Colorado Springs is playing mission control this week as the 41st Space Symposium packs The Broadmoor and nearby Cheyenne Mountain Resort with aerospace CEOs, agency bosses and top brass. For four days the city turns into ground zero for dealmaking, product reveals and blunt talk about where the space industry is headed. Panels, exhibits and surprise briefings are stacked through Thursday.
Big crowd, big dollars
The Space Foundation lists April 13–16 as the official dates and says the symposium regularly draws about 12,000 attendees from around the globe, according to Space Foundation. Local coverage notes that the annual gathering fills hotel rooms and restaurant tables and pumps an estimated $16 million into the Pikes Peak region’s economy, with roughly 400 exhibitors on the show floor as of early April, per The Colorado Springs Gazette. Organizers pitch that mix of hundreds of companies, government delegations and agency heads as a rare blend of trade show and political stage.
Militarization and a moving command
National…..