Space Force declares upcoming symposium ‘mission essential,’ amid Trump travel restrictions
A memo from Space Force Staff Director Maj. Gen. Stephen Whitney, obtained by Breaking Defense, says Space Symposium is vital for “driving extensive collaboration” among officials from the United States and other countries across the spectrum of space activities.
US SPACECOM Commander Gen. Stephen Whiting addresses Space Symposium 2024. (Space Foundation via Flickr)
WASHINGTON — The US Space Force has taken steps to ensure Guardians and civilian leaders are able to attend this year’s April 7-10 Space Foundation Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colo., in the wake of the Trump administration’s Feb. 26 executive order restricting “non-essential” travel by federal officials that negatively impacted other recent aerospace trade shows.
A March 17 memo from Space Force Staff Director Maj. Gen. Stephen Whitney, obtained by Breaking Defense, declares “travel for the 40th Space Symposium to be mission essential for speakers, moderators, panelists, and other senior leaders with scheduled industry engagements.”
In addition, the memo notes that because the nonprofit Space Foundation is providing free tickets to Guardians, local service personnel may attend as long as they pay for their own commuting costs to The Broadmoor resort where the Symposium is held each year.
Whitney bases his decision on the importance of the meeting, arguably the world’s largest space-related space expert gathering, for “driving extensive collaboration” among officials from the United States and many other countries across the spectrum of space activities.
“The 40th Space Symposium is an annual event hosted by the Space Foundation and is a premier space gathering that uniquely attracts the entire breadth of the space community. This includes senior officials from the United States and other countries representing military, civil, intelligence and industry perspectives. The Space Symposium is where these space experts share groundbreaking ideas to inform critical space strategies. Additionally, Space Symposium provides a unique forum to build partnerships to secure the future of space warfighters with our allied partners,” Whitney wrote.
He further stressed that past symposiums “have proven successful because the participating Guardians were co-located with the other United States and international officials from government and industry.”
The justifications for the “mission essential” exemptions allowing travel and attendance were based on two Department of the Air Force memos designed to implement the Trump executive order and comply with cost-cutting measures being imposed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, as well as subsequent March 5 travel guidance [PDF] from the Office of the Secretary of Defense:
- “PTDO USecAF Interim Guidance for Executive Order 14222,” [PDF] dated March 2 and signed by Edwin Oshiba, director of competitive activities performing the duties of undersecretary of the Air Force, and
- “ASecAF Mission-Critical Categories of Exempted Travel for Executive Order 14222,” [PDF] dated March 7 and signed by Acting Assistant Air Force Secretary Gary Ashworth.
Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman and US Space Command Commander Gen. Stephen Whiting are among the top brass slated to give keynote speeches at the symposium.
