Deputy Secretary Remarks from Space Enterprise Summit
Deputy Secretary of Commerce Karen Dunn Kelley delivered opening remarks at the Space Enterprise Summit on June 26, 2019. The two-day conference, co-hosted by the Departments of Commerce and State, focused on innovation and investment in the commercial space industry.
Deputy Secretary Kelley welcomed over 500 participants from 27 countries to the event, including space agency heads, CEOs, and other dignitaries and innovators.
She recognized the space industry’s shift from government dominated to commercially competitive markets, while noting the need to ensure the space environment remains safe and stable.
She congratulated the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) for recently passing 21 Guidelines for the Long-Term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities.
Deputy Secretary Kelley said the space industry will be one of the strongest generators of economic growth over the next two decades, employing a more diverse base of professionals. She talked about inspiring the next generation of space entrepreneurs, leveraging business models and technologies from other areas, partnering between government and industry, and improving public awareness of the impact space has on daily lives.
Deputy Secretary Kelley discussed the Commerce Department’s new responsibilities in space situational awareness, including providing debris notifications to commercial satellite operators and building an open architecture data repository of space debris. She noted the Department’s plans to include allied commercial organizations in this architecture.