NewSpace Nexus released the 7th annual State of the Space Industrial Base Conference Series and Workshop (SSIB) report, SSIB 2025, "Sustaining Space Leadership: Economic Strength and National Security at Speed and Scale," providing recommendations to solve pressing issues impeding faster progress, with the voice of industry fully represented throughout. Over 350 government and commercial space leaders provide recommendations for ensuring national security and U.S. leadership in Space.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., April 30, 2026 /PRNewswire-±¬ÁϹ«Éçapp/ -- At a time when speed and scale are critical, valuable time and resources are lost when companies do not advance their innovations and government buyers do not find the suppliers with the capabilities they need. In this context, the report provides counsel to the Administration, senior policymakers across the executive departments, Congress, the venture capital and investor community, and the broader commercial space ecosystem. Additionally, the report is designed to be a resource for those engaged in national security space acquisitions who must make near‑term decisions under conditions of strategic, technological, and fiscal uncertainty.
The report directly reflects input from hundreds of industry experts who convene annually at the SSIB Conference & Workshop series. It highlights critical actions and recommendations offered through six working groups addressing the areas most critical to advancing industry progress including Space Policy and Regulation & Finance; Launch Capacity, Spaceport Infrastructure & National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Modernization; Space-based communications architecture; Space Mobility & Logistics/In‑Space Servicing, Assembly & Manufacturing (SML/ISAM); Novel Space Technologies and Space Education; and Workforce & STEM. The topic areas covered were developed in collaboration with Key Partners including U.S. Space Force, COMSO, Air Force Research Laboratory and Defense Innovation Unit.
Key recommendations from the report included:
- Establish a coherent mission authorization framework for novel space activities with clear statutory authority to authorize and supervise commercial activities not clearly covered by existing regimes.
- Complete and regularize export control modernization for space and establish a regular review cadence that includes the areas of refueling, on orbit servicing interfaces, and Rendezvous Proximity Operations & Docking (RPOD) enabling technologies.
- Define, articulate and resource objective force designs for space mobility and logistics, hybrid/multivendor SATCOM architectures and space nuclear. Include explicit roles for commercial and civic capabilities with national security space stakeholders and have industry contributing to the definition process.
- Reduce excessive dependence on any single commercial provider for critical services, while retaining surge and contingency options.
- Modernize launch and spaceport infrastructure, including NEPA processes.
- Develop and professionalize a space logistics corps.
- Fund and participate in industry-led standards bodies for hybrid satellite architectures and Space, Mobility and Logistics/ISAM.
- Treat space relevant infrastructure and workforce as national security priorities.
"NewSpace is proud to produce this report each year as part of our mission to Unite & Ignite Space and accelerate the pace of space innovation," said Casey DeRaad, CEO of NewSpace Nexus. "It is the only industrial base report built through a multi-day series of workshops and presentations designed to enable cross-sector co-development of solutions. Our SSIB 'unconference' format enables candid dialogue between industry and government focused on the most pressing issues constraining progress to meet national security needs at speed and scale."
Other nations and blocs—the European Union, China, and others—are already moving to shape the regulatory, architectural, and normative environment for space. The decisions made from the recommendations outlined in the report will determine whether the U.S. leads, follows, or is forced to adapt to frameworks designed by others.
This 2025 SSIB report builds upon past reports with this year focusing more explicitly on alignment. Technical capability is no longer the primary bottleneck for the U.S. space industrial base. Alignment is the critical variable necessary to address to enable the speed and scale required to ensure national security and U.S. sustained leadership in space.
To view the report, visit .
For more information on this year's SSIB conference agenda and speakers and to register for the upcoming 2026 conference May 26-29, visit the .
About NewSpace Nexus
NewSpace Nexus is a non-profit that is accelerating the pace of space innovation by uniting and igniting the industry. NewSpace Nexus was established to bring together space stakeholders, promote a universal voice for space leadership, and grow the commercial space innovation base for the benefit of the nation. With extensive experience in commercial, civil and military space and product marketing and sales acceleration, NewSpace Nexus uses its knowledge and vast network of stakeholder relationships to bring vetted opportunities and serve as a "Front Door" to customers and funders as well as hard-to-find resources to the companies that need them. For more information, visit: 
About the SSIB - State of the Space Industrial Base Series
The annual State of the Space Industrial Base (SSIB) conference and workshop, hosted by NewSpace Nexus, convenes thought leaders from government and industry to evaluate progress in the space industry and develop recommendations for maintaining national advantage and driving economic growth. Key partners from Air Force Research Laboratory, COMSO, Defense Innovation Unit and U.S. Space Force collaborate on relevant content, and the insights from working group sessions are compiled into the annual SSIB report that provides a framework for action. NewSpace Nexus also leads the Space Industrial Leadership Council, comprised of eight space industry associations, to support the SSIB program. .
About the State of the Space Industrial Base Report
The report represents the collective voice of hundreds of industry experts who gather at the annual State of the Space Industrial Base Conference & Workshop series to provide inputs and recommendations to grow a healthy space industrial base and national security innovation base faster. The recommendations aim to provide counsel to the Administration, National Space Council, senior policymakers across the executive departments, Congress, the venture capital (VC) and investor community, and the broader commercial space ecosystem.
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SOURCE NewSpace Nexus
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