Many of the inventors, researchers, entrepreneurs and government officials who are planning on exploring, innovating  and settling the new frontier of  Space were present at this year’s 38th annual Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Innovators and inventions will lead to the construction of pathways through orbits, maneuvers, rocket ships, re-fueling and the building of spaceports and gateways. 

This trek through Space is being made possible by entrepreneurs and explorers who are willing to be named as firsts in the 3rd race to space, such as  Elon Musk whose SpaceX launches has famously reformed space travel to be more readily available and financially viable. He has pioneered the use of reusable boosters and has launched more pounds to orbit than most all of the world combined. He has cut the price of taking pounds to space by millions of dollars per launch. Victor Glover, Jr., the pilot for the Artemis II mission, will land on the moon in 2024 with his crew. The approximately 10-day flight will test NASA's foundational human deep space exploration capabilities, the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft, for the first time with astronauts. This mission will serve as a foundation for lunar surface missions, including landing the first African American and first woman on the moon.

Strong international partnerships will also be necessary. As an example of international partnerships, Consortium will design critical autonomous lunar mobility and excavation services for the Trailblazer Initiative. Co-led by EPE and Lunar Outpost Oceania, the Consortium brings as a partner U.S.-based Lunar Outpost, a global front runner in commercial planetary mobility. This will lead several  successful space missions between the moon and earth.

Consortium will collaborate with NASA’s Artemis program, together with Australia’s EPE, a Queensland-based company specializing in robotics, autonomous systems, system integration and translation of technology .

The latest exhibition hosted at the Space Symposium demonstrated emerging technologies and trends. 

Big and small companies (a total of over 230 exhibitors present at the symposium) are competing and collaborating at the same time, for  the most advanced transport systems and the best technologies that will advance and transform not only what happens in space, but through satellites and other innovations, change what will happen on earth.

Trending at the conference was increasing the spread of miniaturized satellites, increased use of AI, machine learning and data analysis. Governments and contractors also demonstrated an increased focus on orbital debris mitigation.  

Dr. Fernandez, Ph.D., is the principal investigator for the Spaceborne Computer-2 project at Hewlett Packard Enterprise and was a participant exhibitor at the Space Symposium. He discussed his technology to quickly transfer data from a space station to earth that would have taken 5 days into a few hours. His project could rapidly be used to treat someone in space with a medical issue who has an abnormal EKG, he explained, or study how humans adapt to space that requires data being analyzed. These are only a few of the examples,  Dr. Fernandez gave, that would revolutionize  two-way communication between earth and space.

Consultant companies were positioning themselves by scouting for opportunities at the conference.  Dcode and New Space New Mexico  were present at the Symposium and were part  of a handful of companies that connect the tech industry and government to drive commercial innovation in the federal market through consulting and conferences. This means that these consulting companies serve as incubators and mentors to help the government and private parties to do business with each other and reach goals

 As satellites play more and more of a key role to control and protect what is happening on the ground, the higher ranks of Space Force and other global military leadership were present at the conference. Members of the military discussed that it is engaged in deterring attacks on satellites and working on  technological advances in manuevering them  to insure that commercial interests, communications and government and allies’ interests are safely guarded.

U.S. Space Command leaders say a future where satellites can be re-fueled and upgraded in orbit for sustained maneuverability could come as soon as 2030. Re-fueling would sustain missions as well as satellites for longevity in space.

Lt. Gen. John Shaw told reporters the command is interested in any technology that will “support dynamic space operations.” This means space operation’s vision for satellites would focus particularly on monitoring various operations and objects in orbit. 

The community at the Space Symposium who seemed to be celebrating  the transformation of human access to the unknown of space were also seeming to transform this wilderness into an orderly world of  laws and rules.

A special tract was sold out at the Space Symposium just for space law, a field that will grow tremendously with the development of the industry.

One of the repetitive themes seemed to be the discussion of the Outer Space Treaty.

With the Outer Space Treaty, there is no claim for sovereignty in space. No Nation can “own space.” The treaty states this about the moon or any other body. Weapons of mass destruction are forbidden in orbit and beyond, and the Moon, the planets, and other celestial bodies can only be used for peaceful purposes.

This treaty  is very significant right now. It will need to be followed in order for there to be  necessary cooperation and collaboration among countries that are stakeholders in the 3rd era of the race to space. This is of particular concern in regard to satellites and other orbiting objects that could crash into each other that could cause damage and catastrophic consequences.

 As an example of issues surrounding this treaty and countries having to cooperate and communicate,  China  and U.S. relations was discussed at the Space Symposium. 

With great political tension already in existence on the ground and in space between the U.S. and China, the contest over achievements in space is intensifying. Both countries aim to build installations on the moon as one example. Both countries have launched thousands of satellites in orbit is another. 

The U.S. and China must work together  in some aspects of space use. One of the most important areas is the safety of space infrastructure, where a lack of communication could be a leading cause of damage and catastrophic consequences from a lack of communication.

However, serious barriers exist regarding some kinds of cooperation that are deemed as illegal. The Wolf Amendment does not allow NASA using  American government funding to associate with the Chinese government and China-affiliated organizations. Nonetheless, this legislation does not stop or deter all collaborative  possibilities, such as cross communicating orbit information about human-made space objects and space debris deterrence.

Despite the division  between the United States and China, the two sides appear to agree on some important legal rules applicable to space. For instance, in a recent white paper, China professes to use outer space “for peaceful purposes.” Similar language is also used in U.S. space policy documents and even the Space Force’s 2020 doctrine. However, the language is subject to interpretation.

A big focus  going on in private industry at Space Symposium was about a trained, qualified and diverse workforce for space development in the United States.

CEO’s  from Sling Shot, Stellar Solutions and Maxar Technologies discussed how jobs that were never dreamed of or imagined are now in existence and that defining roles in companies emerge and transform as technology changes.

 Daniel Jablonsky,  CEO of Maxar Technologies, joined with other CEOs from private industry on a  panel briefing to share progress on Space Workforce 2030 — one year after they made a commitment to increase diversity and inclusion in  the Space industry.  

With rapid growth in all sectors, they discussed the need for a strong, vibrant and diverse workforce to stay at the cutting edge of innovation. The CEO’s discussed their belief that ensuring diversity as part of the  workforce will insure the future success of the industry.

Jablonsky stated he was “excited about the changes' we (Space companies) can make collectively to support STEM education and encourage greater numbers of women and members of underrepresented groups to pursue careers in the space sector. 

He discussed that carefully hiring people who were representative of a diverse community improved the company and future of space exploration and technology because it brought to the table different points of view. 

Mr. Jablonsky further discussed that top diversified  competitive people involving leadership roles came out of the most competitive universities in the country when asked about merit-based hiring practices.

The 2030 Space Workforce program has included funding in education of K-12 programs, internships for engineers and various other goal driven programs noting that the industry has a severe shortage of engineers currently.

Over thirty private industry companies have joined together such as Space X, Stellar Solutions, Sling Shot, Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance aiming to  increase education in K-12, provide internships for engineers in Space Companies and other initiatives to promote leadership of women and people of color in the industry.

By  April Chepovskygold (Harvey) JD, RN

IdeaSpies American Editor-National Space Symposium 2021 - 2023