An ad hoc committee will organize a workshop that will provide a forum for a community dialogue on key goals and critical issues in 21st century U.S. civil space policy.

Drawing on previous NRC reports, and recognizing other national priorities, the committee will design an agenda that will allow workshop participants to discuss their vision of a long-term future for U.S. civil space activities. Workshop participants will be asked to consider lessons learned and past successes and to formulate their inputs to the workshop based on realistic expectations of future resources and on credible scientific and technical bases.

To assist in the pursuit of this vision, the workshop participants will be asked to discuss what they consider are the overarching goals for the U.S. civil space program as well as to identify issues that are critically important to achieving these goals and ensuring the future progress of the U.S. civil space program.

The committee will assemble an agenda that will allow for a dialogue among the invited guests and other attendees with a view that they will:

• Review the history of U.S. space policy and how it might form a broad policy basis for 21st century leadership in space;
• Examine the balance and interfaces between fundamental scientific research in space, human space exploration, robotic exploration, earth observations, and applications of space technology and civil space systems for societal benefits;
• Discuss the value, purpose and goals of international cooperation in space;
• Discuss the role that the evolving commercial space sector could play in fulfilling national space goals and the role of the government in facilitating the further evolution and success of new actors and new modes of working with the commercial sector.
• Highlight the challenges in maintaining the sustainability of outer space activities (including the role of space traffic management); and
• Highlight options for government attention to address and potentially resolve problems that might prevent achieving key national goals.

National security space issues will not be a focus of the workshop, but may be addressed to the extent that they interact with or impact the civil space program. A summary of the discussions at the workshop will be prepared by a designated rapporteur.