dean deptula: ok.veryone in this room knows that space is absolutely in goal to modern life and crucial to military operations. as a result, are atmosphere -- our adversaries are you wielding weapons to deny us the benefit of space. . as the department focuses on great power and competition, the importance of capitalizing on and maintaining our space advantage is greatly magnified. this is precisely why the mitchell institute created its space power advantage center of excellence, or mi space, to inform the american public, congress, and the department of defense about the emerging challenges and opportunities facing the space force and our nation. heading up this effort, mitchell institute is very proud to have my good friend and partner, general kevin chile chilton, as an myspace's explorer chair. it is kind of an opportune time, because yesterday, explorer three was launched in 1958. it is very appropriate timing today. beyond being an incredible space professional, having served as a former command