Our History

The 2010s

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The 2010s marked a transformative period in which the Foundation transitioned from being a vanguard advocacy group into a central convener and voice within a maturing commercial space industry. As private spaceflight progressed from prototypes to operations, the Foundation focused on accelerating the shift from government dominance to private sector leadership in space, maintaining its mission of enabling human settlement and economic activity beyond Earth.

 

Major Initiatives

 

• NewSpace Conference Expansion:

  Throughout the decade, NewSpace matured into one of the premier commercial space conferences. Hosted annually in Silicon Valley or other innovation hubs, it attracted industry leaders, investors, government officials, and entrepreneurs. The event became a key platform for dealmaking, networking, and public policy discussion.

• Teachers in Space (Spinoff):

  The Teachers in Space program, initially created by the Foundation, formally spun off into an independent nonprofit in 2011. It continued to fly experiments and suborbital payloads and train educators, fulfilling the Foundation’s original vision of democratizing access to space for educators and students.

• Focus on Policy and Regulation:

  The Foundation increasingly focused on regulatory modernization, pushing for FAA AST to maintain a “light touch” approach to spaceflight licensing. It advocated for predictable launch licensing, spacecraft safety regimes based on informed consent, and protections for commercial test programs.

• Public-Private Infrastructure Development:

  As NASA embraced commercial partnerships under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) and Commercial Crew programs, the Foundation pushed for further privatization—including commercial lunar landers, private space stations, and market-driven orbital servicing.

 

Policy Advocacy

 

• Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act (2015):

  The Foundation supported the passage of this landmark legislation, which reaffirmed the rights of private companies to own resources extracted from celestial bodies and extended the “learning period” limiting new FAA regulations on human spaceflight. Foundation voices helped shape the debate around space resource rights and commercial certainty.

• Support for Private Lunar Missions:

  The Foundation was an early advocate for returning to the Moon via commercial means. It supported Google Lunar X Prize participants and later aligned with NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) model as a path toward a market for lunar logistics and settlement technologies.

• Space Settlement Advocacy:

  The Foundation continued to promote space settlement as the end goal of all space activities. It pushed for this principle to be codified in national space policy, aligning with key allies in Congress and industry who supported long-term habitation and economic activity in space.

 

Influential Events

 

• Commercial Crew and CRS Milestones:

  The successful flights of SpaceX’s Dragon and Falcon 9 under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) and the progress of Commercial Crew were direct validations of the Foundation’s decades-long push for commercial human spaceflight. Foundation members and allies had been key proponents of this transition since the 1990s.

• Emergence of NewSpace Companies:

  The 2010s saw the rise of SpaceX, Blue Origin, Planet Labs, Rocket Lab, and dozens of other private space ventures. Many of these firms and their founders engaged with the Foundation, spoke at NewSpace, or aligned with its principles. The Foundation became a gateway for new entrants into the space industry.

• Engagement with NASA and OSTP:

  During both the Obama and early Trump administrations, the Foundation engaged with executive branch entities like the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), FAA AST, and NASA’s leadership. It pushed for reforms favoring competition, deregulation, and clearer long-term objectives aligned with settlement and commerce.

 

Publications and Media

 

• Thought Leadership:

  Foundation leaders published op-eds, blog posts, and policy whitepapers advocating space settlement, commercial partnerships, and legal reforms. They consistently appeared in trade press and mainstream outlets, often offering forward-looking takes on the commercial space ecosystem.

• Conference Media Integration:

  The NewSpace Conference added live streaming, media partnerships, and broader social media reach, helping to amplify its influence beyond the room and build a lasting digital footprint for the Foundation’s message.

• Coalition Building:

  The Foundation played a critical role in building coalitions across industry and nonprofit sectors—collaborating with groups like the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, the National Space Society, and space startup accelerators.

 

Legacy

 

By the end of the 2010s, the Foundation had become both an institution and a symbol. Its major accomplishments and enduring impacts for the decade include:

 

• Cementing the NewSpace identity as a movement with real influence.

• Influencing key space legislation (CSLCA) that defined private rights and regulatory regimes.

• Expanding the professional network that supported space startups, educators, and policy advocates.

• Serving as a proving ground and launchpad for future leaders in industry, advocacy, and government.

• Keeping the focus on the ultimate goal: the permanent, economically sustainable human settlement of space.

 

The 2010s were a decade in which many of the Foundation’s early ideals became mainstream policy. Its role evolved into that of convener, enabler, and institutional memory for the NewSpace revolution it helped launch.