SpaceCom 2027

The 2027 forum theme, “Resilience in a Changing World,” examines tools, approaches, and breakthroughs intended to strengthen resilience across aerospace, defense, and the broader engineering enterprise amid rapid technological and global change. The program combines technical sessions focused on research and technologies addressing specific problems with plenary and Forum 360 sessions on issues affecting aerospace. It serves civil, commercial, and national security sectors and connects academic, industry, and government professionals. Featured speakers include James Kenyon, Associate Administrator of NASA’s Research and Technology Mission Directorate; Daniel Hettema, Director of Digital Engineering, Modeling & Simulation at the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering; and Sha-Chelle Devlin Manning, Chief of Commercial Strategy at DARPA.

SpaceCom, in collaboration with NASA, brings together government priorities, commercial capability, and industry innovation around procurement, investment, partnerships, business development, and technology commercialization. The program is organized across the SpaceCom: Keynotes, ADVANCE, DISCOVER, EXPLORE, INNOVATE, and TINA Talks streams. Topics include Artemis cadence and architecture; launch logistics and high-cadence access to space; commercial-government co-investment; commercial space stations; spacecraft servicing and lifecycle economics; supply-chain, manufacturing, and infrastructure bottlenecks; workforce and industrial execution; nuclear power and propulsion; cislunar mobility; international partnerships; space traffic management; cybersecurity; AI-enabled mission control; orbital manufacturing and repair; lunar resource utilization; space-resource law; and intellectual-property rights for space-based innovations. Named sessions include “SpaceCom Day 1 Opening Keynotes,” “Invite-Only Executive Forum: From Orbit to Outcome: Why Space Has Become Enterprise Infrastructure,” “Launch Is Logistics: Scaling High-Cadence Access to Space,” “Commercial-Government Co-Investment: How Space Infrastructure Gets Funded,” “Moon Joy! Lessons from the Artemis II Journey,” “The Case for Commercial Space Stations: Innovation Needs Customers,” “Service, Refuel, or Replace? The New Economics of Spacecraft Lifecycles,” “Supply Chain, Manufacturing, and Hidden Infrastructure Bottlenecks,” “Policy, Law, and Governance for the New Space Age,” “Powering the Next Frontier: Nuclear Power and Propulsion,” “Mission Control, Rewritten: When AI Agents Move from Advice to Action,” and “Building the Moon Base.”

SpaceCom, in collaboration with NASA, brings together government priorities, commercial capability, and industry innovation around procurement, investment, partnerships, business development, and technology commercialization. The program is organized across the SpaceCom: Keynotes, ADVANCE, DISCOVER, EXPLORE, INNOVATE, and TINA Talks streams. Topics include Artemis cadence and architecture; launch logistics and high-cadence access to space; commercial-government co-investment; commercial space stations; spacecraft servicing and lifecycle economics; supply-chain, manufacturing, and infrastructure bottlenecks; workforce and industrial execution; nuclear power and propulsion; cislunar mobility; international partnerships; space traffic management; cybersecurity; AI-enabled mission control; orbital manufacturing and repair; lunar resource utilization; space-resource law; and intellectual-property rights for space-based innovations. Named sessions include “SpaceCom Day 1 Opening Keynotes,” “Invite-Only Executive Forum: From Orbit to Outcome: Why Space Has Become Enterprise Infrastructure,” “Launch Is Logistics: Scaling High-Cadence Access to Space,” “Commercial-Government Co-Investment: How Space Infrastructure Gets Funded,” “Moon Joy! Lessons from the Artemis II Journey,” “The Case for Commercial Space Stations: Innovation Needs Customers,” “Service, Refuel, or Replace? The New Economics of Spacecraft Lifecycles,” “Supply Chain, Manufacturing, and Hidden Infrastructure Bottlenecks,” “Policy, Law, and Governance for the New Space Age,” “Powering the Next Frontier: Nuclear Power and Propulsion,” “Mission Control, Rewritten: When AI Agents Move from Advice to Action,” and “Building the Moon Base.”

The week combines the SATELLITE Conference, GovMilSpace, a peer-evaluated Tech Seminar, an executive Inner Circle program, and an exhibit hall. Topics include satellite finance, M&A and market structure; 5G non-terrestrial networks and the road to 6G; direct-to-device connectivity; AI in satellite operations; software-defined networks; sovereign networks; launch economics; and ground-segment modernization. GovMilSpace addresses acquisition and commercial integration, resilient architectures, GEOINT, PNT, defense constellation services, optical communications, and the space industrial base. The Tech Seminar covers ground architecture, spectrum, propulsion, AI, and in-space operations, with white papers accompanying its technical sessions. The program also includes discussions of satellite manufacturing costs and supply-chain pressures, spectrum policy ahead of WRC-27, satellite-network security and interference testing, and orbital logistics. Some Inner Circle briefings and roundtables are exclusive to that executive program.

The summit presents an integrated, three-track program connecting aviation, advanced air mobility, space, and defense through shared priorities in supply chains, testbeds, capital, and workforce. Tracks are Flightline (Advanced Air Mobility & Aviation), Orbitline (Space & Space-Enabled Services), and Frontline (Defense, Dual-Use & Manufacturing). Sessions address Arizona entry points into U.S. and allied aerospace ecosystems; corridors, ranges, manufacturing capacity, and emerging spaceports for pilots and multi-domain experiments; intersections of aerospace with microelectronics, biosciences, AI, and advanced manufacturing; and converting strategy into pilots, partnerships, commitments, mission briefs, and Global Aerospace Commitments for 2030.

The symposium focuses on space and missile defense, with organization updates from Space and Missile Defense Command, Space Command, Golden Dome for America’s Direct Report Program Manager, T2COM, CUAS, Northern Command, PAE Fires, the Missile Defense Agency, and space and missile defense companies. Panel themes include SPACECOM, Missile Defense System Next, International Space, INDOPACOM, industry, next-generation space and missile defense, and PAE Fires. The program also includes a technology track with technical paper presentations, a small-business showcase, and an exhibit hall featuring technology and products.

The 2027 forum theme, “Resilience in a Changing World,” examines tools, approaches, and breakthroughs intended to strengthen resilience across aerospace, defense, and the broader engineering enterprise amid rapid technological and global change. The program combines technical sessions focused on research and technologies addressing specific problems with plenary and Forum 360 sessions on issues affecting aerospace. It serves civil, commercial, and national security sectors and connects academic, industry, and government professionals. Featured speakers include James Kenyon, Associate Administrator of NASA’s Research and Technology Mission Directorate; Daniel Hettema, Director of Digital Engineering, Modeling & Simulation at the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering; and Sha-Chelle Devlin Manning, Chief of Commercial Strategy at DARPA.

Space Symposium unites global space professionals from military, industry, commercial, and government sectors to examine critical space issues, foster dialogue, and drive innovation. Program tracks include Space Law, Space Science, Space Investment, and Game Changers: AI & Space. Sector coverage includes advanced manufacturing, aerospace systems, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, defense, engineering, finance, satellite systems, space services, space construction, and spaceports and infrastructure. The event includes live speaker programming, exhibit centers, and a virtual platform.

The half-day program examines space systems’ role in critical infrastructure resilience and the secure adoption of AI. Topics include protecting space-based communications, navigation, timing, and data services; applying zero-trust principles across spacecraft, ground systems, networks, users, and mission partners; and how Golden Dome for America may affect cybersecurity requirements, acquisition priorities, and resilient space architectures. The AI security theme covers AI-enabled threat detection and response across space, ground, and user segments, including human oversight; risks across AI models, training data, software, infrastructure, and vendors; and workforce readiness to deploy, govern, and defend AI-enabled systems. Government briefings, expert panels, and dedicated roundtables are planned.

The conference program covers policy, governance, and global strategy for integrating autonomy across air, ground, and maritime domains, including counter-UAS authorities, AI governance, regulatory harmonization, spectrum allocation, and infrastructure readiness. Strategic Resilience addresses cybersecurity, geopolitical disruption, constrained access to critical components, NDAA and FCC covered-list procurement requirements, export controls, battery supply chains, and critical materials. Technology in Motion focuses on AI-driven perception, advanced propulsion, sensor fusion, collaborative autonomy, swarm coordination, counter-UAS systems, AI/ML certification, and verification and validation. Enterprise Operations & Ecosystem Integration examines domestic production, manufacturing readiness, MRO, reshoring, contract and additive manufacturing, vertiport integration, maritime logistics, digital twins, and production scaling. Autonomy in Action covers procurement, BVLOS and Part 108 operations, grants, venture capital, public-private partnerships, and commercial deployments. AUVSI Defense programming addresses maritime autonomy, national security and warfighter requirements, counter-UxS, appropriations, and fielding trusted systems at scale.

The conference covers four technical tracks: SR-1 and spacecraft reactors, including reactor physics, fuels and materials, power conversion, thermal management, controls, testing and civil, commercial, defense, and science mission applications; LR-1 and planetary surface reactors, including lunar and Mars power architectures, deployment, power distribution, and integration with habitats, mobility, ISRU, and science payloads; Dragonfly and radioisotope power systems, including isotope production, fuel fabrication, testing, safety, and mission operations; and building the space nuclear industrial base, including infrastructure, manufacturing and qualification supply chains, regulatory frameworks, safety, standards, workforce, and industrial partnerships. Special programming includes the 2nd Workshop for Fission Instrumentation and Controls for Space, on sensors, actuators, software, and conditioning electronics, and a special session on innovative spacecraft structures and thermal systems for nuclear propulsion and power, including deployable assemblies, vehicle aggregation, in-space assembly, and mission flexibility. Accepted and presented papers and abstracts will be published in the conference proceedings. Submissions are evaluated for originality, methodological rigor, quality of results, and scientific impact.