August 19, 2020
Event recap | A fireside chat about the future of space
On Wednesday, July 29, the Atlantic Council’s GeoTech Center hosted Ms. Teresa Carlson, Vice President at AWS’s Worldwide Public Sector, and United States Representative Will Hurd of the 23rd District of Texas. Congressman Hurd spoke about his mission to make space relevant to his constituents, as the commercial space industry plays an increasingly important role in his community and the nation. With thousands of jobs created in Texas and nationwide by companies such as Blue Origin and SpaceX, Congressman Hurd emphasized that it’s time for governments to step out of the way, to ensure that outer space can become a secure and accessible arena for visionaries and pioneers. Ms. Carlson commented on the productive potential of private-public partnerships in space commercialization, as well as on the many innovative enterprises in the market and the need to invigorate the pipeline of talent feeding the scientific community.
Watch the video above to hear Representative Hurd’s full commentary on the future of space.
Henry Westerman joins the GeoTech Center as a Project Assistant, having served as an intern with the team this past summer. He is a member of the Class of 2021 in the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service studying Science, Technology, and International Affairs with a concentration in Security. Henry has previously interned with the Library of Congress Digital Strategy team, and at the Department of State Office of Science and Technology Cooperation. Henry’s primary academic interests include geospatial analysis, emerging technologies, and digital sensemaking; he also dabbles in Spanish and Philosophy.