocated a coordinated three prong strategy. When asked for more details,
he indicated he wanted to see a single POC for Space – not criticizing Center of Innovation for
Aerospace (COIA), but he wants someone ‘full time’ tied to GDEcD and the Governor. He
appreciates what COIA has done, but believes it has an important full-time “aviation” job and
may not have the resources for “space.” He also suggested that there should be someone
responsible for the state’s space “PR strategy”.
There was a wide ranging discussion of specific action we could take, including:

Host an national space conference
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Get more people to attend the Space Working Group meetings and more political
awareness
Have the governor set Space as a goal for the state
Have Georgia senators speaking up about this in Congress
Adopt a Zero G, Zero tax law
Put out a statement by Space Working Group or others
Offer significant incentives for startups (like the incentives that helped bring the film
industry to GA)
Give foreign rent checks to companies
Deal with infrastructure, tax issues
Develop incubators
Create more slots for our students and opportunities that allow us to keep them after they
graduate
Attract big companies that want to be close to a launch provider (who are the customers
for the launch facilities in GA)
Get capital
Get a spaceport
Reach out to more groups
Publicize efforts at Georgia Tech and CSTAR – build on things we’re already doing
Colorado in the 1990s realized how much aerospace they had and wanted to take action
to keep it – created an office of the Space Advocate and the Colorado Space Business
roundtable. There was a suggestion from the group that we should emulate Colorado and
put together a Space Business Roundtable that meets monthly.
There are 10-12 states with active space groups (CA, FL, CO, etc.) that we could learn
from.
In terms of communication, there was also discussion of improving general awareness by
showing up at conferences, getting the word out about ongoing activities, strengthening the case
internally and externally for space in GA
In discussing the spaceport, they said what they needed was support, and preparation so that they
could ‘hit the ground running.’ Someone suggested a website that would be ready to launch
when the announcement is made explaining “Why Camden” and “Why Georgia”. Steve
Howard from Camden Country noted that such a website is in development for the Camden
Spaceport.
There was a comment that space activities grow on themselves, the more we do, the more
activity we’ll be able to attract. We should look for big, visible space projects and
accomplishments, getting articles and videos in the news, and convincing more companies to
move here. The launch site can be an anchor tenant with feeder companies coming in around it.
Some suggested also reaching out to tier 1 and 2 companies in the industry, though this is not in
the current marketing strategy of the state. There was a sense that we didn’t need to focus on one
particular portion of the space sector – just welcome all comers and create a general space center
of mass. We should catch companies while they’re still growing
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The last portion of the discussion centered on the potential to draw space-related technical
conferences to Atlanta. The discussion trailed off with the observation from Bobby Braun that
AIAA SciTech 2016 (January 2016) was looking for a home, and that other conferences would
be hard to dislodge.
The meeting concluded at 4PM.
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Appendix A - Summit Agenda
8:30 AM – 9:30 AM
Welcome & Introductions
 Mr. Steve Justice – Director, COI-Aerospace
 Dr. Robert Braun – Director, GT C-STAR
 Dr. Steve Cross – GT EVP for Research
9:30 AM - 10:15 AM
Panel #1 - Academic and Organizational Perspectives on
Georgia Space
 Dr. Robert Braun – Georgia Tech
 Mr. Mike Mealling - Georgia Space Society
 Dr. Stephen Ruffin - Georgia Space Grant Consortium
10:15 AM - 10:30 AM
Networking Break
10:30 AM - 11:15 AM
Panel #2 - Industrial and Investor Perspectives on Georgia
Space
 Mr. Michael Blake - Habif, Arogeti & Wynne
 Dr. John Bradford - SpaceWorks
 Mr. Stephen Fleming - GT Enterprise Innovation Institute
 Mr. Jacob Vallo - Amsterdam Capital
11:15 AM to 12 Noon
Panel #3 - Government & Legal Perspectives on Georgia
Space
 Mr. Steve Howard - Camden County
 Mr. Steve Justice - Center of Innovation for Aerospace
 Rep. Ed Setzler – GA House of Representatives
 Mr. Robert Turner - 360 Venture Law
12 Noon - 1:00 PM
Lunch (to be provided)
1:00 PM - 1:45 PM
Group Discussion #1 - Launch Services
1:45 PM – 2:00 PM
Networking Break
2:00 PM – 2:45 PM
Group Discussion #2 - Space Systems and Operations
2:45 PM – 3:00 PM
Networking Break
3:00 PM – 3:45 PM
Group Discussion #3 - Outreach
3:45 PM – 4:00 PM
Recap & Adjourn
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Appendix B – Participants
Last Name
Borowitz
Blake
Bradford
Braun
Fleming
Howard
Justice
Mealling
Ruffin
Setzler
Turner
Vallo
Cross
Brownell
Nuckolls
Price
Averill
Broadwell
Cohen
Cotterman
Cruzen
Depasquale
Edwards
Fields
Garmestani
Greer
Greeson
Hardy
Land
Land
Linsey
Luke
Maderer
Maher
Murray
Myers
O'Neill
December 15, 2014
First Name
Mariel
Michael
John
Bobby
Stephen
Steve
Steve
Michael
Steve
Rep. Ed
Robert
Jacob
Steve
Shirlynn
David
Dawn
John
Marty
Morris
Bruce
Shawn
Dominic
Stephen
Lee
Hamid
David
Brad
Joe
Hudson
Riley
Julie
David
Jason
Laween
Dan
Elisabeth
Gary
Organization
GT Sam Nunn School of International
Affairs
Habif, Arogeti & Wynne, LLP
Space Works
Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech
Camden County
Center of Innovation for Aerospace
PipeFish Inc.
Georgia Tech
GA House of Representatives
360 Venture Law
Amsterdam Capital
Georgia Tech
Centers of Innovation
Centers of Innovation
Centers of Innovation
IOA Aerospace Division
Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech
BAS Group
Coca-Cola Space Science Center
Terminal Velocity Aerospace
Georgia Tech
Habif, Arogeti & Wynne, LLP
Georgia Tech
Phoenix Air
Amsterdam Capital
Joe Hardy Law
Columbus Homeland Security
Columbus Homeland Security
Georgia Tech
Merrick
Georgia Tech
Sparket LLC
Mercer Engineering Research Center
LM Space Systems
Center of Innovation for Aerospace
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Last Name
Preble
Ready
Richards
Robinson
Scaringe
Söhnlein
Tallmadge
Tang
Williams
December 15, 2014
First Name
Darel
Jud
Jim
Tim
Bob
Guillermo
Robert
Elizabeth
Caleb
Organization
Space Solar Power Institute
Georgia Tech
Full Spectrum Logistics
AVG Communications
Georgia Tech
TAAS Company
Georgia Tech
Ad Spatium
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