October sees the IET TPN committees enter the new session for 2016/2017. We will be looking ahead to the next 12 months to implement our plan for workshops, events and online content to support and expose the inner workings of the space sector. So what can we learn from 2016 so far and what can we look forward to as we go into 2017?


The TPN kicked off the 2015/2016 session following the well-received Space systems, Services and Applications for Cities of the Future event, held at the Satellite Applications Catapult in Harwell. This one-day workshop highlighted the bright future both government and industry saw in the space sector supporting the increasing need for continuous connectivity and real-time, wide-spread data acquisition and dissemination for audiences ranging from institutional decision-makers through to individuals (literally) on the street. The TPN has also enjoyed running a number of evening lectures this year. We have received talks from  Airbus Defence and Space on the ESA EDRS network and Copernicus programmes and from ESA and the Rosetta rendezvous mission to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.   We also linked up with the Aerospace and Robotic & Mechatronic TPNs with a talk by two speakers entitled ‘Mars and the UK – yesterday and tomorrow’.


2016 also saw the TPN Executive team grow and we welcomed Imran Shafique Ansari, Simon Walker, Matthew Barker, Paul Thompson and Abbie Hutty to the committee, with Chris Welch joining us with effect from 1 October 2016.


Looking forward to the next session, the TPN has also been running a best poster competition for game-changing satellite applications, in collaboration with the ReInventing Space conference. We will shortly be announcing our winner and inviting them to present their poster at the conference in October. We are preparing our first evening seminar of the session, in support of World Space Week, covering the topic of remote sensing satellite systems for global sustainability through talks by Dr Vanessa Lawrence, Global Advisor for Geospatial Information at the World Bank Group and Dr Ralph Cordey, Earth Observation Key Account Manager at Airbus Defence and Space. We are also looking forward to supporting the UKSEDS Lunar Rover Competition and preparing a new hot topic workshop for 2017.


The global space sector continues to grow, defying recessions, opening new markets, touching on industry, entrepreneurship, academia, science and exploration. We on the SSA TPN committee are looking forward to opening this to our community and the wider public over the next session. But we are also interested in your views, ideas and requests, so please contact our Community Manager, Deborah-Claire McKenzie with any topics, speakers or technologies you would like us to cover.


Thanks for your support and we look forward to working together in 2017.

Chris Brunskill

Chairman, Satellite Systems & Applications Network