Purdue expands its role in space as host to global space policy symposium

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — “What does geopolitics in space look like?” That question, posed recently by Purdue University alumnus Rodney Miller (BS nuclear engineering ’89), was among the many catalysts for the Purdue Policy Research Institute’s (PPRI) Space Policy Symposium at the West Lafayette campus Oct. 30-31. The event drew authorities from the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Space Force, industry leaders, and global technology and policy researchers from as far away as Iceland.

Miller, system architect senior manager at Lockheed Martin and Purdue’s special advisor for national security initiatives, had asked the question of Stacey Connaughton, PPRI director, who opened the two-day conference by acknowledging that she alone couldn’t answer it. She was sure, however, that a symposium addressing the complexities of space-based geopolitics, rapid technological advancement and policy is very well placed at Purdue, where the institutes and centers at the Discovery Park District embrace interdisciplinary research challenges and build on the university’s historical strengths in space exploration and research.

“We’re sitting here at Purdue, the Cradle of Astronauts, home to world-renowned researchers and innovators in all things space,” Connaughton said. “Space is expanding its role in global security and defense, and rapid commercialization and innovation. Space is certainly a driver of economic growth. There’s a need for international cooperation, a need for strategic messaging and indeed a need for policy to establish the norms of behavior in space. This symposium today epitomizes collaboration in action.”

Providing the first keynote address of the event was Purdue alumnus Travis Langster (BS aeronautical and astronautical engineering ’94), deputy assistant secretary of defense for international and industry engagement. He urged the 200 gathered to be holistic in their approach to developing policy for the world’s use of space.

“We are at a unique juncture in world history where the hopes and visions of a spacefaring society are within reach,” Langster said. “The policies we put in place must support the rapid pace of technological advancement while ensuring the safety and security of not only the participants, but the bystanders as well. We must be champions of international cooperation to maintain a sustainable and secure space environment.”

On day two of the symposium, Purdue alumnus Rob Chambers (BS aeronautical and astronautical engineering ’92, MS aeronautical and astronautical engineering ’93), senior director of space exploration strategy at Lockheed Martin, presented an Indiana flag that was flown on NASA’s Artemis I to Karen Plaut, executive vice president for research. “On its maiden flight beyond the moon on Artemis I, Orion set the distance record for a human-rated spaceship, extending the paths forged by Neil Armstrong and Gene Cernan as the first and most recent humans to walk on the moon,” Chambers said.

Efforts in pursuit of a future spacefaring society have grown significantly, with NASA reporting that U.S. government funding for space exploration has risen from $13 billion in 2000 to nearly $31 billion in 2024. NASA’s Artemis program, launched in 2017, is aimed at establishing a sustainable presence on the moon and preparing for Mars exploration.

Meanwhile, private sector players are now providing launch services, satellite deployment and space tourism. SpaceX’s reusable rockets, Blue Origin’s lunar lander development, and Axiom Space’s private space station modules illustrate the vast expansion of commercial capabilities and ambitions.

Before and since the 1969 moon landing, Purdue’s ever-expanding space-related research has been instrumental in framing public and private exploration, and in defining the use of space for commercialization, future habitation and national defense.

Among Purdue’s current concerted efforts in space are:

• The Cislunar Initiative. This interdisciplinary work is aimed at building infrastructure for public-private use of the region between Earth and the moon. Through exploration and discovery, the initiative intends to grow the cislunar economy, expand access to and use of space resources, and advance the development of space policy.
• The Resilient Extra-Terrestrial Habitats Institute (RETHi). This effort to develop resilient habitats suitable for extreme environments on the moon and Mars is supported by a $15 million grant from NASA.
• The NASA Solar System Exploration Virtual Institute. In another NASA collaboration, this Purdue research focuses on lunar and small-body resources for deep-space exploration. Projects include evaluating lava tubes on the moon as potential habitats that could protect against radiation and extreme temperatures.
• The Space Flight Projects Laboratory spans theoretical astrodynamics, mission design, flight operations, space technology and interdisciplinary flight projects that bridge space science and engineering. Its goal is to conceive, enable and implement innovative missions to advance Earth and planetary science.
• The Astrodynamics and Space Applications group within the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics is actively researching orbital and interplanetary trajectory design and optimization, multi-body orbital dynamics, relative motion, planetary entry, remote sensing, spacecraft guidance, and navigation and control. The school is also home to HYPARS, Hypersonics and Applied Research in Space, which investigates high-speed aerospace technologies highly relevant for national defense, given the strategic value of hypersonic systems in space.

In addition, this recent compilation of news stories features some of Purdue’s faculty who are defining the fields within the space sciences.

The Space Policy Symposium is the first of future space policy conferences to be led by the PPRI in collaboration with Purdue alumna U.S. Space Force Brig. Gen. Kristin Panzenhagen (BSAAE 2000) and others across the Purdue ecosystem and beyond. The event also featured discussions and workshops on strategic messaging on capabilities, how we should engage with our allies, and how policy should address and define the relationship between government activities and industry activities in space. Congressional staffers of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee joined each of the workshop sessions aimed at collecting content for issue briefs on the symposium’s three policy priority areas.

The symposium also provided a case-competition challenge for students that placed them in the roles of task force members commissioned by the State Department to develop a comprehensive international framework for space sustainability, safety and security. Their charge was to foster global participation with emerging space nations and private companies in drafting an international treaty preamble and diplomatic strategies.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a public research institution demonstrating excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top four in the United States, Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue across modalities and locations, including nearly 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 13 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap — including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the Mitch Daniels School of Business, Purdue Computes and the One Health initiative — at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.

Media contact: Amy Raley, araley@purdue.edu