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PART TWO: This Week's "Zero Gravity Summit" Will Bring Thousands of National Security Leaders, Investors, and Executives to Salt Lake City

PART TWO: This Week's "Zero Gravity Summit" Will Bring Thousands of National Security Leaders, Investors, and Executives to Salt Lake City

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

✅ 47G’s Zero Gravity Summit returns to Salt Lake City on 28–29 October 2026, bringing together thousands of national security, aerospace, critical minerals, energy, defense, cybersecurity, and InfoSec industry executives, investors, government officials, and entrepreneurs to the Salt Palace this Wednesday and Thursday.

✅ This week's Zero Gravity Summit serves as the anchor event for Utah's inaugural Hard Tech Week, a weeklong community celebration of hardware and software products and services developed and deployed in Utah that serve multiple complementary sectors of the state's economy.

✅ JetZero CEO, Tom O’Leary, Lockheed Martin executive, Alexi Stershic, and Utah native Delian Asparouhov, President and Co-Founder of Varda Space Industries, are my choices as top speakers/presenters at the Summit, execs that will address topics ranging from aviation to missile defense, and from national security to commercial space development.

✅ Additionally, seven-time Emmy Award–winner and Utah hospitality investor, Ty Burrell, will lead a one-on-one, on-stage discussion with three-time Olympic gold medalist and entrepreneur, Shaun White, to close out the Summit.

SALT LAKE CITY — 26 October 2026 — Thousands of national security industry executives, investors, government officials, and entrepreneurs are expected in Salt Lake City this Wednesday and Thursday for the third annual Zero Gravity Summit, produced by Utah nonprofit 47G.

I expect the 28–29 October 2026 conference (being held at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City) to attract up to 3,000 people, with 150 exhibit tables set for this year, after last year's Summit attracted 2,200 attendees.

The Summit anchors the inaugural Hard Tech Week in Utah, a statewide series of industry events running Monday through Friday (26–30 October 2026).

{AUTHOR'S NOTE: See yesterday's writeup from Utah Money Watch for an overview.}

The Summit's agenda includes speakers, panel discussions, interviews, and presentations addressing physical and software products, and services, across
🟥  Federal defense programs,
🟥  Space operations,
🟥  Advanced aviation,
🟥  Manufacturing,
🟥  Artificial intelligence, and
🟥  Quantum technology, with
an emphasis on commercialization, leadership, and strengthening the national security industrial base.

Three Speakers Worth Highlighting

In reviewing the agenda for this week's Summit, three speakers/presenters stood out for me personally, which I have noted below.

ONE: Tom O’Leary, CEO and Co-Founder of JetZero, will deliver Thursday’s Reshaping Aviation keynote address. His California-based company is developing blended-wing-body aircraft intended to deliver substantially better aerodynamic efficiency than conventional designs.

JetZero raised approximately $175 million in Series B financing in January 2026, with investors including B Capital, United Airlines Ventures, Northrop Grumman, and RTX Ventures. The company also holds a U.S. Air Force development agreement worth up to approximately $235 million, making its aviation program relevant to both commercial and defense markets.

TWO: Alexi Stershic, Director of Advanced Expeditionary Defense at Lockheed Martin, will discuss Building Golden Dome: The Vision and the Opportunity for Utah during a Wednesday fireside chat.

The proposed missile-defense architecture Stershic will discuss presents potential opportunities for Utah companies supplying propulsion, sensors, communications, manufacturing, and related technologies. The session offers a closer look at how a major defense contractor views the state's possible role.

THREE: Delian Asparouhov, Co-Founder and President of Varda Space Industries and a Partner at Founders Fund, brings a particularly direct Utah connection. Raised in Salt Lake City, he attended West High School and studied computer programming at the University of Utah before entering the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and subsequently pursuing entrepreneurship.

Delian Asparouhov, CEO and Co-Founder of Varda, and Partner at Founders Fund. Photo downloaded from his LinkedIn profile 27 October 2026.
Asparouhov's California-based company raised $251 million in September, bringing disclosed financing to $598 million at a reported $1.6 billion valuation. Varda develops orbital manufacturing capabilities for pharmaceuticals and other materials, while its spacecraft also support research for government customers.
Asparouhov will participate in both a technology demonstration and a discussion of contested space operations.
{AUTHOR'S NOTE: Varda’s first manufacturing capsule returned to Earth at Utah’s Test and Training Range in 2024, providing an additional connection between his current business and his native state.}

From Hollywood to Olympic Gold to Deep Utah Ties

Two-time Emmy Award–winning actor, Ty Burrell, best known for his role as Phil Dunphy on the hit sitcom, Modern Family, will close out the Summit during Thursday’s Built to Win: Performing at the Highest Level presentation during a one-on-one discussion with three-time Winter Olympics snowboarding gold medalist, Shaun White.

Burrell and his wife, Holly (a Utah native) moved to Utah in 2008, where he has ownership interests in several Utah hospitality businesses, including
🟠 Bar X (in Salt Lake City),
🟠 Beer Bar (in Salt Lake City),
🟠 The Eating Establishment (in Park City), and
🟠 The Cotton Bottom (in Holladay),
while White has expanded into business through
🔶  WHITESPACE, and
🔶  The Snow League.

Shaun White (L) and Ty Burrell (R); both photos downloaded from Wikipedia on 27 October 2026.

Additionally, based upon our review of the Summit agenda, the following Utah-based executives will also speak/present during this week's Summit.

{AUTHOR'S NOTE: The executives noted below are listed in alphabetical order by first name.}

Zero Gravity Summit is Utah's Top National Security Event of the Year

For Utah's current and prospective executives in the
🔷 National security,
🔷 Aerospace,
🔷 Aviation,
🔷 Critical minerals,
🔷 Energy,
🔷 Defense,
🔷 Cybersecurity,
🔷 InfoSec industries (and more),
the Summit provides an excellent opportunity to gain insights into each of these arenas.

And based upon personal experience, the Summit also serves as a top venue for meeting industry
🔹 Executives,
🔹 Entrepreneurs,
🔹 Investors,
🔹 Federal and local government leaders, and
🔹 Potential commercial partners,
each of whom could help guide and shape potential future contacts, contracts, and investment monies.

Additionally, not only is Zero Gravity Summit Utah's top national security confab of the year, it has become one of the top annual national security conferences in the United States.

Event details and registration are available at the official Zero Gravity Summit website.

Publisher's Note

Utah Money Watch reports and analyzes companies, transactions, securities, valuations and financial outcomes for informational and journalistic purposes. Nothing published by Utah Money Watch is intended as individualized investment advice or as a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security.

As such, this writeup was originally published and distributed to our Subscribers at approximately 8:XXam MT on Tuesday, 27 October 2026.

However, if this report/article came to your attention sometime after this date/time and you'd like to change that, then (to become a Free Subscriber), please 

1. Click on a "Subscribe" button on any Utah Money Watch webpage (visit www.UtahMoneyWatch.com),
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3. Enter your preferred email address in the proper field too.

That's it. You've now joined the ranks of our Free Subscribers.

So, thanks.

The Utah Money Watch Team

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