FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman | Credit: NASA
May 6, 2026 – Reston, Va. – AIAA is pleased to welcome NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman back to the ASCEND stage to open ASCEND 2026 at 8 a.m., Tuesday, 19 May, Washington Hilton, Washington, DC. Isaacman first appeared at ASCEND in 2021, just after returning from commanding Inspiration4, the first all-civilian orbital spaceflight.
Registration for ASCEND 2026 is available online. Journalists should request a Press Pass.
Powered by AIAA, ASCEND is the world’s premier outcomes-focused, interdisciplinary space event designed to accelerate building our off-world future. Lockheed Martin is the Founding Sponsor of ASCEND. For ASCEND 2026, Commercial Space Federation (CSF) is the Premier Event Partner. Event partners include: BryceTech, ISS National Laboratory, Novaspace, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Space Force Association (SFA), Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC), and The Aerospace Corporation.
Since 2020, ASCEND has promoted the collaborative, interdisciplinary, outcomes-driven community of professionals, students, and enthusiasts around the world who are accelerating humanity’s progress toward our off-world future.
Media Contact: Rebecca Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270 cell
About AIAA
AIAA is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With more than 33,000 individual members from 91 countries, and over 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. Visit www.aiaa.org or follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and X.
Hero Image at top: Jared Isaacman delivering remarks during ASCEND 2021. | Credit: AIAA–©
