Retired General Admonishes Industry To Work Together

LONG BEACH, Calif.–The three sectors of the aerospace industry–commercial, civil space and military space–need to work together to lower expenses and exploit technological synergies, said Gen. Eugene Tattini [Ret.], deputy director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

During a keynote luncheon address at the ISCe 2004 Satellite & Communications Conference here yesterday, Tattini challenged members of the satellite and space industry “to continue to cooperate with each other…to drive down operating expenses at your companies.” During his speech, which centered mostly on JPL’s role in NASA’s ongoing Mars successes, Tattini stressed the importance of blending the capabilities of the global communications satellite industry with mankind’s need to continue exploring space. He told a crowd of about 150 pre-conference attendees that there is a heritage of NASA and the federal government working together with private industry on a long list of successful projects.