Bill Clinton's personal representative, NASA administrator Dan Goldin, officially opened the USA National Pavilion yesterday with an up-beat keynote speech.
He drew on a sporting analogy to describe the way in which the US aerospace industry has coped over the past few years in a landscape characterised by down-sizing and budget slashing.
"I am proud of the way we have been able to dig deep and come back stronger in much the same way that Andre Agassi did here in Paris last week when he came back to win the French Open."
He praised the leadership and vision of the US aerospace industry, which, he says, was looking outward and developing strong relationships with other companies in other countries.
The strength of the industry is reflected in the increased numbers of US companies exhibiting at Le Bourget.
"I'm delighted that more than a third of the non-French companies exhibiting here this year are American," he says.
Fantastic
"Two years ago there were 300 American companies. This year there are 400. That's fantastic."
Outlining the theme of this year's pavilion - the high frontier - he says: "The vision of our industry will allow us to meet the challenges of the highest, newest, boldest frontier. Last week the world watched as the latest mission to the international Space Station went off flawlessly."
Source: Flight Daily News
