This week marked the 39th annual Space Symposium. Space Symposium is known for being the world's largest space gathering, bringing together brilliant minds from government, industry and academia. As Chairman of the House Strategic Forces Committee, I was pleased to welcome attendees. Colorado Springs was the perfect venue for such an event, as we have been the nation's capital for space innovation for years.
During the symposium, I had the chance to attend multiple events and see several booths at the exhibit. For instance, I viewed RocketLab's portion of an Electron Rocket that had flown in space. At RTX, I saw the work they do in space using the High-Resolution Telescope. I visited with experts from such great companies as Lockheed Martin, Kratos, York Space Systems, Astroscale U.S., and many others. A lot of new developments were announced this week. The Chief of Space Operations for Space Force Saltzman unveiled the SF's Commercial Space Strategy. Space Foundation announced it will receive the full-sized model of the James Webb Space Telescope for their Colorado Springs Discovery Center. This will be the only life sized model on Earth. Also, a Japanese astronaut will be the first international astronaut to land on the Moon with the Artemis Program. In exchange, JAXA is developing the pressurized lunar rover for the Artemis missions.
Everyone that was in attendance knows that we must continue developing new and innovative ways to dominate the space domain. That is why I cannot overstate the value of a gathering like the Space Symposium. Commercial and defense sectors come together and talk about ways to work together to achieve quick, resilient, and reliable systems to bolster our presence in space. I was pleased to attend and look forward to what is to come.