SPACE FORUM 2018: FROM SPACE APPLICATION TO SPACE EXPLORATION

International experts and major space players will converge upon Luxembourg from May 15-16 to attend the 2018 Space Forum. A gathering of European Space Clusters and Tech Valley representatives, space business angels, satellite operators, manufacturers and suppliers, will discuss the latest trends and developments in this dynamic industry.

Organized in parallel of ICT Spring, the European tech summit, Space Forum will take place at the European Conference Center Luxembourg, at the very heart of Europe. The organizers have announced an impressive list of international speakers, companies and innovative startups, who will participate to the event.

With Luxembourg becoming a major player in the new space race through the willingness to mine asteroids, but also through its leading satellite industries and ever-growing ICT sector, the organizers have brought together space experts from all over the world to discuss the latest trends, from infrastructures to data management and IoT.

The line-up is as follows:

New infrastructures and satellite data management: a data-driven economy

Luxembourg is an active member of the European Space Agency and offers its support to many space-related projects. Beginning May 15th, local and European experts will gather to discuss the benefits of space to serve the newly created and ever-growing data-driven economy.

Paul Wells (COO & VP, GovSat), Peter Platzer (Co-Founder & CEO, Spire), Thomas Tanghe (Principal, SpaceTech Partners) and Jean-Yves Le Gall (President of CNES) will share their knowledge and expertise during the first morning of the Space Forum, during which a startup pitching session will be organized with Contec presenting its services. Also with the participation of EY and Accenture.

Connectivity, IoT to shape mobility

The convergence between space activities and ICT applications enable the automotive industry to make unprecedented progress and to open the doors of a new era based on connectivity, machine learning, autonomous cars. Space Forum will tackle this topic and talk about new ways to embrace mobility including Galileo, the global navigation satellite system created by the EU, autonomous driving with Nissan Japan but also topics linked to space exploration and space mobility.

With Jason Crusan (Director, Advanced Exploration Systems, NASA), Omar Valdes (Market Development Officer, European GNSS Agency), Kathrin Lenvain (Head of Competitions and Events at AZO Space), Yasrine Ibnyahya (Principal, Advanced Concepts, Inmarsat), Masao Fukushima (Engineering Director, Nissan Motor Co., LTD), Grant Anderson (President, CEO & Co-Founder, Paragon Space), Ondrej Doule (Assistant Professor, Florida Institute of Technology), a keynote speech by the Ministry of the Economy of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Startups PT Scientists and Skyward will then present their innovative services and products.

Earth observation: a new universe of data and its many opportunities

With the advent of big data, and the growing number of satellites collecting more and more information form the observation of Earth, many opportunities have arisen, even if only a small portion of satellite data are currently monetized. Experts from the ICT and space sectors will discuss the latest trends and best practices in the morning of the second day of Space Forum 2018.

Stephen Coulson (Head of Industry Section, ESA), Andreas Veispak (DG Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, European Commission), Corentin Guillo (Founder & CEO, Bird.i), Lucien Hoffmann (Director of the Environmental Research and Innovation Department, LIST), Maher Khoury (Senior Sales Director EMEA, DigitalGlobe), Anthony Baker (Director & CEO, Global Satellite Vu) and Valery Komissarov (Portfolio Manager, Skolkovo Foundation) have confirmed their participation. Several startups will also present their latest innovations and services.

Disruptive technologies in space

New technologies are changing the way to work, consume and live. These innovations also exist in Space where new techniques could fuel several space explorations. From Space mining and 3D printing to space crafts and other new concepts, experts will take a look at our future in outer space.

With the participation of Marc Serres (Director of Space Affairs, Luxembourg Ministry of the Economy), Jacques Breton (Commercial Director, Arianespace), Mark Boggett (CEO, Seraphim Capital), Dmitry Kharitonov (CEO & Co-founder, Skyward), Ben Baseley-Walker (Partner, Andart Global), Andreas Dipperlhofer (Project Manager for Space Exploration Masters, AZO Space), Fabrice Croiseaux (CEO, InTech) and Jean Daou (Professor at the National Graduate School of Chemistry in Mulhouse). Also with keynotes speeches, round table discussion, and startup insights, with Rocket Lab, Luxembourg Tech School, Skyward and Rick Tumlinson (Founder, New World Institute).

More information and the opportunity to register may be found at www.spaceforum.com