FACT SHEET: Vice President Kamala Harris Launches Call to Action to Bring the Benefits of Space to Communities Across America

Federal agencies and private sector companies announce additional commitments to build awareness of the benefits of space – including the use of space-based data to address the climate crisis – and increase economic opportunities from space activity

Under Vice President Kamala Harris’s leadership of the National Space Council, the U.S. is continuing to steward the responsible and sustainable use of space to protect our national security interests, address the climate crisis, foster a thriving commercial space sector, and more. In 2022, the Vice President announced commitments to inspire, prepare, and employ the space workforce and ensure that the U.S.’ future in space remains strong. Today, the Vice President issued a call to action for both the private and public sectors to bring the benefits of space to communities across our Nation. As part of this call to action private and public organizations and institutions are announcing commitments to help achieve that aim.

Find Your Place in Space Week

Space is a growing industry that touches nearly every sector — from health care and climate, to banking, agriculture, and infrastructure. For America, space is a source of strength, inspiration, and innovation. Space activities have become critical to our way of life and provide numerous benefits to society. That’s why more than 100 organizations are coming together  to support the first-ever Find Your Place in Space Week, which includes more than 200 events across all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C.. Each event will provide opportunities for people to learn about space.  

Space4All

To strengthen U.S. space collaboration and increase public engagement, the U.S. Department of Education (ED), Women in Aerospace (WIA), American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Club for the Future, and the Space Foundation are collaborating through a Private-Public-Partnership with more than 150 companies to develop Space4All. This is a five-year awareness campaign to raise public understanding of the benefits of space for life on Earth. This campaign will convey the importance of everyone participating in and benefiting from the space enterprise and increase public awareness of the opportunities and pathways to success in space and STEM-related education and careers. For more information contact info@Space4All.us.

Space Workforce Coalition

In September 2022, Vice President Harris announced a newly formed coalition of space organizations that are working together to meet the rising demand for a skilled technical workforce in the U.S. space industry. The coalition – launched in Florida, the Louisiana and Mississippi Gulf Coast, and Southern California – has expanded to include nearly 40 companies, organizations, and academic institutions across the federal, state, regional, and local levels. Outcomes from the coalition include increasing the number of space-related registered apprenticeships in Southern California and the development of a Space Academy for Florida’s high school students and adult learners, graduating Aerospace Technicians in the New Orleans region. The newest states to join the coalition include Colorado and Alabama. For more information, contact info@spaceworkforcecoalition.org.

SpaceTechConnect

The White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) is creating the Executive HBCU Space Lab. This is an innovative collaboration between HBCUs, the Federal government, and industry partners. In May, The Lab will release SpaceTechConnect, a free platform to increase HBCU engagement in space-related federal contracting. The following HBCUs, organizations, and companies have already joined the Lab: The Equity Space Alliance, Alabama A&M University, Bowie State University, Florida A&M University, Morehouse School of Medicine, Morgan State University, Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Tuskegee University, Tougaloo College Research and Development Foundation, UNCF, University of the District of Columbia, Axiom Space, Blue Origin, The Boeing Company, Deloitte, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Sierra Space, United Launch Alliance, the Department of Defense (DoD), the Department of Energy, the Federal Aviation Administration, the General Services Administration, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the Small Business Administration. For more information, contact OSHWHI-HBCU@ed.gov.

Earthrise Initiative

The Earthrise Initiative will provide educators with a collection of Earth and climate science resources each month. These resources will come from across the federal government. Earthrise was launched by NASA, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Defense, the National Institutes of Health, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency, the Smithsonian Science Education Center, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Department of Education, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program. To learn more about Earthrise and sign-up for this monthly engagement, visit nasa.gov/stem-content/earthrise/.

Milo Mission Academy for Climate Intelligence and Earth Science

The Milo Institute at Arizona State University and the Puerto Rico Science, Technology, & Research Trust (PRST) are establishing the Milo Mission Academy for Climate Intelligence and Earth Science. The academy will begin in fall 2024 and will equip students with expertise in remote sensing in order to create cutting-edge applications that use satellite data to address challenges on Earth. The applications will play a pivotal role in monitoring natural resources and land use within island communities to safeguard their wellbeing and sustainability. For more information, contact amaldonado@prsciencetrust.org.

International Space Station and Rosie Riveters Support Space STEM Education for Girls

The International Space Station National Laboratory is partnering with Rosie Riveters – a national STEM non-profit that is focused on engaging and inspiring girls – to bring STEM opportunities to girls. With a shared commitment to diversifying the STEM workforce and equipping the next generation of space explorers, this collaboration will help young girls develop the skills they need to impact the future of space. For more information, contact: info@rosieriveters.com.

Call to Action Focus Areas

This call to action is only one component of the Vice President’s strategy to increase the shared benefits of space discovery and exploration, maintain a robust U.S. space enterprise, and preserve space for current and future generations. It aims to generate new public-private-partnerships and commitments from businesses and social enterprises to bring more of space’s benefits to Earth in three focus areas. These focus areas have an emphasis on equity and include:

• Space STEM Education and Workforce Development – These commitments expand access to space and STEM education work-based learning opportunities. This includes apprenticeships and internships for current and future generations of scientists, welders, machinists, and engineers – including positions that require college degrees, those that do not require college degrees, and those that require security clearances in support of the United States Space Priorities Framework.
• Address the Climate Crisis – These commitments develop and scale climate services that use space-based data to strengthen decision making as a nation. They also enable businesses, communities, and individuals to reduce climate risk and increase resilience in support of the Administration’s goal to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

• Expand Economic Opportunity Through Small Businesses – These commitments increase private sector investments in small businesses, minority-owned businesses, women-owned businesses, and disadvantaged businesses in the nation’s commercial space sector. This includes providing technical assistance to obtain commercial sector certifications and market access to business-to-business contracting in support of the Administrations’ goal to increase the share of federal contracting dollars going to small businesses that are owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals to 15% by Fiscal Year 2025.

How to Join the Call to Action

The National Space Council will manage follow-up steps to today’s call to action.  Interested parties can get involved by contacting the National Space Council at Contact.NSpC@ovp.eop.gov.