SAN DIEGO - The most effective way to communicate the value of space to the U.S. and the world would be to establish an official national space strategy, ensuring policy gets translated into programs, according to U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) commander Lt. Gen. John Sheridan.

Sheridan addressed a crowd at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics' (AIAA) annual Space Conference and Exposition here Sept. 9. "We are on the doorstep of our next 50 years in space," Sheridan said, "but we're still invisible."

He proposed a national space strategy, a document that would communicate the value of space, inspire the public and generate increased interest and attention from Congress. "I think we can achieve something fairly dramatic," he added. "Let's do it as quickly as we can."

Elements of the strategy would include continued pre-eminence in space, renewed exploration goals, increased protection for existing and future assets and increased funding for education and aerospace work force development.

"The value of a published space strategy would successfully translate policy into programs," Sheridan said. "Few people remember policies. But everybody remembers [the] Apollo [program]."

Sheridan said, "Nobody really sees space. We're not as visible as our air brethren." The problem is, "How do you stay at the forefront of the world stage if you're invisible? We affect hundreds of millions of people" with our space programs, he added. A national space strategy would put valuable space programs back on "center stage" in the U.S. and globally, he said.