“Our space technology today is unrivaled but innovation, education, ingenuity and strong performance is what will take us and the space industry to the next level.” That is what Alexis Livanos, president of Northrop Grumman Space Technology stressed today as he shared his insights into what industry and government must do in order to maintain a solid competitive edge in the future of space exploration and development.

“We need to innovate in a way that brings forth the building of products that work better than what we are used to and partner in unconventional ways with companies and other countries as we develop the next-generation space initiatives,” Livanos said during today’s Washington Space Business Roundtable Luncheon in downtown Washington, D.C. “We also have to help grow under-developed companies and entrepreneurial initiatives to keep innovation growing.”

And innovation is what Livanos is seeking for Northrop Grumman.

NASA recently announced plans to send a probe crashing into a crater on the moon in hopes of discovering water that could be used to support manned missions. Northrop Grumman is building the $73 million probe carrying the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, as well as the mapper, called the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. The mission is set to be launched in 2008.

Likewise, Northrop Grumman is s developing NASA’s proposed Crew Exploration Vehicle; a modular space system intended to carry individuals to the International Space Station by 2012 and to the moon by 2018, and the company also holds the prime design and development position for NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope project.