Space Foundation News


Explanation of “A Celebration of Space: Discover What’s Next” Event

Written by: Space Foundation Editorial Team

Space Foundation

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — March 19, 2022 — For nearly a decade, Space Foundation has hosted a “Yuri’s Night” on the Sunday prior to its annual Space Symposium to raise funds for our education programs. Three weeks ago, when we first started posting notices on social media about our April 3rd event, then called, “Yuri’s Night,” we started to receive a number of negative posts about Russia.

Wanting to ensure the focus of the evening remained on our goals — the kickoff of the 10th anniversary of Space Foundation Discovery Center and raising funds for our education programs — we made the decision to change the name to “A Celebration of Space: Discover What’s Next.” This gathering will highlight Yuri’s flight, as well as the anniversary of the Space Shuttle, the new Sally Ride Quarter, the Webb Space Telescope, and other space milestones past, present and those to come.

Space Foundation respects the tradition of Yuri’s Night to celebrate one of history’s greatest achievements, but this year, we made the decision to continue our pre-Symposium gathering tradition by another name. Nothing can erase the facts and history of Yuri Gagarin’s accomplishment as the first of humanity to go to space which Space Foundation has long recognized and celebrated throughout our organization’s history. That includes a display of Yuri Gagarin in our Discovery Center, as well as 60th anniversary efforts of his flight which we publicly shared last year in international and national outlets.

As an organization, our information, education and collaboration efforts all contribute to a future where there is space for all.


Posted in Space Foundation News