The Aerospace Corporation

NEXUS ASCEND

The video previews the 2026 Ascend Forum, AIAA’s flagship space‑technology conference, now relocating from Las Vegas to Washington, D.C. The move is designed to fuse technical excellence with the nation’s policy and regulatory hub, creating a single venue for engineers, investors, and lawmakers. Key insights include the rapid maturation of reusable launch systems, the rise of a second wave of venture‑backed space companies, and AIAA’s focus on workforce development, artificial‑intelligence tools, additive manufacturing, and digital‑thread engineering to speed design‑to‑flight cycles. Speakers stress that accelerating America’s space industrial base requires coordinated finance, talent pipelines, and technology investments. Clay Mory reflects on witnessing Artemis 2 and the cultural shift from the shuttle era to today’s reusable rockets, while Jamie Morren highlights the enduring importance of a speculative venture‑capital ecosystem and the need for smarter government acquisition. Both stress that human expertise, not just algorithms, will determine success. The implications are clear: a unified policy‑tech forum can catalyze faster procurement, bolster the talent pipeline, and sustain the generational programs—Artemis, space‑security, and commercial expansion—that define the next decade of U.S. space leadership.