November 16th, 2018
Space Foundation Signs Space Commerce Project Agreement for Minority Business Enterprises

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Today, at the U.S. Department of Commerce, Space Foundation leadership signed an agreement for a grant from the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) to present a series of nationwide workshops with the goal of bringing minority business leaders into the greater space commerce community.

Scientific discoveries resulting from space exploration have created new industries and technologies. These technological advancements of commercial space activities have also created profitable business opportunities. To support those efforts, MBDA has provided funding for innovative projects to promote and enhance minority business owners operating in space commercialization industries.

In attendance at the grant award, Thomas Dorame, the Space Foundation’s Vice President for Washington Strategic Operations and Program Manager for the Space Commerce Partners Program observed, “This is an exciting opportunity for business and entrepreneurs that want to launch into the space commerce enterprise. This partnership between the Space Foundation and MBDA brings together two powerful organizations at the right place and right time to create this bold opportunity for the future.”

Why the Space Foundation
The Space Foundation has a 35-year track record of being the world’s premier organization to inspire, educate, connect and advocate on behalf of the global space community. Through the MBDA grant, the Space Foundation will engage, connect and advance the minority business community, and directly facilitate their introduction and inclusion in the field of space commercialization. These efforts specifically address one of the Space Foundation’s core Strategic Plan pillars of ‘Service to the Space Community.’

The Space Foundation’s project of “Launching Minority Business Enterprises into Space Commercialization” consists of four concurrent programs:

1. Online Space Commerce Education Webinars – Recorded and posted online, session topics will include space in our lives, growing your business, access to capital, contracts and contacts, mining for customers, managing in aerospace and space commerce in the future.
2. Special Speaker Series –  Delivered by space industry experts topics will include project management, intellectual property in aerospace, space law, negotiations, robotics, additive manufacturing and other topics.
3. In-Person Space Commerce Training Workshops – Held in Denver, Los Angeles, Pasadena, Houston, Orlando and Washington D.C., workshop topics will include market analysis, mining for customers, financial management and strategic planning.
4. Direct Introductions and Matchmaking in the Space Commerce Industry – Executed primarily during the Space Foundation’s 35th Space Symposium, a multi-dimensional and custom ‘MBE track’ will feature workshop sessions, keynotes, Q&A sessions, special networking engagements and business exposure for Minority Business Enterprises.

The Space Foundation is partnering with MBDA, local and national chambers of commerce and other minority business-serving organizations to attract established, qualified minority business enterprises to participate in each of these programs. The program will conclude August 2019.

The Denver program will be held Dec. 6, 2018, at Geotech Environmental Equipment, Inc., (2650 E. 40th Avenue, Denver) with workshops focusing on growing opportunities within space commerce and developing a strategic engagement roadmap and communications. Featured speakers will include:

• Kelli Kedis Ogborn, President and CEO, H.S. Dracones LLC
• Kate Lucey, Vice President of Language Science and Communications, H.S. Dracones LLC

About the Space Foundation
Founded in 1983, the Space Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and a leader in space awareness activities, educational programs and major industry events, including the annual Space Symposium. Space Foundation headquarters is in Colorado Springs, Colo., USA, and has a public Discovery Center, including El Pomar Space Gallery, Northrop Grumman Science Center featuring Science On a Sphere®, and the Lockheed Martin Space Education Center. The Space Foundation has a Washington, D.C., office and field representatives in Houston and the Florida Space Coast. It publishes The Space Report: The Authoritative Guide to Global Space Activity, and through its Space Certification™ and Space Technology Hall of Fame® programs, recognizes space-based innovations that have been adapted to improve life on Earth. Visit both of our websites – www.SpaceFoundation.org and DiscoverSpace.org – and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.