Space Industrial Base

Guest blogger Micah Foster checked out the panel on today's Space Industrial Base:

During the panel on the current state of the space industrial base, the audience heard leading aerospace experts discuss present and future challenges the space community will face. Moderated by former NASA Administrator Dr. Michael Griffin, the panel consisted of Jeffrey D. Grant of Northrop Grumman, John Elbon of Space Exploration and Boeing, Mark Valerio of Lockheed Martin, and former Deputy Undersecretary of the Air Force for Space Programs Gary E. Payton.  Each gave brief remarks about their view of the space industry and then fielded questions from the audience. They each touched on the changing landscape of the space community, and the challenges that come from shrinking and cyclical budgets that threaten the highly technical workforce currently working on space projects. Mark Valerio called for "rightsizing for the environment," with John Elbon saying that without innovation the industry is risking atrophy of its workforce.