The LA Section of AIAA, the LA Section of SAMPE (Society for the Advancement of Materials and Process Engineering), and the OASIS Chapter of the National Space Society jointly invite you to attend a talk on "Ten Things the Aerospace Industry Can Do To Better Meet The Needs of Commercial Customers" on the evening of Wednesday, April 19 at the TRW S-Forum.

Our speaker is Mr. Bruce Elbert, a well known executive and technologist in the satellite communication industry. Prior to his recent retirement, he was a Senior VP at Hughes and directed many successful programs including the Galaxy satellites and the GEO mobile satellite services. He is the author of 6 industry texts, including the widely used Introduction to Satellite Communications and The Satellite Communication Application Handbook. As an instructor in the UCLA Extension Program, he taught many short courses in satellite communications technology and high-tech marketing to a whole generation of satellite professionals. He is now a full-time consultant, author and lecturer in satellite and broadband communications.

Mr. Elbert will survey the landscape of the comsat industry from the standpoint of the commercial customers, ranging from satellite operator like Intelsat to content providers such as DirectTV. These players deliver TV, internet access, mobile telecommunication, and private network services to household and corporate end-users. Although traditionally invisible to the aerospace engineers, the importance of these service providers can hardly be denied - the service sectors of Hughes are now worth over three times as its satellite manufacturing division, which was only recently sold to Boeing.

Mr. Elbert will review, from the vantage point of these customers, how they evaluate space projects, contractors, and risks. In particular, he will discuss how the satellite contractors must improve if they were to successfully compete with foreign satellite makers or terrestrial technologies. He will show how aerospace companies can best learn from their customers and end users; how to overcome self-imposed obstacles to building more business; and how to mitigate the inherent risks in space.

This is an excellent opportunity for aerospace professionals to get a realistic perspective of the real world, as well as to network with a large group of fellow professionals. The three organizations jointly urge you to pass this information around and attend this meeting.