Space Foundation

The Space Foundation is a Colorado Springs-based nonprofit organization founded in 1983 that serves as a central convening organization for the global space industry, best known as the organizer of the Space Symposium — the world's premier annual space industry event held each spring at The Broadmoor resort in Colorado Springs, drawing 15,000+ attendees including senior executives from every major aerospace prime, NASA and DoD leadership, international space agency heads, and commercial space entrepreneurs.

The Space Symposium's combination of formal plenary sessions (featuring keynotes from NASA Administrator, USSF Chief of Space Operations, and major CEO announcements) and informal networking at the Colorado Springs venue has made it the most influential industry gathering of the year — where partnership announcements, contract decisions, and industry consensus positions are formed. The Space Foundation also manages Space Foundation Discovery, an educational initiative operating the Space Foundation Discovery Center museum in Colorado Springs and developing STEM curriculum resources used by thousands of U.S. schools.

The organization's Space Certification program endorses consumer products and educational tools that incorporate authentic space technology — licensing program that provides revenue while promoting space technology spinoffs. The Space Foundation tracks and publishes the annual Space Report, a comprehensive data-rich assessment of global space economy size, sector breakdown, and growth trends used by analysts, policymakers, and investors as a benchmark reference.

Colorado Springs is a natural headquarters given its identity as the U.S. military space capital — home to Peterson Space Force Base (Space Command HQ), Schriever SFB (satellite operations), Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station, and NORAD — making the Space Foundation a natural convener for the civil-military-commercial space community.