Two thousand attendees, a Von Braun Civic Center full of the latest space defense technology and one general in a big spotlight. It all comes together starting Tuesday at the 25th annual Space & Military Defense Symposium in Huntsville.
The general is U.S. Space Command commanding Gen. James Dickinson, a scheduled briefer at the annual event. His command is waiting for a final decision on making its permanent headquarters Huntsville’s Redstone Arsenal.
That final decision is expected soon from the Secretary of the Air Force after a prolonged fight by Colorado to make permanent the command’s temporary headquarters in Colorado Springs.
Dickinson knows his way around handling questions from reporters to congressional panels, and he knows his way around Huntsville. He commanded the U.S. Army Space and Missile Command in Huntsville until leaving for his present assignment in 2019.
This year’s symposium runs Aug. 9 through Aug. 11 and has registered nearly 600 industry executives and another 400 people from government and academia, spokesman Bob English said. Another 1,000 people will staff exhibits filling virtually every open space in the downtown civic center.
“It started out as a technical symposium started by some local guys,” English said. “A bunch of engineers and rocket scientists locally would get together and talk technical stuff. It’s grown into a full symposium with industry exhibits, senior leader talks and the full spectrum of what you get in conferences these days.”
The COVID pandemic made the symposium virtual in 2020 and it returned in person in 2021. This year is a return in force.
NASA will also be at the symposium, and that’s a hat tip to the agency focused on peaceful exploration of space. Everyone respects NASA, but the symposium’s focus is defense and military space. Panel discussions, exhibits and briefings will be about the latest priorities for defending the ultimate high ground.
“What industry wants to head from the commands is what are their requirements going to be in the future?” English said. “Industry is obviously looking for contracting opportunities, so they’re interested in hearing from the commands about what they’re doing and what they’re looking at doing.”
That doesn’t mean specific contract opportunities, English said. It’s a broader look at where the Pentagon is going based on America’s needs and its competitors’ plans. Small businesses will also present their ideas and new products in the East Hall, and that is a chance to see where technology might be going and find partners for larger projects.
Another annual feature is presentation of technical papers. This year’s topics are cybersecurity and general missile defense. Selected papers will be presented for those interested Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons.
The conference begins Monday night with an icebreaker reception in the Von Braun Center’s Mars Music Hall.