The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) has released its 2026 Space Priorities, outlining policy recommendations for the U.S. government to reinforce American leadership in civil, commercial, and national security space sectors.
The roadmap comes as the United States prepares for major milestones such as the Artemis II mission and transitions from reliance on the International Space Station to a broader range of commercial launch and orbital activities. The AIA document highlights areas where government action is needed to maintain competitiveness, strengthen supply chains and workforce, and ensure long-term sustainability in space operations.
“Space is no longer a niche domain — it is foundational to our national security, economic growth, and preserving U.S. leadership in space exploration,” said Steven Jordan Tomaszewski, AIA Vice President of Space Systems. “These priorities reflect what industry needs from government right now: stable funding, modernized regulations, and policies that fully leverage commercial innovation.”
Key topics addressed include calls for consistent bipartisan funding across civil, commercial, and defense space programs to provide industry with investment certainty. The report also stresses the importance of maintaining momentum on Artemis missions and sustained lunar operations as groundwork for future Mars expeditions.
To ensure uninterrupted U.S. human presence in Low Earth Orbit after the planned operation period of the International Space Station ends in 2030, AIA recommends enabling commercial LEO destinations supported by a diverse fleet of launch vehicles and continued microgravity research facilities.
Regulatory modernization is another focus area. The association urges efficient frameworks for launch authorization, reentry procedures, spectrum allocation, and mission approvals. This includes increasing resources for the Office of Space Commerce to manage traffic coordination and support emerging commercial activities like in-space servicing and manufacturing.
Investment in infrastructure—such as domestic manufacturing capacity—and workforce development are cited as essential steps toward addressing supply chain vulnerabilities. Accelerated development of missile warning systems and resilient space architectures are recommended to bolster national security readiness.
AIA’s recommendations reflect input from its wide membership base within the U.S. space industrial sector—including manufacturers, suppliers, satellite operators, launch providers, and new commercial entrants—supporting both government missions and private initiatives since the early days of American spaceflight.
The association operates within aerospace and defense industries to support manufacturers and suppliers [source]. It advocates for diversity initiatives [source], shapes policy on national security matters [source], encourages ethical business conduct internationally [source], pushes policies supporting innovation and economic expansion [source], provides networking opportunities through councils [source], and grants access to over 1,400 industry standards [source].
The full 2026 Space Priorities document can be accessed via AIA’s website.
