Space-Comm Expo Scotland have unveiled their lineup of keynote speakers with former president of Virgin Galactic, chancellor of Edinburgh Napier and chair of Seraphim Space Investment Trust Will Whitehorn hosting it.
There will also be speakers from the UK Space Agency (UKSA) and European Space Agency (ESA) as part of the two day event at the SEC in Glasgow in September.
Space-Comm Expo Scotland will have speakers from across government, aerospace, defence and academia for the inaugural event.
The Expo intends to shine a spotlight on space as a dynamic growth industry for Scotland. The country is home to more than 150 space and 80 aerespace companies, supporting nearly a fifth of all UK space sector jobs.
Scotland also builds more satellites than anywhere else in the world outside of California.
READ MORE: Glasgow university leading £7 million project exploring furthest reaches of space
Interest has been heightened further by Scotland’s plans for vertical launch before the end of 2024 and the ambition to become Europe’s leading space nation.
Registration for the event is free to attend with more than 100 exhibitors and 3,000 attendees including government, academia and commercial primes, SMEs and start-ups.
It will see industry experts from all over the world gather in Glasgow at a pivotal point in the new commercial space age.
Speakers include Dr Paul Bate, CEO of the UK Space Agency, David Parker, European Space Agency's Space Exploration Director, Dr Hina Khan, Executive Director, Space Scotland and Professor Malcolm Macdonald, Chair of Applied Space Technology at the University of Strathclyde. Opening the event will be the Lord Provost of Glasgow City Council, Jacqueline McLaren.
Discussions will take place on spaceports, launch capabilities, satellite manufacturing, downstream data, AI, cyber security, space law, investment, skills development and space sustainability.
Executive Chair of Space-Comm Expo, Will Whitehorn said: “What we are seeing today is an absolute explosion of innovation. We have reached a point where humanity is now totally reliant on the space industry. In Scotland the sector is thriving and one of the fastest growing in Europe. Scotland is famous for world-class downstream capabilities and technology for deep space missions. Glasgow is a world leader in satellite construction. Scotland is home to the world’s newest spaceport in the Shetland Isles and is at the forefront of UK and European launch ambitions.”
International Trade Specialist at Scottish Enterprise, Kevin Scullion explains hopes are high for the event: “We expect Space-Comm Expo to lead to further collaboration between Scottish, UK and international partners and we are looking forward to discussing trade opportunities and welcoming trade delegations.”
Highlights of confirmed list of speakers:
Will Whitehorn, Executive Chair Space-Comm Expo & Chair Seraphim Space Investment Trust
Dr Paul Bate Chief Executive Officer, UK Space Agency (UKSA)
David Parker, Space Exploration Director, European Space Agency (ESA)
Dr Hina Khan, Executive Director, Space Scotland
Professor Malcolm Macdonald, Chair of Applied Space Technology, University of
Strathclyde
Craig Brown, Investment Director, UK Space Agency (UKSA)
Elliott Stott-Briggs, Workforce Director, PwC
Kevin Scullion, International Trade Specialist, Space & Technology, Scottish Development International
Nicola Anderson, Chief Executive Officer, FinTech Scotland
Joanna Hart, Director, Space Partnership
Debra Carr, Innovation Partner Scotland, Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA)
John Bone, Chief Commercial Officer, Orbex
Nicolas Peter, President, International Space University
Andy Campbell, CEO & Founder, Scottish Space Network
Andrew Fournet, Business Development Space, Defence and Intelligence, CGI
Emma Cuddy, Chief Engineer Space, Civil Aviation Authority
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here