Mary E. Kicza, the NOAA Assistant Administrator for Satellite and Information Services, will be the keynote speaker for the 8th Annual Satellite Symposium. The Nation runs on environmental satellites, and the products and services derived from satellite data influence decisions made every day by individuals, businesses, and communities. However, in today's fiscally-mindful environment, NOAA is leading an effort to re-think the architecture of the Nation's operational satellites in the future with the goal of maintaining the constant, uninterrupted flow of the critical space-based data and information upon which the Nation has come to rely. Ms. Kicza will provide an overview of today's operational environmental satellite constellation, NOAA's near-term plans to maintain continuity of these systems, and outlook on the future.