Ascension Global was launched in response to the growing opportunity that innovative aviation and space technologies hold for the U.S. and its industrial leadership in aerospace and defense. These technologies, such as Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and Commercial Space Services, are changing the face of aviation and aerospace in America. However, integrating these technologies into the airspace and orbit is challenging due to the complexity of the regulatory environment, the increasingly fragmented and diverse industrial base, and the technological, economic, and social complexity of keeping the National Airspace System (NAS) the safest in the world. Navigating this complex ecosystem while enabling the U.S. to continue to be the engine of global aviation and space innovation is the challenge Ascension Global was created to tackle.