Space Symposium Musings from Co-Founder Drea Bernardi
- Drea Bernardi
- Apr 20
- 2 min read
Updated: May 3
Last week, I attended my first-ever Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, and I’m still processing the energy, ambition, and momentum of it all.
For 41 years, this gathering has helped shape conversations about where the space industry is headed. To experience it for the first time as a relative newcomer was equal parts inspiring, energizing, and clarifying. It also made one thing very clear: the next 40 years of space are being written right now.
My week started at the legal track with the incredibly inspiring sessions hosted by Skip Smith and Greenberg Traurig, LLP. It was one of those days where every hallway conversation felt as valuable as the panels themselves. Even better, I got to reconnect with so many friends and colleagues
Michael Mineiro, David Goodwin, Maggie Rowland, Matthew Linton, George V. John Trevor Hehn, Erin E. Chancellor , Arjun Kampani ,Alexis Sainz and Randy Segal. All the while meeting new folks, Shirley Paley , Janna Lewis, Sabrina Jawed, Jay A. Schwarz, Dennis J. Burnett , Nathan O'Konek, Elsbeth Magilton , to name a few, who reminded me just how welcoming this community can be.
A special thank you to my new friend Samantha Block who kindly reminded me that after two straight hours of networking and 10 hours at the conference, it was perfectly acceptable to call it a night. Wise advice.
The next day brought my first visit to The Broadmoor, a magical resort at the foot of a mountain, that truly lives up to its name. From there, it was more conversations, more connections, and more reminders that relationships are still the real engine of this industry. I also got to go in the VAST Haven-1 experience. SO COOL. They have made a space station that feels comfortable and spacious on earth, imagine what it would feel like in LEO!! From the Broadmoor, it was off to the Fluet happy hour, with my incredible hosts, Kendra Perkins Norwood , Eric Kronman, and Erica Conover, MBA . I loved chatting with Danny Beaulieu and getting his delicious Detroit-style pizza recommendation. And finally closing out the night, the Payload tiki party where I bumped into Allison Crutchfield, and partied with the Varda capsule, and Alex Pearlman.
Wednesday brought new introductions, familiar faces, and a great lunch with the California GoBIZ crew. One standout moment was seeing Caryn Schenewerk on an excellent panel highlighting California’s space economy, and having her give Space Beach Law Lab a shoutout. Whooo Hooo!!!
What struck me most wasn’t just the scale of the event. It was the sense that space is entering a new era, one that will need new cities, new communities, and new centers of gravity.
Southern California should be part of that future.
Maybe the next 41 years of these industry conferences don’t belong only in Colorado. Maybe part of it belongs in Space Beach!!!
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