The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is pleased to announce that the scientist-astronaut training nonprofit organization, Astronauts for Hire, Inc. (”Astronauts4Hire”) has officially become a Research and Education Affiliate of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. Astronauts4Hire joins research and education affiliates such as Purdue University, Johns Hopkins University, Princeton University, George Mason University, and the University of Central Florida that are interested in flying scientists and payload specialists onboard the new generation of commercial suborbital spacecraft.

“We are pleased to welcome the Astronauts4Hire nonprofit as an affiliate of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation,” stated John Gedmark, executive director of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. “The Astronauts4Hire organization is a diverse group of enthusiastic future scientist-astronauts, and its members have backgrounds ranging from engineering and aviation to astronomy and physiology. They are training for prospective future spaceflights and have volunteered to raise public awareness of the exciting potential of commercial spaceflight. Hopefully, members of the Astronauts4Hire group will be among the thousands of people who will fly to space in the coming years onboard commercial suborbital spacecraft.”

Brian Shiro, a geophysicist and president of Astronauts4Hire, stated, “Astronauts4Hire is very excited to be joining the Commercial Spaceflight Federation and looks forward to productive mutual collaboration through projects like the Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s Suborbital Applications Researchers Group (SARG) that raise awareness of the potential of commercial human spaceflight and enable the new industry to flourish.”

The Commercial Spaceflight Federation and Astronauts4Hire are both proud co-sponsors of the upcoming Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference, which will be held at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida from February 28 to March 2, 2011.

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever-higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s member companies, which include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, spaceports, suppliers, and service providers, are creating thousands of high- tech jobs nationwide, working to preserve American leadership in aerospace through technology innovation, and inspiring young people to pursue careers in science and engineering. For more information please visit http://www.commercialspaceflight.org or contact Executive Director John Gedmark at john[at]commercialspaceflight.org or at (202) 349-1121.

About Astronauts4Hire
Astronauts for Hire, Inc. is a non-profit corporation poised to blaze new trails in the commercial spaceflight industry. Its members are available for hire by researchers to conduct experiments on suborbital flights. As the gateway to commercial human spaceflight, Astronauts4Hire serves as the matchmaker among the suborbital research community, training providers, and spaceflight operators. For more information, please visit http://www.Astronauts4Hire.org or contact Public Relations Officer Ben Corbin at ben.corbin[at]astronauts4hire.org or at (850) 685-2218.