Space2connect Conference, Netherlands, March 2020

ESA promotes the first-ever conference “Space2connect” to explore emerging space-based solutions to the challenges and opportunities of today’s and tomorrow’s digital economy. Conference attendance is free of charge, but space is limited.

Space should be considered as a public good. It provides the infrastructure for personal mobility, communication for work or when on vacation, weather forecasting, precision farming to maximise crop harvesting and crop rotation, banking transactions, management of precious resources such as potable water, monitoring of forest fires, archaeological investigations…, scientific knowledge and the dream of expanding the reach of humanity. These and many more activities rely today on space data and the infrastructure to generate this data and enable its use.

Beyond being a growing sector, space is a sector that supports and enables the success and competitiveness of many other sectors. More can be done and the potential is far from being fully exploited. The possibilities are beyond what we can imagine today. These have spurred the emergence of a buoyant new space sector and actors aiming to exploit these opportunities, changing the environment for space activities in general.

Space and the development of the technologies that are associated with or derived from it, are now recognised as a driver of innovation.

The world is undergoing a digital transformation and space can lead this transformation.

Portugal has recognised the importance of these elements and has therefore issued three separate yet interlinked strategies:

• Portugal Space 2030;
• Advanced Computing 2030; and
• Artificial Intelligence 2030

The European Space Agency invites all interested parties to attend the first-ever conference “Space2connect”, which will take place between 23 and 27 March 2020 in the Noordwijk area, the Netherlands.

Promoted by ESA, “Space2connect” will explore emerging space-based solutions to the challenges and opportunities of today’s and tomorrow’s digital economy. It will cover the satellite communication business, applications and space solutions, to foster partnerships and inspire new strategies. It is the first conference to connect the complete satcom upstream and downstream value chain.

“Space2connect” initiative meets the interests of the Portuguese Space Agency as the Agency is committed to connecting space to non-space sectors and, as per objective 1 of “Portugal Space 2030”: Promote economic growth and the creation of skilled jobs in Portugal by promoting space-related markets, namely through market uptake and exploitation of satellite data and signals cutting across multiple activity sectors and addressing societal challenges, including in agriculture, fisheries & ocean and climate monitoring; in monitoring infrastructures, in urban development, in defence and home security, and in the public health sector;

The event will consist of both plenary and lateral sessions, with many networking opportunities.

The opening, held in the Louwman Museum in The Hague, will feature plenary sessions where satellite manufacturers and operators, space agencies, small companies, entrepreneurs, technical experts and investors will have the opportunity to exchange with keynote speakers and other top-level guests.

On the following days, at ESTEC, the technological heart of ESA, speakers and participants will continue to share ideas and plans, develop relationships and seek inspiration to enable ESA to thrive in the new space age.

The programme will include a wide range of parallel sessions showcasing the latest developments in advanced technology, products and services for satellite communications. There will also be time to explore the role of space in non-space sectors, see how space-enabled 5G connectivity is transforming society … and much more!

To enable further synergies, “Space2connect” will be held together with the annual SatNEx and CEMS meetings, bringing academics and researchers from both technical universities and business schools to ESTEC as well.

Conference attendance is free of charge, but space is limited, so please register early. 

For more information, go to the event website: https://nikal.eventsair.com/space2connect-2020-conference/space2connect