Missile, Space, and Range Pioneers

Lecture with Tory Bruno!

Mark your calendars for our upcoming events!

46th Space Congress

NARCON 2019

Pioneers Spring Banquet

What a wonderful year 2018 has been for the Pioneers. We thank all of you for your support this year.

We had a fantastic banquet in the Spring honoring our roots and Armed Forces Day with Brigadier General Wayne Monteith. We heard about the Drive to 48 launches a year and we heard about Merritt Island High’s “Stangsat” CubeSat.

It was hard to follow such a great event with another, but we managed to do so with our Fall banquet. We celebrated the many accomplishments of United Launch Alliance with a speech by Ron Fortson. We heard from the incredibly talented Weiss School students once again, updating us on the status of their CubeSat (which has since launched!) and their education and policy initiatives.

We had a great year with you all and look forward to doing more and greater things in 2019. I leave you all now with a quote from the crew of Apollo 8, 50 years after their historic mission.

“From the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas – and God bless all of you, all of you on the good Earth.”

-Chelsea Partridge, President

Thank you everyone for showing up to our Fall Banquet! We had a fantastic turnout!

We want to particularly thank our speakers, Ron Fortson of ULA, and the students of The Weiss School. We also would like to specially thank our corporate sponsors, Boeing and Space Florida.

John Gould, a writer who attended the banquet, wrote a great article about the event. I hope you read and enjoy!

https://www.livingspace.earth/home/2018/10/space-pioneers-banquet

Thank you again to everyone for your support. We look forward to seeing you in the Spring for more events and banquets.

-Chelsea Partridge, President

Join the Missile, Space and Range Pioneers on Friday October 26th, 2018  for an evening celebrating United Launch Alliance’s 130 successful launches (and counting!)

Space industry professionals, veterans, and enthusiasts are invited to the Space Coast’s Courtyard by Marriott located in Cocoa Beach for this event.

Ron Fortson, Director of Program Management, Commercial and Government Programs, will discuss United Launch Alliance and how they save lives, explore the universe and connect the world. Audience Q&A will follow.

Social and networking hour begins at 5:30 PM and dinner will be served at 7:00 PM. A cash bar will also be open.

Cocktail attire is recommended.

Students/Active Military: $35
Pioneer Members: $45
Non-Members: $60

Corporate tables are available on request. Please contact chelsea.r.partridge@gmail.com

TICKET SALES HAVE ENDED! If you would like to purchase a ticket, contact chelsea.r.partridge@gmail.com

Our Speaker

Myron Fortson is director, Program Management for United Launch Alliance (ULA). In this role, he leads the management and execution of all launch service programs for ULA’s government and commercial customers. Fortson previously served as the director of Mission Management and the director of Operations Engineering.

Prior to joining ULA, Fortson had a distinguished Air Force career, retiring as a colonel in 2013 following 26 years of service. While serving in the military, Fortson held a variety of assignments in engineering, operations, acquisition and staff units. He began
as an intercontinental ballistic missile trajectory engineer at Strategic Air Command in Omaha in 1987. In 1991, Fortson served at the Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) as a Space Test Program mission planner and spacecraft project engineer. In 1996, he was assigned to the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) as a deputy director of engineering for satellite operations and a spacecraft and launch program manager for a joint space-based radar program. Fortson moved to the Pentagon in 2001 as a satellite control network program element monitor on Headquarters Air Force staff. Following this assignment, he returned to the SMC as the counterspace systems chief engineer and executive officer for the three-star commander. In 2005, Fortson served as the operation officer and commander of the 1st Space Launch Squadron for the Delta II launch system at Cape Canveral Air Force Station, Fla. He also served as deputy commander for the 45th Operations Group conducting range operations. Fortson held another short tour back at the NRO in 2009 on the director’s staff before returning to SMC as the chief of Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) Engineering and Operations for Atlas V and Delta IV launch systems in 2010.

Fortson received his Bachelor of Science degree in astronautical engineering from the Air Force Academy in 1987 and a Master of Business Administration from Chapman University in 1995.

Join the Missile, Space and Range Pioneers on Friday May 18th for an evening celebrating Armed Forces Day at the Space Coast’s Courtyard by Marriott located in Cocoa Beach.

Space industry professionals, veterans, and enthusiasts are invited to a keynote talk from Brigadier General Wayne Monteith that will be followed by an audience Q&A. Brigadier General Monteith will be speaking of the history of the range and the 45th Space Wing’s accomplishments in their “Drive to 48” launches a year.

Social and networking hour begins at 5:30 PM and dinner will be served at 7:00 PM. A cash bar will also be open.

Cocktail attire is recommended.

TICKETS SALES HAVE ENDED! PLEASE CONTACT chelsea.r.partridge@gmail.com FOR TICKETS.

Brigadier General Wayne R. Monteith is the Commander, 45th Space Wing, and Director, Eastern Range, Patrick Air Force Base, Florida. He leads over 13,000 military, DoD civilian and contractor personnel responsible for the processing and launching of U.S. government and commercial satellites from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. General Monteith is also the final approval authority for all launches on the Eastern Range, a 15-million-square-mile area which supports an average of 15 launches per year aboard Delta, Atlas, Falcon, Navy and emerging launch vehicles. In addition, he manages wing launch and range infrastructure supporting NASA, commercial and missile test missions.

Prior to assuming his current position, General Monteith served as the Senior Military Assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force.

General Monteith has served as a Peacekeeper intercontinental
ballistic missile (ICBM) combat crew member, senior ICBM
standardization and evaluation crew commander, ICBM instructor,
chief ICBM flight testing, and command lead for a major space
acquisition program. He commanded the Air Force’s only ICBM combat crew training squadron and the 50th Space Wing where he led more than 5,300 military, DoD civilian and contractor personnel serving at 14 operating locations worldwide in support of more than 170 communications, navigation, weather and surveillance satellites with their associated systems valued at more than $66B. General Monteith has also served in various special duty capacities including MAJCOM, COCOM, HQ Air Force and OSD staff positions. He earned the Master Missile Operations designation and is a Command Space Professional.

General Monteith earned his commission as a distinguished graduate from the University of New Mexico’s Air Force ROTC program.

Photos of the 2017 Fall Gala, a celebration of Art & Space, held October 27, 2017 at the Courtyard by Marriott in Cocoa Beach.