The Satellite Systems & Applications Network recently held an inaugural event with techUK covering the hot topic of ‘Small Satellites and Constellations’. The event was well received with over 90 delegates in attendance and unfortunately we had to turn people away due to the popularity of the event. Those present enjoyed an informative series of presentation and judging by the difficulties we had in getting people back into the lecture room after the networking breaks and lunch, those were popular as well.
For those of you who were not able to secure a place at the event or just want to have a look at the presentation slides, these can now be found here along with a copy of the revised programme and the speakers’ biographies.
Comment from Chris Brunskill, SSA TPN Chairman
“One of the primary aims of the conference was to bring together the IET and techUK communities to match the business leaders with technical experts. Therefore, we set out to develop our programme with the objective of including business, technical and market aspects. We also worked hard to ensure discussion of these topics was a core element of the delivery, so the programme made extensive use of panel sessions to give the opportunity for a wide range of opinions and for the audience to directly participate.
“The approach allowed us to delve into specific examples from those that have “been there and done that”, with talks from Clyde Space, TAS and Iridium, in addition to the wider challenges facing the small satellite industry and the space sector as a whole. These topics included the implication on existing GEO infrastructure and how LEO and GEO missions will co-exist, the future plans and challenges for spaceports in the UK.
“The event was received positively by the SSA committee, techUK and the audience, and we look forward to future opportunities to work together with techUK again.”
Comment from Paul Iliffe, SSA TPN Executive team member
“The conference approached the general question of how small satellites and constellations are affecting and will affect the space sector. With the aim of debating this topic there were a range of speakers from established satellite operators and manufacturers to more recently founded companies. Because of this range, a variety of perspectives were given, covering recent developments in the sector and opinions about its future. Interestingly, there is still much to debate, such as the allocation and use of the radio spectrum, the market for large constellations, new GEO-LEO mission architectures, and the viability of on-orbit servicing. From the presentations and panel discussions it seemed that the general consensus is that small satellites can compliment, rather than threaten, established mission architectures, such as GEO telecoms. In addition to the presentations there were also several opportunities for attendees to talk between sessions and to continue the discussions. Bravo to the IET and TechUK for organising the event!”