Latest news with #SpaceWeek
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
AIAA, CSF, SFA, and SGAC Collaborate to Expand ASCEND 2026 in Washington, D.C.
Integrated Event Scheduled for 19–21 May 2026 RESTON, Va., May 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the Commercial Space Federation (CSF), the Space Force Association (SFA), and the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC) announced today they are joining forces on an integrated space event, ASCEND 2026, spanning the week of 19–21 May 2026 in Washington, D.C. 'The vision of ASCEND has always been as a platform for accelerating the use of space for exploration, R&D, national security, and commercial innovation,' said Clay Mowry, chief executive officer, AIAA. 'We are thrilled to bring ASCEND to the nation's capital with these new event partners. Our new collaboration isn't just exciting, it's transformative – creating enormous synergies for the space community for learning, technical exchange, and in-depth dialogue. This new 'Space Week' will showcase the full spectrum of space policy, commerce, security, and innovation to build our off-world future.' Space Policy and Leadership – Commercial Space Federation (CSF)CSF is joining ASCEND as the premier event partner to design and deliver programming during ASCEND 2026 on the most pressing commercial space issues facing the industry. This move will continue CSF's leadership on space policy discussions that were historically held during its flagship Washington, D.C., event, the Commercial Space Policy Conference. Dave Cavossa, president, CSF, added, 'CSF is excited to join forces with AIAA and other partners to reimagine a modern space event that is aligned to the policy challenges of today and tomorrow for the commercial space ecosystem. We want those vital discussions to happen in Washington, D.C., bringing all the critical voices together in the town where so much of our global space policy is shaped.' National Security Space – Space Force Association (SFA)Through an enhanced focus on national security space, ASCEND 2026 will feature expanded content highlighting its criticality to this community. SFA will provide sessions and speakers in the expanded event, designed to enable U.S. Space Force Guardians to collaborate with the commercial and civil space communities to enhance strategic partnerships and counter growing threats. In addition, ASCEND 2026 will feature a classified event that will provide attendees with mission critical insights. Next Generation of Aerospace Professionals – Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC) As the largest network of university students and young professionals working in the global aerospace industry, SGAC will deliver its signature fast-paced, content-rich programming to ASCEND 2026. Modeled on the TEDx 'lightning talk' format used at its previous SGx event, SGAC will create an environment where young professionals, industry experts, and government executives can network, share insights, and inspire each other. Since 2020, ASCEND has promoted the collaborative, interdisciplinary, outcomes-driven community of professionals, students, and enthusiasts around the world who are accelerating humanity's progress toward our off-world future. Lockheed Martin is the founding sponsor of ASCEND. The ASCEND 2026 Call for Content will open in early July 2025, inviting the global space community to submit technical abstracts and propose collaborative session topics across a broad range of disciplines. AIAA Contact: Rebecca Gray, RebeccaG@ 804-397-5270 CSF Contact: Kenya McEachern, kenya@ Contact: Karen Lawrie, publicaffairs@ Contact: Tatiana Komorna, About AIAA AIAA is the world's largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. Visit or follow us: X/Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. About Commercial Space FederationCSF is the leading U.S.-based trade association representing the commercial space industry. Our members represent multiple sectors of the space economy including launch and reentry, remote sensing, spaceports, satellite-based internet, in-space research and manufacturing, commercial space stations, space situational awareness, and more. CSF and its members are focused on expanding America's leadership in space by offering innovative – and often less expensive – solutions to U.S. government customers including NASA, the U.S. Space Force, and the intelligence community. CSF advocates for policies that will grow a sustainable space economy, the global value of which is already estimated at $570 billion and projected to grow to $1.8 trillion by 2035. About Space Force AssociationThe Space Force Association (SFA) is the only independent, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that serves as a professional military association whose sole focus is supporting the United States Space Force, United States Space Command, U.S. national spacepower at large, and our global partners and allies' efforts in space exploration. Its core functions are to research, inform, and advocate to achieve superior spacepower by shaping a Space Force that provides credible deterrence in competition, dominant capability in combat, and professional services for all partners. In addition, the SFA has an essential function to provide support for the men and women of the U.S. Space Force. About Space Generation Advisory CouncilThe Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC) in support of the United Nations Programme on Space Applications is a global non-governmental, non-profit (US 501(c)(3) organization and network that connects and represents university students and young space professionals aged 18–35 to the United Nations, space agencies, industry, and academia. With members in over 165 countries, SGAC fosters international collaboration, capacity-building, and innovation in the space sector. The organization hosts flagship events such as the annual Space Generation Congress (SGC), SGx, SGFF and regional Space Generation Workshops (SGWs), publishes policy recommendations, and provides scholarships to empower young professionals. SGAC is also dedicated to STEM outreach and advocacy, inspiring and enabling the next generation of space leaders.A photo accompanying this announcement is available at in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ready for 156 Space Coast launches this year, Space Force targets bottlenecks
The Space Force is prepped to support an average of 13 launches of month from the Space Coast in 2025, but it's a juggling act that has the world's No. 1 spaceport running up against infrastructure roadblocks. Brig. Gen. Kristin Panzenhagen, who leads the Space Force's Assured Access to Space program as well as heads Space Launch Delta 45 based in Brevard County and oversees the Eastern Range, spoke about the challenges at the one-day Space Mobility Conference, part of Space Week at the Orange County Convention Center on Tuesday. 'We've been going up pretty steadily in about a 25-30% increase per year, and I think we'll continue to increase at that rate for at least the next couple years,' she said. The has meant supporting a record 93 launches from either Kennedy Space Center of Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in 2024, but the potential to hit as many as 156 from the Space Coast in 2025. The pace has been demanding, she said. 'It's forcing us to innovate, right? We've implemented automation, we relooked at processes and streamlined a lot of things, but it does continue to be a stress on ops tempo when it comes to manpower,' Panzenhagen said. But it also has brought infrastructure shortcomings to the forefront causing backups for national security launches. 'The bottleneck itself is that really we just don't have enough payload processing space,' she said. 'With the launch cadence increasing, we, with our government payloads, are using the same payload processing space that the commercial payloads use.' She noted that was a decision made years ago by the Air Force even before Space Force was created, and one made because it's a commercial service that can be provided, usually the path the military will take to reduce costs. She also noted bigger rockets with multiple payloads may cause logistics delays. 'Oftentimes those payloads have to be processed differently — different clean room standards, different security standards. So that's taking up a tremendous amount of space,' she said. In 2024, the Space Force was able to get extra congressional funds to pursue commercial solutions to a similar bottleneck on the Western Range at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. That solution could mean more square footage or new ways to process satellites. She said a similar request for the Space Coast will be made for 2025. 'So as far as funding goes, when we go to the (Capitol) Hill, we do have a lot of conversations with the members and the staffers,' she said. 'We have gotten a good acknowledgement that they understand the need for it. So we're cautiously optimistic that we'll get some funding in '25.' Another big hurdle to support launches, she said, is real estate. 'We're fortunate because we are operating in a time where we do have that demand,' she said. 'The commercial launch industry is extremely healthy, innovative, growing, but because of that, we don't have enough real estate to give everybody that wants a pad for a different rocket a pad.' Already SpaceX operates at both KSC and Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 40 while United Launch Alliance uses SLC 41 and Blue Origin just had its first launch from Launch Complex 36. Smaller rocket companies Relativity Space and Astra Space have flown in recent years from other Canaveral pads while approvals for several others including Stoke Space and Firefly Aerospace have been granted as well. Meanwhile, SpaceX is looking to build up a new Starship launch pad at the former ULA Delta IV Heavy launch site at Space Launch Complex 37. 'We do have to be very strategic in those decisions because it is a limited resource,' she said. And while the Space Force's primary mission is to support national security, it's married to the need to keep commercial launch providers healthy and happy. 'The very first priority is making sure that we are able to meet the current national security needs that we're posturing to meet the future national security needs because, you know, we're wearing this uniform and that's our job,' she said. 'But that has to be closely coupled with the second question we always ask ourselves: are we promoting a robust and healthy and innovative, competitive commercial industry for launch.'
