PREVIEW - World Space Professionals To Discuss Industry Prospects At 35th Symposium In Colorado

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 08th April, 2019) Leaders from world's space exploration agencies, industry executives, astronauts and scientists, along with government and military officials, will take part in the 35th annual Space Symposium in the US state of Colorado beginning on Monday.

"The Space Symposium has become widely known as the premier US space policy and program forum and as the 'must attend' opportunity for information on and interaction among all sectors of space," the event website said. "Called the National Space Symposium for the first 29 years, the event was renamed in 2014 to Space Symposium to reflect the event's truly global profile."

The Space Foundation, which sponsors the event, said it expects more than 9,000 participants from more than a dozen countries to attend the event, including from the United States, China, France, Germany, South Korea, Italy, Canada, Mexico, Japan and the Netherlands.

The four-day event will kick off on April 8 and feature a discussion with US Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson.

The symposium will offer presentations and panels covering all aspects of the space industry. Moreover, it will include special events and presentation of prestigious Space Foundation awards.

Leaders of national space agencies, government and military officials, senior industry executives, astronauts and others will take part in an the symposium billed by organizers as providing "exclusive networking and engagement opportunities with influential participants in one convenient and extraordinary venue," the Space Foundation said.

"Bringing all of these groups together in one place provides a unique opportunity to examine space issues from multiple perspectives, to promote dialog and to focus attention to critical space issues," it added.

The event's participants will have an opportunity to discuss topics such as future exploration strategies, new challenges and opportunities arising from the reactivation of the United States Space Command and the proposed creation of a US Space Force, cyber issues, technology trends, space threats, as well as international cooperation.

Participants of the symposium will also be treated to more than 200 displays of the latest in space technology, products and services, the Space Foundation said.

This year's symposium comes amid a decision by President Donald Trump in February to establish the US Space Force as a sixth branch of the United States' armed forces.

The chief of the Russian Armed Forces General Staff General Valery Gerasimov later accused Washington of seeking to militarize outer space, adding that Russia would have to respond to possible threats.

The US Defense Department said in a report in August 2018 that the US Space Force's capability development efforts will focus on global surveillance for missile targeting and other priorities. The report also named Russia and China as key threats to US space capabilities.

The 1967 Outer Space Treaty, approved by more than 100 countries, bans deploying weapons of mass destruction in outer space and prohibits many military activities beyond Earth's atmosphere.

Although the treaty details legally binding rules governing the peaceful exploration of space, it does not ban all weapons and military activities, according to the Arms Control Association.