The theme of the conference, referred to as RISpace, is the commercialisation of space activities, which in a general context is the transition of space activities from the activities of governments only to the broader participation by the private sector. Within this theme there are a number of topics, such as the provision of launch services, satellite production and applications, and even space exploration. This was the 14th RISpace Conference and was held at the Royal Society in London between the 24th and 27th October 2016.
My poster presents a summary of my PhD research and adds to that by including some discussions about technological requirements and the possibility of commercialising the technology. My PhD research investigated the use of electrostatic (Coulomb) forces between satellites in order to augment the natural orbital mechanics. The practical purpose of this combination would be to conduct long term on-orbit inspection, whereby one satellite would encircle another and undertake the inspection activity.
On the second day of the conference I was allocated a slot during the lunch break, during which I gave an oral presentation of my poster. I am very happy to report that the presentation of my poster was better than expected. The conference organisers gave me 10 minutes to describe the research work that was presented in the poster and then some time afterwards to answer questions from the audience. Following my presentation several good questions were asked. For example, one delegate asked for further explanation of how the Coulomb forces effectively altered the relative motion of the satellites. Furthermore, I was approached by another conference delegate, who suggested that there is scope for my research to be commercialised and that we could further discuss the subject. That was a very pleasant surprise!
The remainder of the conference was very interesting and enjoyable. There was a series of sessions including near Earth activities, enabling technologies, and access to space and plenary talks by important figures in the spaceflight world. Amongst the prominent speakers were ESA Director General Johann-Dietrich Wörner, NASA Chief Scientist Ellen Stofan, UK Space Agency Chief Engineer Richard Crowther, and New Worlds Institute founder Rick Tumlinson. The talks gave good insights into the activities of space agencies, private organisations, and research groups. During the networking sessions I was able to meet people from various parts of the space sector, including people from industry, academia, and media. This has helped me to expand my network of professional contacts and will allow me to learn more about space activities.
On the final evening of the conference the Gala Dinner took place, during which delegates enjoyed an excellent dinner in the Welcome Trust Theatre of the Royal Society and the presentation of the Sir Arthur Clarke Awards. These awards were given to people who had made notable contributions to the space sector. We also had the honour of having ESA Astronaut Tim Peake presenting, via video link from Houston, several of the awards. Indeed, the first British astronaut Helen Sharman was also present at the dinner!
It was a great pleasure to participate in the Re-Inventing Space Conference 2016, to have the opportunity to present my research, and to meet so many interesting people there. For allowing me to attend this conference I would very much like to thank the IET and those people at the IET who organised the poster competition. Furthermore, I would like to thank the organisers of the RISpace conference for organising and running the conference so well.
Posted on behalf of Paul Iliffe
Deborah-Claire is a Community Manager at the IET, Arthur C Clarke fan, amateur astronomer and a longed for wish to experience the Aurora Borealis at some point.