Outer Space Conference

“Space: International Collaboration and Competition”

February 10-11, 2026

USF-SP University Student Center

Location: 200 – 6th Avenue South, 2nd Floor

St. Petersburg, FL 33701

The St. Petersburg Council on World Affairs (SPWAC) is pleased to present ‘Space: International Collaboration and Competition.”  With outer space emerging as the next frontier of competition for resources and commerce, determining who gets access to and control of those resources creates new complexities in the interactions of countries and companies here on earth.

This international conference, convened in partnership with the University of South Florida, the USF Global and National Security Institute, and the British-American Business Council, features leading voices from industry, academia and government.

On Tuesday, February 10, NASA Astronaut Nicole Stott, a native of St. Petersburg, will deliver the Keynote Address.

On Wednesday, February 11, SPWAC will platform a full day of discussions among distinguished experts on space discovery, the militarization of space, the growing number of countries and private companies embarking on space missions, and the laws and organizations to promote responsible space activity. The British-American Business Council will convene a panel on the aerospace business spotlighting British-American companies in Florida. See Working Schedule here.

Confirmed conference speakers include James Green (former NASA Chief Scientist), Joseph Silk (The Sorbonne University), Namrata Goswami (Johns Hopkins University), Martin Elvis (Harvard University), Jack O. Burns (University of Colorado Space Policy Institute), Jeffrey Collins (University of Prince Edward Island), Mohammed Soliman (Middle East Institute and McLarty Associates), Kevin Strait (Anzen Legal Group), Chris Stott (CEO ManSat, Executive Chair Lonestar Data Holdings ), and Ksenia Moskalenko (Florida High-Tech Corridor).

The Conference is free of charge to USF students and faculty with I.D.  Special member prices are available for SPWAC and the British-American Business Council using the special promotional code emailed to member of those organizations.  For Conference registration and all ticketing, go to  www.spwac.org

Location for the Conference is USF-SP’s University Student Center, 200 – 6th Avenue South, 2nd Floor, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.

Parking is available at the USF-SP Garage, 250 – 5th Avenue South, Levels 2-4.  Cost is $5 per day using ParkMobile Zone 38015.

An article about this conference and the importance of space 

Meet our Speakers

Click on each picture to discover the biography
Nicole Stott
Astronaut, Aquanaut, Engineer, Artist, and Author
Jim Green
Dr. Jim Green
Former NASA Chief Scientist
Dr. Jack Burns
Astrophysicist at the Colorado Space Policy Center
Ksenia Moskalenko
Florida High-Tech Corridor
Tom Kelly
CEO of EVONA
Kevin Strait
Anzen Legal Group
Dr. Namrata Goswami
Dr. Namrata Goswami
Johns Hopkins
Dr. Tad Schnaufner
Strategy and Research Manager
at USF GNSI
Dr. Martin Elvis
Astrophysicist at
Harvard & Smithsonian
Dr. Jeffrey F. Collins
Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Prince Edward Island, Canada
Joseph Silk
Dr. Joseph Silk
The Sorbonne University
Chris Stott
Chris Stott
Entrepreneur and CEO
Dr. Peter Garretson
Senior Fellow in Defense Studies at the American Foreign Policy Council
Eduardo Cué
Eduardo Cué
Communications expert, media coach and international journalist
Soliman Mohammed
Mohammed Soliman
Senior fellow at the Middle East Institute
David Lenox
Partner, Greenspoon Marder LLP
President, British-American Business Council of Central Florida

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