If you want to understand where the space economy is headed, listen closely to the universities that are shaping its workforce.
At SpaceNext 2026, Dr. Cody Edwards, Dean of the College of Science at George Mason University, made it clear that the future of space will not be built by rockets alone. It will be built by people. Founders. Engineers. Investors. Researchers. Public servants. Students. And the institutions willing to bring them together.
The DMV corridor, he reminded the audience, is already the epicenter of national security, technology, and space innovation. This is where policy meets engineering, where capital meets capability, and where mission meets execution. SpaceNext is not just about what comes next in space. It is about who builds it.
A Young University Built for This Moment
George Mason is only 53 years old, a relatively young institution in higher education. But that youth has shaped its identity. Without a centuries-old legacy to lean on, innovation was never optional. It was necessary.
Dr. Edwards pointed to a guiding belief from university leadership: talent is evenly distributed, but opportunity is not. Mason’s mission has been to close that gap by connecting talent to real-world opportunity at scale.
The numbers back it up. The university accepts roughly 90% of applicants, an approach that flips the traditional higher education model on its head. Many institutions measure excellence by how many students they exclude. Mason measures it by how many they include and how well those students perform once admitted.
Last year, the university graduated 11,000 students. More than one-third of bachelor’s graduates earned STEM degrees. Over 40% of graduate students did the same. In the College of Science, more than 60% of undergraduates identify as women, with more than half of graduate students doing the same. That pipeline matters in an industry that continues to push for broader participation in science and engineering.
Space Is No Longer a Destination
Dr. Edwards reframed the space economy in a way that resonated across the room. Space is no longer defined by exploration alone. It is a platform. It is about climate resilience, infrastructure protection, national security, AI-driven analytics, commercial platforms, and workforce acceleration. It is where Earth is monitored in real time, where artificial intelligence is stress tested at the edge, where quantum science and advanced materials move from theory to application.
If we are serious about building a sustainable and prosperous future, space is foundational. Research, education, and mission execution have to move together.
From Degrees to Ecosystems
One of the most compelling threads in Dr. Edwards’ remarks was how Mason views workforce development. The traditional pathway of high school to college to job no longer fits every learner or every employer. The space economy demands continuous learning, rapid upskilling, and industry-embedded problem solving from day one.
Mason calls it “K to gray” learning. Education does not stop at graduation. It evolves as careers evolve.
Through programs like its Career Academy and early identification initiatives for first-generation students, the university is working to widen the aperture of who enters the space and national security workforce. Through new platforms such as Patriot Labs, a mission-driven nonprofit designed to move at speed, Mason is connecting facilities, expertise, and industry partnerships directly to national needs in communications, infrastructure, and security.
This is not about building empires. It is about building ecosystems.
Why This Matters for the Region
Within 25 miles of the SpaceNext stage sit some of the most influential space and defense organizations in the world. The region has the policy leadership, technical depth, capital, and mission focus to become a global model for space-powered economic growth.
But that only happens if universities, industry, government, and entrepreneurs align.
Dr. Edwards’ invitation was simple. Build together, aligning talent with mission. Move at mission pace. The next decade of space will be defined by talent mobilization, real collaboration, and speed to innovate. The institutions that succeed will not be those that operate in silos. They will be the ones that connect policy, technology, research, and workforce into a unified system.
