Director Michael Potter presents his 2008 documentary, Orphans of Apollo, followed by a panel discussion. The film tells the extraordinary true story of MirCorp, a group of audacious space entrepreneurs who succeeded briefly in commandeering and operating the Russian space station Mir as a business venture, thereby launching the commercial space industry. To view the movie trailer, visit http://www.orphansofapollo.com/.

Moderator:
Roger Launius is a Senior Curator in the Division of Space History at the National Air and Space Museum.

Panelists:
• Michael Potter is the director of Paradigm Ventures, an international venture capital firm, and the director of Orphans of Apollo.
• Jeffrey Manber is the Managing Director of Nanoracks, a commercial fabricator of space-based microgravity experiments, and the former CEO of MirCorp.
• Alan Ladwig is NASA’s Deputy Associate Administrator for Public Outreach.

This event is the kickoff activity for Moving Beyond Earth: Innovations in Space, a two-day symposium and family day event presented by the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation in collaboration with the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Division of Space History.

How to attend

National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC

6th St. and Independence Ave SW. Washington, DC 20560
Lockheed Martin IMAX Theater