The Colorado Space Coalition, part of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, is urging Congress to quickly pass the fiscal year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) while maintaining provisions that support the aerospace and defense sectors. The coalition points to key elements in the NDAA conference bill released on December 7, 2025, which they say are important for supporting the workforce, commercial industry, and national security technologies.
“The NDAA’s reforms arrive at a pivotal moment for both the nation and Colorado’s rapidly growing space and defense industries, where demand for innovation is increasing as global threats become more complex,” said Leslie Oliver, VP of External Affairs for the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce.
The coalition supports measures in the bill that streamline defense acquisitions by creating faster pathways for prototyping, testing, and deploying new capabilities. They also highlight expanded investment in the defense industrial base and greater use of commercial industry solutions. These changes are expected to benefit Colorado companies involved in areas such as small satellite manufacturing, data analytics, software development, and technology startups by providing more opportunities through federal contracts.
“Colorado is home to some of the most forward-leaning aerospace innovators in the country,” said Lee Rosen, CEO and Co-Founder of ThinkOrbital. “The NDAA is a chance to reinforce that momentum by ensuring small companies have the access, contracting tools, and transition pathways needed to bring breakthrough technologies directly to our warfighters.”
“These improvements ensure breakthroughs in autonomy, space systems, hypersonics, cyber defense, and advanced manufacturing will move into the field much faster than before,” said Morgan Alu, Director of the Colorado Space Coalition. “This speed will serve to strengthen American readiness and the competitiveness of the U.S. industrial base, which will continue to drive growth in Colorado’s fast-growing aerospace and defense sector.”
However, coalition leaders expressed concern that renewal for two federal programs—the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program—was not included in this year’s NDAA. They called on Congress to renew these programs quickly because they are vital sources of innovation for aerospace firms across Colorado. According to coalition statements, SBIR-backed companies play an important role in advancing U.S. space capabilities as well as cybersecurity technologies.
“We recognize that several provisions debated throughout the total NDAA process have drawn significant attention and discussion with some discussed elements not ultimately appearing in the conferenced text. From an industry perspective we encourage continued dialogue to ensure that future legislative efforts support overall resilience and effectiveness of national security enterprise and communities that sustain it,” a statement from coalition leadership read.
The coalition says it will work with members of Colorado’s Congressional delegation on swift passage of an NDAA containing acquisition reforms viewed as critical by local industry leaders. The group remains committed to policies aimed at strengthening aerospace activity statewide.
According to its description provided with this announcement, The Colorado Space Coalition operates under Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation as a statewide initiative uniting business leaders from academia and military partners with economic development officials around common goals related to business attraction policy engagement supply chain growth workforce initiatives over two decades serving more than two hundred members along Colorado’s Front Range.
The Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce describes itself as focused on advocating effective public policy developing civic leaders driving sustainable economic growth fostering business-friendly environments supporting skilled workers facilitating connections among businesses all toward boosting prosperity across Colorado.
