NRO - National Reconnaissance Office
07/30/2024 | Press release | Archived content
U.S. must continue to innovate to maintain leadership in space, NRO director says
LAS VEGAS - As the world grows increasingly dependent on space-based capabilities, it's critical that the United States continues to innovate and maintain its leadership in space, said Dr. Chris Scolese, director of the National Reconnaissance Office, at the 5th annual ASCEND Conference hosted by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).
"Just think about how much we rely on space for our everyday lives," Dr. Scolese said, noting that communications, banking, transportation, and weather forecasting all depend on information coming from satellites. "Most of us probably can't get around without GPS from satellites. Watching the Olympics today - most of that is coming off a satellite."
The four-day AIAA ASCEND Conference focuses on building a sustainable space ecosystem and draws 1,500 participants from government, private industry, and academia. Dr. Scolese shared the NRO perspective in a one-on-one conversation with AIAA CEO Dan Dumbacher during the event's opening session.
"It's absolutely critical that the U.S. maintains its leadership," Dr. Scolese said, noting that national security is not the NRO's only priority. "There's an economic interest and a civil interest, and there's a responsiveness interest as we prepare for the future. Where do we want to grow our crops? Where's the water?"
"It's benefiting us at the NRO in incredible ways, enabling things that we didn't think possible," Dr. Scolese said. "As we develop our proliferated architectures, having commercial systems that can be built at a much lower cost and have demonstrated reliability is critical to those systems."
The opportunity to collaborate is one of the main draws of the conference, organizers said.
"People come for the technical knowledge, as well as to make connections and see cutting-edge research that's now in development," said Craig Day, the AIAA ASCEND program executive.
Dr. Scolese said that cutting-edge research is critical to advancing capabilities and maintaining U.S. leadership in space. The Director's Innovation Initiative, for example, supports innovation by offering research funding to individuals and corporations, and businesses of every size.
"Space forces us to integrate," Dr. Scolese said. "We have to do things much more efficiently and much differently because once we launch it into space, it's up there and it has to operate and it has to operate for a long time. That requires us to develop the technologies that we need to provide the assurance that the mission is going to last."
The AIAA ASCEND Conference also aims to expose students to opportunities in aerospace and get them excited about future careers, Day said. Dr. Scolese encouraged students in the audience to pursue their passions, noting that his passion for space began in childhood.
"I grew up in the Apollo generation, seeing people walking on the moon," he said. "But actually the thing that really inspired me, as strange as that may sound, was I had a Weekly Reader [magazine] that had a person on the cover next to a satellite. And that was the first time I realized that it takes engineers to get it done, not just the pilots to go and fly."
Dr. Scolese invited students to consider the NRO's internship program, which is open to students in college through graduate school. It has grown exponentially in the past five years and offers students an opportunity to do real work.
"We put people into program offices, where we're building things or operating things so that they can get a sense of what we do and how to do it. Hopefully, they will come to work for us."
In recent years, the NRO has grown its intern program, bringing in 74 cadre interns this summer. To date, the NRO has hired about 35 percent of its interns. Dr. Scolese also invited more experienced professionals attending the conference to bring their skills and expertise to the NRO.
"We have a really neat mission and do some really innovative stuff," Dr. Scolese said. "And we're looking for really motivated people that want to make all that happen. The workforce is an absolutely critical part of what we do."
"Just think about how much we rely on space for our everyday lives," Dr. Scolese said, noting that communications, banking, transportation, and weather forecasting all depend on information coming from satellites. "Most of us probably can't get around without GPS from satellites. Watching the Olympics today - most of that is coming off a satellite."
The four-day AIAA ASCEND Conference focuses on building a sustainable space ecosystem and draws 1,500 participants from government, private industry, and academia. Dr. Scolese shared the NRO perspective in a one-on-one conversation with AIAA CEO Dan Dumbacher during the event's opening session.
"It's absolutely critical that the U.S. maintains its leadership," Dr. Scolese said, noting that national security is not the NRO's only priority. "There's an economic interest and a civil interest, and there's a responsiveness interest as we prepare for the future. Where do we want to grow our crops? Where's the water?"
Dr. Chris Scolese in conversation with AIAA CEO Dan Dumbacher. (AIAA ASCEND)
"It's benefiting us at the NRO in incredible ways, enabling things that we didn't think possible," Dr. Scolese said. "As we develop our proliferated architectures, having commercial systems that can be built at a much lower cost and have demonstrated reliability is critical to those systems."
The opportunity to collaborate is one of the main draws of the conference, organizers said.
"People come for the technical knowledge, as well as to make connections and see cutting-edge research that's now in development," said Craig Day, the AIAA ASCEND program executive.
Dr. Scolese said that cutting-edge research is critical to advancing capabilities and maintaining U.S. leadership in space. The Director's Innovation Initiative, for example, supports innovation by offering research funding to individuals and corporations, and businesses of every size.
"Space forces us to integrate," Dr. Scolese said. "We have to do things much more efficiently and much differently because once we launch it into space, it's up there and it has to operate and it has to operate for a long time. That requires us to develop the technologies that we need to provide the assurance that the mission is going to last."
Dr. Chris Scolese speaks at AIAA Ascend Conference. (AIAA ASCEND)
The AIAA ASCEND Conference also aims to expose students to opportunities in aerospace and get them excited about future careers, Day said. Dr. Scolese encouraged students in the audience to pursue their passions, noting that his passion for space began in childhood.
"I grew up in the Apollo generation, seeing people walking on the moon," he said. "But actually the thing that really inspired me, as strange as that may sound, was I had a Weekly Reader [magazine] that had a person on the cover next to a satellite. And that was the first time I realized that it takes engineers to get it done, not just the pilots to go and fly."
Dr. Scolese invited students to consider the NRO's internship program, which is open to students in college through graduate school. It has grown exponentially in the past five years and offers students an opportunity to do real work.
"We put people into program offices, where we're building things or operating things so that they can get a sense of what we do and how to do it. Hopefully, they will come to work for us."
In recent years, the NRO has grown its intern program, bringing in 74 cadre interns this summer. To date, the NRO has hired about 35 percent of its interns. Dr. Scolese also invited more experienced professionals attending the conference to bring their skills and expertise to the NRO.
"We have a really neat mission and do some really innovative stuff," Dr. Scolese said. "And we're looking for really motivated people that want to make all that happen. The workforce is an absolutely critical part of what we do."