Wow, an outer space conference.

I've gotten a few e-mails lately about a meeting coming up inDubai called World Space Conference 2010, which sounds, well, cool.And it's taking place in Dubai—which advertises on the Space RiskForum Web site that it's 75 degrees there, and sunny.

Think about it, a whole conference devoted to outer space. It's“2001, A Space Odyssey,” “Star Wars,” “ET” and “Wall-E”combined!

I went to the Web site to check out the conference program—onecan dream.

The three-day program opens up with registration, followed bybrunch, a welcoming coffee and an introduction speech. Next is thekeynote speaker, Ramin Khadem, Ph.D., chairman of the board of theInternational Space University (ISU) in Strasbourg, France, andchairman of Odyssey Moon. Odyssey Moon, I read on the company's Website, was formed to “capitalize on commercial opportunities createdby renewed interests in exploring the Moon.”

The organization said it is developing a “commercial lunarrobotic transportation service to meet the pent up and growingdemand for low cost, frequent access to the Moon supportingscience, exploration and commerce.” So that should be aninteresting talk.

After that is a two-part panel discussion on technicaldevelopments in the space industry, and later a cocktail reception.Nice.

Reading about the Tuesday morning program, however, realitybegan to set in with a panel discussion on the impact of theeconomy on the space industry. Even more so with the afternoonagenda, consisting of a panel discussion on the legal andregulatory environment within the space industry. They are todiscuss whether the “space insurance product” does what it issupposed to do; improving the flow of underwriting information;claims handling; and future space insurance policy needs.

On Wednesday a panel is to focus on various topics, includingsatellite servicing, future satellite applications and privatecommercial space flight.

So there you have it.

While in reality the conference seems a little, well, mundane,I'm reminding myself that this is the case with any industry, spaceincluded. There are risk management, safety and training issues,liability issues, and insurance coverage and claims issues.

And while the movies may seem a lot more intriguing when itcomes to outer space, the truth is, who wants to see a movie aboutwhether or not an insurance policy will cover the crash of thestarship “Enterprise”? While some of us might find thisinteresting, most would not.

So perhaps my expectations for a space conference were a littletoo high. After all, we're not talking about a Star Trek conventionhere—it's a conference dealing with a highly regulated industry.And like every other industry it is impacted by the economicrecession—although the Dubai location speaks “up-and-comingindustry with means” loud and clear.

And hey, at least the weather is nice in Dubai. Come tothink of it, I wonder what the weather is like on the moon rightnow.