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!
Join the Missile, Space and Range Pioneers on FridayOctober 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.
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.
All, please mark your calendars for the Missile, Space, and Range Pioneers Fall banquet, as we celebrate United Launch Alliance, with a keynote by Myron Fortson, Director of Program Management for United Launch Alliance (ULA).
The event will be held Friday, October 26, 2018 at the Courtyard by Marriott in Cocoa Beach, Florida. This event is open to the public. There will be a sit down dinner and a cash bar. Social hour begins at 5:30 and dinner will be served at 7:00.
More details and ticket sales will be posted in the coming days!
Join the Missile, Space and Range Pioneers on FridayMay 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.
All, please mark your calendars for the Missile, Space, and Range Pioneers spring banquet, as we celebrate Armed Forces Day with keynote speaker Brigadier General Wayne Monteith of the 45th Space Wing.
The event will be held Friday, May 18, 2018 at the Courtyard by Marriott in Cocoa Beach, Florida. This event is open to the public. There will be a sit down dinner and a cash bar. Social hour begins at 5:30 and dinner will be served at 7:00.
More details and ticket sales will be posted in the coming days!
Join the Missile, Space and Range Pioneers on FridayOctober 27th for an evening gala at the Space Coast’s Courtyard by Marriott located in Cocoa Beach.
Space industry professionals, veterans, and enthusiasts are invited to a keynote discussion with Shuttle Astronaut Nicole Stott that will be followed by an audience Q&A. Celebrated launch photographers Michael Seeley and Mike Killian, as well as artist & mission patch designer Tim Gagnon, will also participate in a panel discussion that highlights their contributions to the incredible story of the space coast.
Social and networking hour begins at 5:30 PM and dinner (Your choice of Chicken Piccatta, Grilled Mahi-Mahi, or Pasta Primavera) will be served at 7:00 PM. A cash bar will also be open.
Cocktail attire is recommended and we’ll be providing a professional event portrait photographer to create a personalized memory of your evening.
THE EVENT IS NOW SOLD OUT! THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
Our Speakers
Nicole Stott
Astronaut | Artist | Planetary Advocate
First Astronaut to Paint in Space
Nicole has explored from the heights of outer space to the depths of our oceans. She marveled at the awesomeness of our planet experienced through these vantage points, and she believes that sharing this perspective has the power to increase everyone’s appreciation of and obligation to care for our home planet and all who inhabit it.
Nicole is a veteran NASA Astronaut with two spaceflights, one spacewalk, and 104 days living and working in space as a crewmember on both the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station (ISS). She is also a NASA Aquanaut and was a crewmember on the longest duration saturated dive mission on the Aquarius undersea laboratory.
Always an Artist, Nicole was the First Astronaut to Paint in Space.
Nicole combines her spaceflight experience and artwork to inspire creative thinking about solutions to our planetary and personal challenges, and to increase awareness of the outstanding work being done every day in space to improve life here on Earth. She uniquely shares the impression of our planet from the orbital and undersea perspectives, while stressing the significance of our planetary community and environment, a renaissance approach to education and wellness, and the surprising interplay between science and art.
Tim Gagnon
Tim Gagnon was born and raised in East Hartford, Connecticut. A fascination with space exploration came early as did an interest in art. Like many others of his generation Tim remembers watching the missions of his childhood heroes on a small black and white television with “rabbit ears” that could receive few broadcast stations. For his 16th birthday gift in 1972 his parents arranged for Tim and his father to attend the launch of Apollo 17 as invited guests of NASA.
In 2004 his dream finally came true when astronaut John Phillips selected Tim to design the emblem for the Expedition 11 mission to the International Space Station. In 2006 he was invited by mission Commander Pam Melroy to submit draft designs for the STS-120 patch. The competition was strong and Tim placed second. In 2007 Tim was selected by astronaut Eric Boe to design the STS-126 mission emblem. Knowing how much it meant to participate, Tim invited his pen pal Dr. Jorge Cartes of Madrid Spain to join him on this project. The STS-126 crew was so happy with the result that they recommended Tim and Jorge to the STS-127 crew. As each patch was completed, Tim and Jorge were recommended to more flight crews. Since 2008 they teamed to work with the astronauts of the follwoing crews: STS-129, STS-132, STS-133 and STS-135* Though for the final flight of the Space Shuttle Program it was only a collaboration as the idea to include the NASA vector was adopted by the crew. The end of the Space Shuttle Program did not slow down demand. Tim and Jorge were proud to work with the follwoing crews serving aboard the International Space Station: Expeditions 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 34, One Year, 47 and 48.
Michael Seeley
Mike is the President of the Health First Foundation, in Melbourne, Florida and is a co-founder of We Report Space. His photos are seen widely, including in National Geographic Magazine, USA Today, Florida Today, The Guardian, Smithsonian Magazine, The Weather Channel, SpaceFlight Insider, Universe Today and, of course, in We Report Space.
Since moving to the Space Coast in 2012, Mike has taken full advantage of his proximity to Kennedy Space Center, viewing launches first as a member of the NASA Social program and then beginning in July 2015, as accredited media. Mike is a passionate photographer (with experience that dates back to actual film) and enjoys being capture images of the exciting equipment being built and launched from KSC and CCAFS.
Mike Killian
Mike Killian is an aerospace photographer and writer, with a primary focus on spaceflight and military and civilian aviation. A California native originally from the SF Bay Area, he’s the Managing Editor for the space news website AmericaSpace.com, and contributes regularly to a variety of print and online publications.
Over the years his assignments have brought him onboard NASA’s space shuttles, in clean rooms with spacecraft destined for other worlds, front row for launches of historic missions and on numerous civilian and military flight assignments, such as launch range ops with the U.S. Air Force.
Join the Missile, Space and Range Pioneers for an evening gala at the Space Coast’s Courtyard by Marriott located in Cocoa Beach.
Space industry professionals, veterans, and enthusiasts are invited to a keynote discussion with Shuttle Astronaut Nicole Stott that will be followed by an audience Q&A. Celebrated launch photographers Michael Seeley and Mike Killian, as well as artist & mission patch designer Tim Gagnon, will also participate in a panel discussion that highlights their contributions to the incredible story of the space coast.
Social and networking hour begins at 5:30 PM and dinner (Your choice of Chicken Piccatta, Grilled Mahi-Mahi, or Pasta Primavera) will be served at 7:00 PM. A cash bar will also be open.
Cocktail attire is recommended and we’ll be providing a professional event portrait photographer to create a personalized memory of your evening.
Ticket sales will start soon at our website: missileers.org and updates will be posted on this event page. The event is open to the general public.
THE EVENT IS NOW SOLD OUT! THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
Keynote Speaker
Nicole Stott
Nicole is an Artist and Astronaut ~ she is the First Astronaut to Paint in Space and is now on a mission to share her Spaceflight experience and the beauty of our Spacecraft and our Earth through her Art. Seeing the Earth from space, Nicole had an epiphany. In awe of the overwhelming beauty of our home planet, she knew that she would dedicate the rest of her life to sharing that experience with others.
Nicole is a veteran NASA Astronaut with 2 spaceflights and 104 days living and working in space on both the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station (ISS). (Her missions include Space Shuttle STS128, STS129, STS133 and ISS Expeditions 20 & 21, and one spacewalk. She is also a NASA Aquanaut and holds the Women’s World Record for saturation diving following her 18-day mission with the NEEMO9 crew on the Aquarius undersea habitat. Always an Artist, Nicole brought a small watercolor kit with her on her mission to the ISS. She is the First NASA Astronaut to Paint in Space.
After 28 years with NASA, she has begun her next adventure as a full-time Artist and SciArt Education Advocate. Through her artwork, she uniquely shares the awesome beauty she was blessed to experience through the windows of her spacecraft, and she will continue to promote the amazing things we’re doing every day in space that benefit us all right here on Earth. Combining her artwork and spaceflight experience, she is also actively working to inspire student, educator, and society’s interest in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) that comes wonderfully through the integration of Art and Science
Our Speakers
