The Business of Space Conference 2026

Hampton Inn and Suites Downtown Huntsville // 313 Clinton Ave W | Huntsville, AL
Jason Greene, Ph.D., Dean, UAH College of Business // Welcome

Enjoy beverages and hors d'oeuvres while networking with leading academics, business leaders, innovators and policy influencers working on the new space economy.

Dave Puelo // UAH Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

Welcome to the Business of Space Conference 2026.

Keynote: Financing the Future

Greg Autry

This keynote explores strategies for leveraging government budgets to catalyze self-sustaining private space markets, while also harnessing private capital to advance national civil and military space objectives. The discussion will examine the evolving public-private partnership model shaping the future of the space economy.

From Prototype to Production: Winning Today While Building Tomorrow’s Space Manufacturing Market

Moderator: Ryan Brown

Panel:

TBA

Space manufacturing is an active production business supporting launch vehicle replenishment, missile defense, satellite constellations, and emerging in-space services. Yet most production remains program-paced rather than sustained at industrial scale. This panel explores how companies are building profitable manufacturing operations today while positioning for a larger, more stable demand environment driven by national security and civil space operations. Panelists will discuss production readiness, supply chain maturity, qualification throughput, digital manufacturing, and workforce constraints and examine how evolving government demand signals may ultimately transform space manufacturing from episodic builds into a repeatable logistics enterprise.

Enjoy a cup of coffee while networking with fellow professionals.

Government and Commercial Space

Moderator: TBA

Panel:

Jeffery Martin

Quentin Millette

Michal Szwajewski

The growing demand for launch operations, manufacturing near the launch site, assembly integration and test, processing and refurbishment, and postflight recovery necessitates the expansion and enhancement of spaceport capacities. This session discusses the critical role of ground infrastructure in facilitating this expansion and enhancement, explores the strategic investments required to support increased demand from the space sector, and highlights a few ways strategic partnerships can sustainably boost spaceport capacity.

The Evolution of Space Acquisitions

Col McLain and Brigadier General Feltman (retd) will discuss the evolution of space acquisitions as a result of recent DoW and Congressional guidance.

The Business of Space: Architecting Global Velocity from Decision to Orbit

Matt Domo

A builder’s masterclass on scaling high-tech ventures in the new space age. This keynote provides a battle-tested blueprint for the global space ecosystem, leveraging the 2026 "AI-First" mandate and the trillion-dollar commercial pivot to collapse the gap between strategic intent and orbital execution. Learn how to turn international alliances into a decisive market advantage and define the decade of space leadership.

Connect and network with fellow professionals.

Economics of Space

Moderator: TBA

Panel:

Jeffery Cleveland

David Noever

Craig Pritsky

This session examines the long-term economic sustainability and commercialization dynamics of the evolving space economy. Jeffery Cleveland introduces a five-dimensional framework for assessing economic sustainability in space, highlighting tensions between technical success and durable financial viability. David Noever analyzes archival orbital data to quantify conjunction prediction errors and their financial implications for large satellite constellations, offering a data-driven approach to maintenance economics. Craig Pritsky proposes Commercialization Readiness Levels (CRLs) as a complement to TRLs, providing a structured framework to evaluate whether technical achievements can translate into scalable, enduring businesses.

Governing AI and Edge Computing in Low-Earth Orbit

Moderator: Charlotte Houser

Panel:

Dan Wald

Meg Vernal

Jason Loring

TBA

Enjoy a cup of coffee while networking with fellow professionals.

Space-Based Decision Intelligence: Demonstrating the Commercial Utility of NASA’s Open Science

Moderator: TBA

Panel:

Neelam Maheshwari

Reetwika Basu

TBA

As the space economy scales, the value proposition of Earth Observation (EO) is shifting from scientific discovery to operational necessity. While the "upstream" sector focuses on launch and hardware, the "downstream" economy comprising agriculture, insurance, and infrastructure remains underserved, often due to a lack of awareness regarding available data products. This session explores the commercial mechanics of "operationalizing" open science.

Specifically, this session will address:

• Market Enablement & Utility: How interactive dashboards and narrative storytelling serve as "proof-of-concept" tools, allowing commercial stakeholders to discover and visualize the utility of satellite data for their specific workflows.
• Public-Private Synergies: Case studies on harmonizing free government data (NASA) with high-resolution commercial products to create value-added services.
• Economic Impact: Quantifying the fiscal resilience provided by early-warning systems for climate anomalies.

By showcasing the intersection of Information Systems, Supply Chain Management, and Decision Sciences, this session addresses the conference theme of "Scaling the Space Economy" by demonstrating the practical pathways for integrating space assets into the terrestrial economy.

Partnering with NASA to Enable Cis-Lunar Exploration Technology Development

Moderator: TBA

Panel:

Michael Smith

Dan O’Neil

Explore how organizations can partner with NASA through reimbursable Space Act Agreements to accelerate next-generation technology development. The session will cover strategic motivations, alignment with NASA’s mission, and what is—and is not—permitted under these agreements. Provides a practical walkthrough of the application process, including market research, justification, non-competition, budgeting, scheduling, and responsibilities.

Enjoy a cup of coffee while networking with fellow professionals.

Beyond Engineering: Adaptive Leadership and Space Organizations

Moderator: TBA

Panel:

Brent French

TBA

TBA

Explore space as a leadership frontier where senior decision-makers must navigate deep uncertainty, complex stakeholder networks, and evolving risks. Drawing on adaptive leadership theory, it helps participants distinguish technical from adaptive challenges in space ventures. Attendees will learn practical interventions to strengthen organizational learning and leadership capacity in STEM-intensive contexts.

Scaling the Space Economy

Moderator: TBA

Panel:

Mark Keough

Praveen Manimangalam

Irina Litchfield

This session examines scaling challenges in the New Space Economy from complementary strategic and governance perspectives. Mark Keough analyzes 1,676 space tech firms and finds a significant underrepresentation of mid- and large-sized companies in Europe, pointing to public policy and market size—not venture capital—as key barriers to scale. Praveen Manimangalam proposes a governance and decision architecture for scaling autonomous, space-enabled logistics, emphasizing managerial coordination, accountability, and trust under autonomy. Irina Litchfield reframes space commercialization as a transaction design problem, introducing a framework to align execution, accountability, and capital efficiency across public–private partnerships.

Jason Greene, Ph.D. // Dean, UAH College of Business

Thank you for joining us at the Business of Space Conference 2026.

View dining options near the Hampton Inn and Suites Downtown Huntsville.

Chuck Karr // UAH President

Welcome to day two of the Business of Space Conference 2026.

Keynote: Waves of Space Commercialization

Andrew J. Aldrin

Space commercialization has arrived in waves, two of them failed to break. The first, launched with the Space Shuttle in the 1980s, promised transformation but never truly took hold. The second, in the late 1990s, crashed under its own weight. Today, the industry is finally catching the third wave and it may be the most disruptive yet. This keynote challenges conventional wisdom by examining why earlier efforts faltered and what makes this moment fundamentally different, with a sharp focus on the institutional forces, policy, governance, and market design, that will determine whether this wave reshapes the space economy or breaks like the last two.

Leveraging Assets: How NASA is Making Space More Accessible for Commercial Partners

Marshall Space Flight Center has a wealth of facilities and expertise that they can make available to commercial companies, and Blue Origin has led the way with the refurbishment and utilization of the Marshall test stand. This conversation will inform attendees of the opportunities and advantages of partnering with NASA for commercial space exploration and technology development.

Enjoy a cup of coffee while networking with fellow professionals.

Emerging Trends in Commercial Space and Considerations for Spaceport Development

Moderator: TBA

Panel:

Michael Kuchler

TBA

TBA

This session examines accelerating global demand for space access and the market forces reshaping commercial launch activity. We will explore strategic, financial, technological, regulatory, and workforce considerations for developing competitive new spaceports. Highlighting key enabling factors—and unpredictable “X-factors”—that can determine long-term spaceport viability in a rapidly evolving global market.

Partnering with Canadian Companies

Ms. Suzanne Wilkinson with the Canadian Commercial Corporation and Ms. Linda Eshiwani-Nate with the Canadian Consulate General's office in Atlanta will discuss how Canada companies can collaborate and support space initiatives.

Space Traffic Coordination and Commercial Space

Mariel Borowitz

Accelerating commercial space activity is driving the need for improved global space situational awareness and space traffic coordination, with an increased number of spacecraft and new paradigms for maneuverability and automated operations. The commercial space industry is also helping to drive solutions, not only in terms of technology for space traffic monitoring, but also best practices for coordination and information sharing among spacecraft operators. This talk will explore these trends and discuss the challenges and potential pathways ahead to ensure a safe and stable environment for future commercial space activity.

Closing Remarks

Jason Greene, Ph.D. // Dean, UAH College of Business

Thank you for joining us at the Business of Space Conference 2026.

Tour Options:

United Launch Alliance (ULA) enterprise tour (Guided)

The shuttle will leave at 1:00 p.m. for the ULA enterprise tour.

U.S. Space & Rocket Center (Self-Guided)

Explore the U.S. Space & Rocket Center at your leisure.

See details below