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Online Journal of Space Communication

Emergency Communication (Spring 2006)

General Editor Introduction

New Orleans Levee Break at Surekote Road after Hurricane Katrina, August 31, 2005. Source: Digital Globe.


Welcome to Issue No. 10 of the Online Journal of Space Communication that gives special attention to emergency communication. The contents of this issue are based on the proceedings of the National Conference on Emergency Communications (NCEC) held at the George Washington University in Washington D.C., December 12-13, 2005.

The Emergency Communications conference presented a unique opportunity for our Online Space Journal of Space Communication. The Journal has as its mission to become a credible record and repository for developments of public significance in satellite and space communication, and to promote critical analysis of those developments. Within a two-day period, prominent leaders in government, business and academia assembled to think aloud about how to prepare for and respond to natural and man-made disasters, one of the most pressing issues of our time.

If there was one thing made clear by speakers at the NCEC conference, it is that satellite services are indispensable in the event of disruptive disasters. But to really meet the need, satellites of the future must be more interoperable with terrestrial services. The White Paper on Emergency Communications, generated shortly after the conference and included here only a click away, illustrates some of the ways greater interoperability might be possible.

The Guest Editors of this special issue of the Journal are George Washington University colleagues Joseph Pelton and Neil Helm. Your may contact them at:

Joseph Pelton, Director
Email: ecjpelton@aol.com

Neil Helm, Deputy Director
Email: neil.helm1@verizon.net

Space and Advanced Communications
Research Institute
Room 230
20101 Academic Way Drive
University Center
Ashburn, VA 20147
Tel: +1 703 726 8250

Or send your communication directly to the Editor:

Don M. Flournoy, Professor of Telecommunications
General Editor, Online Journal of Space Communication
School of Media Arts and Studies
Scripps College of Communication
Ohio University, Athens, Ohio 45701
Tel: +1 740 593 4866
Fax: +1 740 593 9184
Email: don.flournoy@ohio.edu