Ed Buckbee author, lecturer, space advocate and director emeritus, has been associated with the U.S. space program for four decades. In 1961 he transferred as Army officer to the newly formed NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and worked for Wernher von Braun. Von Braun selected him in 1970 to be the first director of the Alabama Space & Rocket Center. Buckbee is founder of the U.S. Space Camp.

Working with Mercury Seven astronauts, Alan Shepard, Wally Schirra, John Glenn, Deke Slayton, Gordon Cooper and Scott Carpenter, Buckbee conceived and developed the first exhibit telling the story of America's astronauts at the U.S. Astronaut Hall Fame and Space Camp near NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Florida. He started International Space Camp to promote international cooperation in space and successfully opened Space Camps in Japan, Belgium, Italy and Canada.

Again, working with San Diego's own Wally Schirra, they wrote "The REAL Space Cowboys" detailing the interesting lives and times of America's first astronauts, the Mercury Seven.

He continues to be associated with America's space program as a senior advisor to NASA.

A booksigning will be held in booth #1 on the conference floor immediately following the talk.

TIME: 9:00 AM Friday Talks 2