Plenary events

Plenary 1: Heads of Agencies

September 23rd 201313:30 – 15:00

The Heads of Agencies plenary event will bring together the leaders of major space agencies worldwide. Following the structure of previous years, this year’s Heads of Agencies Plenary will begin with an introductory presentation on latest developments, followed by a discussion on specific topics as well as an interactive Q&A session with the audience.

Plenary 2: The Development and Prospects of China’s Space Activities

September 23rd 201318:15 – 19:30

This session will gather local and foreign speakers to introduce China’s developments in major space projects including human spaceflight, lunar exploration, space technology, space transportation, space applications and different areas of space science.

The speakers will present and discuss China’s comprehensive plan for the future of new-generation launch vehicles, their Manned Space Program, the second phase of China’s Lunar Exploration Program, global satellite navigation system, and high-resolution Earth Observation Systems. The session will also look at China’s communications satellite programmes, construction of space infrastructure, promotion of Chinese satellites and satellite applications industry, and space science research. The speakers will also discuss international cooperation towards the comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable development of the global space industry.

Plenary 3: Heads of Industry and the Next Generation – Next Destinations for Human Space Flight

September 24th 201308:30 – 09:30

The ‘Heads of Industry and the Next Generation – Next Destinations for Human Space Flight’ plenary mixes the experience of current industry leaders with the vision of those who will lead the next generation’s space programmes. This highly interactive plenary provides a great opportunity to fully explore future human spaceflight destinations and encourage open dialogue between young professionals, students and industry leaders. The young professionals and students will share their views as the most appropriate next destinations and priorities for human spaceflight, while industry leaders will address political, budgetary, and technical accomplishments necessary for such endeavors. The session seeks to spark the imagination of the participants and audience while providing insight on the realities that the space industry faces in attempting to fulfill human spaceflight visions.

Plenary 4: Women in Space – A 50-Year Success Story

September 24th 201313:30 – 14:30

In June 1963, Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space. Since then, 56 women from 9 countries have flown once or several times in space, representing more than 10% of the total global astronaut corps. Women have been involved to different extents in all in space flight functions over the past 50 years: As scientists, payload specialists, engineers, pilots and commanders amongst others. This celebration of 50 years of Women in Space is a unique opportunity to gather almost all of the first female space travellers from 9 nations. During the event, participants will describe their first space flights, the perception of being a woman in a predominantly male domain, and the future of women in space.

Plenary 5: Space-borne Observations of Droughts, Desertification, Floods and their Impact on Water and Food Security

September 25th 201308:30 – 09:30

Climate change concerns an ever larger proportion of the earth’s inhabitants, impacting daily life through problems such as the shortage of fresh water, food and other threats to health and well-being. Scientists have been tackling the challenge of understanding climate change trends, and supporting efforts towards adaptation and mitigation using space-based and ground-based observation with Earth Simulation Models. This plenary event will address the role of space applications in monitoring the causes, extent, and socio-economic impacts of desertification and drought. It will also address which space-based Earth Observation Missions will improve the monitoring of these critical parameters, to understand the growth of deserts, in addition to which types of data will be of greatest use in the modelling of desertification.

Plenary 6: Space Solar Power – Global Progress & Global Opportunity

September 26th 201308:30 – 09:30

Space Solar Power (SSP) allows us to harvest solar energy on platforms in near space, and wirelessly deliver the resulting power to missions in space and markets on Earth. Although past research failed to result in any major international effort to develop and demonstrate this novel technology, there have been a number of important accomplishments during recent years in SSP studies and technological developments.

As a result, SSP continues to be an exciting and promising – albeit sometimes controversial – vision for the future. This innovative plenary session will bring together international leaders and proponents of Space Solar Power. The event will include a presentation of the recently-completed International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) “First International Assessment of Space Solar Power,” and review the progress in the US, Europe, Japan and China during the past decade. Moreover, it will conclude with a roundtable discussion of future prospects as well as plans for this unique opportunity for the global aerospace community to contribute to the solution of global energy and climate change challenges.

Plenary 7: The Role of International Innovation in Accelerating Future Human Space Exploration

September 26th 201313:30 – 14:30

This session will address how the international human space flight community is developing new approaches to meet the challenges of future exploratory human missions, through research and innovation. It will also explain how the pilot project ‘Accelerated Innovation’ seeks to develop new and creative approaches to exploration in the area of human health and performance, which will rapidly accelerate space flight capabilities. During the plenary session, the variety of techniques and incentives being used to stimulate these innovations that include prizes and accelerated research models will also be addressed.