18 May 2017 – Final preparations are coming together for what promises to be the biggest and most significant UK Space Conference to date.
Following on from the success of the 2015 event, the 4th edition of the UK Space Conference, held at Manchester Central from Tuesday 30 May – Thursday 1 June will bring together the entire space community, including government, industry, academia, end users, education providers, researchers and the financial community.
The theme for this year’s conference is ‘Inspire, Enable, Connect.’ To achieve our aim of growing the UK space sector we need to inspire the present and future workforce, enable our community to achieve more through a variety of means including policy and education, and make connections so we can deliver more together.
This year’s programme includes five plenary and 28 parallel sessions which have been carefully designed to inspire, enable and connect the space community.
There will be over 150 esteemed speakers delivering a total of 43 hours’ worth of content. Speakers include British ESA Astronaut Tim Peake, one of the most inspirational figures in the UK space sector who will deliver the closing plenary titled “Inspiring the future through exploration”, using his experience in space to delve into the future of spaceflight and exploration.
Other influential speakers include; David Parker, Director of Human Spaceflight and Robotic Exploration, The European Space Agency, Sir Martin Sweeting, Group Executive Chairman, Surrey Satellite Technology Limited and Andy Green, President of UKspace and co-chair of the Space Leadership Council, who will contribute to an inspiring plenary session on enabling new markets and economic growth by connecting with other sectors.
New for 2017 is a ‘Space 101’ programme (a series of informative sessions for newcomers to the sector before the start of the conference), three open call sessions, technical posters displayed in the Gallery, and a reception open to all delegates on Tuesday evening in the exhibition hall where a record 109 companies have taken stands.
A series of outreach events will run in parallel with the conference. The UK Space Education Office (ESERO-UK) is holding a day of STEM Ambassador training on Tuesday, and two days of teacher conferences on Wednesday and Thursday. The public will also be able to engage with the conference through ‘Discover Space’, public outreach activities organised in the Exchange Hall on Wednesday and Thursday. Tim Peake will also be making an appearance at this.
Other event highlights include the Gala Dinner and Sir Arthur Clarke Awards which will take place on Wednesday evening at Victoria Warehouse.
The last few remaining tickets for UK Space Conference 2017, held at Manchester Central on Tuesday 30 May – Thursday 1 June, are available to purchase online at http://ukspace2017.co.uk/
Please note that members of the media are invited to attend the event free of charge.