Space exploration is on the rise. Congress appropriated $23.3 billion for NASA in 2021, 3% more than the previous year. Plus, President Joe Biden’s fiscal year 2022 budget proposal asks Congress for $17.4 billion – a 13% increase – for the Space Force. The nation simply can’t explore the great unknown alone, and often relies on GovCon and private space companies to provide the technology, expertise and collaboration needed to lead the world in space exploration.
Those leading the charge in space-relation initiatives oversee a variety of tasks, from defense-based space support to advanced technologies, robotics, geospatial and business. For WashingtonExec’s Top 30 Space Execs to Watch in 2021, we identified the directors, managers, leaders and C-suite leaders in industry and government helping advance the U.S. space mission.