...Thursday, November 15, 11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York. The meeting will take place during the SATCON 2012 Conference & Expo, immediately following the hosted payload panel session, “A New Political and Economic Environment for Hosted Payloads?”

The HPA is a nonprofit satellite industry association established to serve as a bridge between government and private industry to foster open communication between potential users and providers of hosted payload capabilities. The focus of HPA is on education, awareness and developing solutions to common hosted payload challenges.

"The past year has been one of great success for the HPA and our stakeholders, from supporting the development of a benchmarking report on hosted payload programs to providing the government with an industry perspective on pending changes to existing policies that will enable faster access to space on commercial satellites,” said Don Thoma, HPA Board Chairman. “As we move into our second year, we are several steps closer to bridging the gap between government and private industry. The HPA Annual Business Meeting will be an opportunity to discuss the progress we’ve made and the next steps needed to encourage the advancement of government space missions through commercially hosted payloads.”

HPA’s Board Members are: Arianespace, ATK Space Systems, Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems, EADS North America, Harris, Inmarsat, Intelsat General Corporation, Iridium Communications Inc., Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Northrup Grumman, Orbital Sciences Corporation, Raytheon, SES Government Solutions, Space Systems/Loral, Thales Alenia North America and International Launch Services. Membership in HPA is open to satellite operators, satellite manufacturers, system integrators and other interested companies. Those wishing to attend the HPA Business Meeting must be registered for SATCON 2012; separate registration for the HPA Business Meeting is required—please click here to sign up.