Q&A: Heather Pringle on what to expect from Space Symposium

The global space community is looking to build on a wave of momentum to expand its civil and national security sectors and sustain the industry’s resurgence well into the future.

Heather Pringle, the Space Foundation’s chief executive officer and a retired Air Force major general, previewed the nonprofit’s annual Space Symposium, now in its 41st year, in a March 27 interview with the Space Minds podcast. She outlined what she expects from White House and NASA officials, why she’s rooting for SpaceX to become a publicly traded company and how the Artemis 2 mission could shape the modern space age.

This excerpt was edited for length and clarity.

SpaceNews: What are some significant changes you’ve seen in the space community in the past year?

Heather Pringle: There’s been so much momentum. You could start with the executive order issued in December that outlines how the government is approaching space. We have a new, confirmed NASA administrator who has been going gangbusters, making announcements, making good on what he set out to do. There’s been so much going on internationally; there’s been so much going on across the industry. The growth has been continuing: 7% year over year.

What will you be listening for at the Symposium?

All the sectors come together at Space Symposium, and that builds the momentum for the rest of the year. There are international people meeting their civil counterparts, their national security counterparts; they’re meeting industry leaders. That cross-sector nature of it is really important.

This is a year where I see industry talking more about action and results. I’m really excited about Director [Michael] Kratsios from [the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy] coming together with the NASA administrator and talking about the progress that has already been made on the executive order.

One of my favorite moments is where we as an industry come together and feel like one team. There was a time when I was sitting in the audience watching a couple guys on stage having a conversation: Gen. John Hyten, former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Dan Golden, former NASA administrator and Gen. Jay Raymond, the first chief of space operations. They were talking about how space has become such a flourishing industry, the changes that they have seen over their lifespans, talking about it as a warfighting domain. We all felt the same sentiment in the room. That’s the magic that happens.

What might international collaboration look like this year?

All our allies and partners recognize that securing space is in their interest. That’s a great step forward. The United States is leading the world in space capabilities, and so building those partnerships across borders, across oceans, will really be coming to fruition at the Space Symposium.

There are countries who come to Symposium for the first time and get to experience how big and fast-moving this industry really is. The New Zealand minister of space is going to talk about their increase in launch cadence. We also are going to see the biggest contingent of Germans that have ever attended Space Symposium. Their security is our security. We really want interoperable capabilities at scale.

Could the success of Artemis 2 lead to more funding for future missions, or encourage more companies to get involved?

Artemis 2 is a bit of a theory on “can we rely on commercial entities to support such an important mission?” I would see more companies entering the game, more specialization across the different capabilities that are needed to have a sustained presence on the moon. We need logistics, we need energy and so much more. I would see a boon to commercial interest. I would actually see a lot more support across the U.S. We need that leadership, and we need more workforce, frankly, to follow in the footsteps of the great scientists, engineers and leaders that we have today, so that we can keep this space economy growing.

You mentioned the start of Jared Isaacman’s tenure as NASA administrator. What do you want to hear from him? 

The administrator is focused on getting humans back to the moon in a sustained way. I would expect to hear how he is planning to get there, the steps that he’s taking, the opportunities that he sees. I expect to hear how he is executing the executive order, focused on getting to the moon, and the other elements that come with it. Are there aspects of the spectrum that he’s looking to address? Are there capabilities that he’s looking for industry to fulfill more? But what I really hope is that we are celebrating the successful Artemis 2 return.

How are you thinking about the space workforce following last year’s federal staff cuts?

There is a gap in our nation’s workforce that needs to sustain the growth that we’re seeing in the space industry. That’s why we have Space Workforce for Tomorrow, so that the entire K-12, or “K to Gray,” pipeline, if you will, is robust. You’ll see that in action at Space Symposium. It’s a great opportunity for young professionals to network and learn.

What might SpaceX’s potential IPO mean for the broader space community?

IPOs are a positive step for our industry. It shows that we’re maturing. They are very rigorous processes. It requires a deep look at operational, financial and legal aspects of a company, the ability to meet milestones, and so much more. If SpaceX succeeds in an IPO, which I hope they do, that would be a global phenomenon that will lift everybody up. It’ll bring more attention to the space community as a viable economic marketplace that’s worth investing in.

Rank these buzzwords in order of how often we’ll hear them at the Symposium, from most to least: direct-to-device; orbital data centers; artificial intelligence.

AI, orbital data centers and then direct-to-device.

Rachel S. Cohen also contributed to this article.