This year marks our first-ever TC Sessions: Space event, and what better way to kick things off than with the head of NASA: Administrator Jim Bridenstine will join us onstage on December 17 in LA. NASA has been more open than ever before to working with startups and entrepreneurs, and we’ll hear directly from the administrator why that’s the case, and what kind of opportunities might be open to founders in the future.
Administrator Bridenstine took over leading the U.S. science and space agency in 2018, and has been leading the charge for many of the organization’s most ambitious goals ever since. Whether working with SpaceX and Boeing on returning astronaut launch capabilities to American soil on American vehicles through the commercial crew program, or preparing the way for a human return to the surface of the Moon through NASA’s Artemis program, he’s encouraged the agency to seek new and innovative partnerships with industry in order to reach further than ever before.
NASA is working with startups for innovative and exciting initiatives like the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, through which some young companies will begin sending privately designed and built lunar landers to the Moon’s surface to support and prepare for the return of the next American man, and the arrival of the first American woman, to the lunar surface in 2024. And the agency has more recently put out a call to industry for input on both human-rated and robotic rovers to support its Moon and Mars goals, so we’ll hear from Administrator Bridenstine more about the public-private partnerships that are involved in both endeavors.
TC Sessions: Space 2020 is shaping up to be an unparalleled opportunity for startups and young companies in the space industry to meet and learn from the best and brightest in the field, including Administrator Bridenstine, Space Command’s General John W. Raymond, investors like Bessemer Venture Partners VP Tess Hatch and many more. We’ll cover topics ranging from launch services, to orbital operations, to ground station networks and beyond, focusing on where the opportunities in space lie, what kinds of innovative solutions are being brought to bear to unlock them and what still needs founder focus and investment.
Stay tuned for more announcements of the all-star lineup of speakers and panelists coming to the show.
You can get Early-Bird tickets right now, and save $150 before prices go up on November 13 — and you can even get a fifth person free if you bring a group of four from your company. Special discounts for current members of the government/military/nonprofit and student tickets are also available directly on the website. And if you are an early-stage space startup looking to get exposure to decision makers, you can even exhibit for the day for just $2,000.
This event will also feature a space startup pitch-off featuring five early-stage founders selected by TechCrunch editors. Applications open today; apply here.
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