Space

We All Benefit From a Whole of Government Approach to Space

U.S. government and private sector investments in space programs have enabled a $400 billion per year global economy supporting hundreds of thousands of highly skilled American workers. Space activities are essential to modern life: They extend communications to every point on Earth; underpin our digital economy with navigation and timing capabilities; enable critical weather forecasts; provide a deeper understanding of our planet, solar system, and universe; and revolutionize U.S. national security capabilities, providing America’s armed forces a significant advantage.

These capabilities are accomplished across three interconnected sectors — civil space, commercial space, and national security space — requiring cross-government policies and investment.

AIA Cross-Government Space Priorities

• Ensure U.S. government policy and regulation enables U.S. space industry global leadership:
  • Leverage U.S. industry’s commercial capabilities to the maximum extent practicable.
  • Continuously assess regulations, including licensing and export rules, to ensure a competitive U.S. regulatory environment.
  • Strengthen the resilience of the aerospace supply chain, including specialty manufacturers and unique components and materials critical to space systems.
  • Expand industry participation in U.S. government international dialogues and activities.
• Invest in education and workforce development, including the White House’s space skilled technical workforce initiative, to expand the current and future space workforce.
• Leverage space capabilities across the government, recognizing space’s benefits to national security, finance, agriculture, weather, communications, energy, emergency response, and science.
• Maintain a sustainable space environment through U.S. leadership in international standard and norm setting and through properly resourced, coordinated efforts across civil and national security agencies on space situational awareness and orbital debris mitigation and remediation.