ESA Programme at IAC 2022

The 73rd International Astronautical Congress opens its doors on 18 September. This time round, the IAC is taking place in Paris, at the Paris Convention Centre. The ESA pavilion will be located in Hall 7, Booth F5 (Floor 2).

Here below the full programme of ESA events (further information on the full IAC programme available on the Congress and IAF websites):

Sunday 18 September
09:30-11:00 - IAC Opening Ceremony
11:30-12:30 – Inauguration of Exhibition and ESA booth
13:45-15:15 - Heads of Agency Plenary Event (with ESA DG, NASA, JAXA, CNSA, CSA and ISRO) Room Paris South Level 3
15:00-16:00 - Doing business with ESA
Participants: Sandra Vogt, Industrial Policy Officer, ESA; Jens Kauffmann, Head of the SME Section, ESA.
15:30-16:15 - IAC Press conference with HoA panellists and DG (Press Auditorium, Terminal 7, Level 5)
16:00-17:00 - Accelerators
Participants: Graham Turnock, Special Advisor at ESA

Monday 19 September
10:45 - 11:30 - Inventing the future of satellite navigation
Participants: Francisco-Javier Benedicto Ruiz, ESA Director of Navigation; Alessandra Fiumara, ESA Head of Office NAVISP Competitiveness; Fiammetta Diani, EUSPA, Head of Market, Downstream and Innovation; Carla Filotico, SpaceTec, Partner
Moderator: Daniel Scuka
Experts will show how the future of satellite navigation in Europe could look like and how Europe is addressing the future needs of our society with space-based satnav solutions.
11:45 - 12:25 - ESA DG and Directors meet the press
Participants: Josef Aschbacher, Simonetta Cheli, Francisco-Javier Benedicto Ruiz, Elodie Viau, Rolf Densing;
Moderator: Bernhard Von Weyhe
ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher will meet the press with ESA Directors Simonetta Cheli (Earth Observation Programmes), Francisco-Javier Benedicto Ruiz (Navigation), Elodie Viau (Telecommunications and Integrated Applications), and Rolf Densing (Operations and Safety). (Moderator: Bernhard von Weyhe).
The experts will answer questions from journalists while focusing on ESA’s strategy, Agenda 2025 and the ambitious package that will be put forward at the ESA Ministerial Council in November. From Earth observation and navigation to space safety and telecommunications applications, Europe is already increasingly reliant on deeply connected space infrastructure. Our future – smart cities, autonomous transportation, sustainable energy, and intelligent interconnectivity - will rely even more on these. ESA speakers will detail how we can ensure this is achieved in a sustainable, commercially viable and autonomous manner, while providing space solutions to the ongoing climate, energy, and food crises.
14:00-15:00 - ESA BIC Pitch to Fly Start-up Competition: Earth Observation
Start-ups pitching: SpaceSence, Zaitra s.r.o, TITAN4, NHAZCA, Super-Sharp Space Systems Ltd
Jury: Geraldine Naja, ESA Director for Commercialisation, Industry and Procurement; Michele Castorina, Head of Phi-Lab Invest Office, ESA; Massimiliano Vitale, Senior Vice President of Imagery & Analytics Engineering // Head of European Site Operations at Planet; Dr Kornél Szabó, CEO, Herius Capital and Dave Anilkumar, Space Economy and Open Innovation Advisor, VC Fund Partner 
Moderator: Joana Kamenova, ESA Commercialisation Officer 
15:00-15:40 - Secure connectivity
Participants: Elodie Viau, ESA Director of Telecommunications and Integrated Applications; Christoph Kautz, Head of Secure Connectivity, Space Surveillance and Applications Unit, EC DG DEFIS; Harald Hauschildt, ScyLight Strategic Programme Manager, ESA TIA; Laurence Duquerroy, 4S Implementation Manager, ESA TIA.
15:40-16:20 - Ambition and responsibility: meeting climate targets with Earth Observation insights
Participants: Simonetta Cheli, ESA Director of Earth Observation Programmes; Malcolm Davidson, ESA Head of Campaigns, Earth and Mission Science; Andrew Shepherd, ESA Climate Change Initiative Science Lead.
The topic of climate change is of course a top priority for ESA. The panel will discuss CM22 proposals in the Earth Observation domain which ambitiously aims to having Europe become the first net-zero continent by 2050 and a 'green economy' champion. The panelists will also assess the urgency of the climate crisis in the context of renewed geopolitical complexity, including the food and energy crises.
Moderator: Ioana Lung
16:30-17:00 - Space Sustainability
Participants: Rolf Densing, ESA Director of Operations; Vitali Braun, ESA Space Debris Expert; Matthias Maurer, ESA Astronaut.
Moderator: Daniel Scuka
17:00-18:00 - The role of law and policy in fostering a sustainable space sector
Panelists: Andrea Vena, Chief Sustainability Officer, ESA; Ruth Pritchard-Kelly, Senior Advisor on Satellite Regulatory Affairs, OneWeb; Rada Popova, Legal Counsel, Isar Aerospace; Jenni Tapio, Chief Specialist, Head of Space Office, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland.
Moderators: Rosanna Hoffmann, ECSL Executive Secretary; Nicholas Puschmann, Associate (TMT), Linklaters
The event is open only by invitation of ECSL.

Tuesday 20 September
10:00 – 11:00 - The Space Service Hub (Demonstration)
11:00 - 12:00 - Collaborative & intercultural leadership
Participants: Tiago Braga Marquez, Cross-cultural leadership Expert; Marie-Aline Bourdon, ESA Space Community Communication Officer.
The panel will be focusing on the 'power of collaboration' and the way to foster effective collaboration in a cross-cultural environment.
12:00 - 13:00 - ESA and the European Commission – Cassini matchmaking
Participants: New Space industry
A special feature will be dedicated to 'CASSINI Matchmaking', the initiative of the European Commission that supports the creation and acceleration of business partnerships through facilitation of matchmaking meetings. The panel will shed light on matchmaking, best practices, and lessons learnt in the space domain, specially tailored for the New Space industry.
14:00 - 15:00 - ESA BIC Pitch to Fly Start-up Competition: Space Transportation
Start-ups pitching: Coactum, Celestial Space Technologies GmbH, The Exploration Company, MIPRONS, Magdrive
Jury: Geraldine Naja, ESA Director for Commercialisation, Industry and Procurement; Yann Tincelin, Space Transportation Systems Project Engineer; Laura Todd, Head of Future Programs for Space Exploration, Airbus; Dr Kornél Szabó, CEO, Herius Capital and Dave Anilkumar, Space Economy and Open Innovation Advisor, VC Fund Partner 
Moderator: Joana Kamenova, Commercialisation Officer, ESA
15:00 – 16:00 - One Voice for Europe
ESA DG meets Communication Representatives from ESA Member States
Co-Moderators: Kamlesh Brocard, ACC Chair; Philippe Willekens, Head of ESA Communication Department.
16:00 - 17:00 - All members of Space Team Europe
Participants: Marie Faella, Social Media expert, EPOKA & Marie-Aline Bourdon, ESA Space Community Communication Officer
The session will explore the community engagement trends on space topics in Europe.
17:00 - Get-together with ACC members and Industry

Wednesday 21 September
10:00-10:50 - Terrae Novae: Europe's exploration vision
Participants: David Parker, ESA Director of Human and Robotic Exploration programme; 
11:00-11:50 - The Future of Space Exploration
Participants: Sara Pastor, ESA I-HAB Team Leader; Nico Dettmann, ESA Lunar Exploration Group Leader; Giorgio Magistrati, ExPeRT (Exploration Preparation, Research and Technology) Team Leader; Annamaria Piras, Thales Alenia Space, Domain Explorations and Science, Head of Low Earth Orbit/Multi Purpose Crew Vehicle Programmes; Joerg Krueger, ArianeGroup, Strategic Space Exploration Senior Project Manager; Ralf Zimmermann, Airbus
Moderator: Marco Trovatello, Programme Communication Officer, ESA
13:00-13:50 - ESA Director General, ESA Director of Human and Robotic Exploration (HRE) & ESA Astronauts meet the press
Participants: Josef Aschbacher, David Parker and ESA astronaut corps
ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher will meet the press with ESA’s astronaut corps. The press conference will take place at the ESA pavilion. The floor will be opened for an interactive question-and-answer session with media. ESA Director for Human and Robotic Exploration David Parker will be present, as well as ESA astronauts Thomas Pesquet, Luca Parmitano, Alexander Gerst, and Matthias Maurer.  Andreas Mogensen will join remotely from his training site and  Samantha Cristoforetti will connect directly from the ISS.
14:00-15:00 – ESA BIC Pitch to Fly Start-up Competition: Award Announcement
Participants: Geraldine Naja, ESA Director for Commercialisation, Industry and Procurement
15:00-15:20 - How to become an astronaut
Participants: Lucy van der Tas, ESA Head of Talent Acquisition; Matthias Maurer, ESA Astronaut
16:00-17:00 - Q&A with students and experts
Moderator: Philippe Willekens
17:00-17:30 - Careers at ESA: meeting with Aline Decadi, Launch System Engineer 
Participants: Lucy van der Tas, ESA Head of Talent Acquisition; Aline Decadi, ESA Launch System Engineer.
Not only astronauts: from science to engineering, IT or business and administration, for recent graduates and experienced professionals there are multiple domains and possibilities to join ESA. Join our talk to discover more about careers at ESA.
All day - The Space Service Hub (Demonstration)
Morning: LUNA Virtual Reality

Thursday 22 September
9:30 - 10:15 - Signature Eagle-1
Participants: Participants: Josef Aschbacher, ESA Director General; Elodie Viau, ESA Director of Telecommunications and Integrated Applications; Steve Collar, SES CEO; Walther Pelzer, Head of the German Space Agency; Marc Serres, CEO of Luxembourg Space Agency; Gilles Lequeux, DEFIS.
10:30-11:00- Presentation of ECSECO
Participants: Geraldine Naja, ESA Director of Commercialisation, Industry and Procurement; Charlotte Mathieu, ESA Acting Head of the Industrial Policy and Space Economy Division; Mateusz Walczak, Secretariat of ECSECO.
On Thursday 22 September from 10:30 to 11:00, ESA stand will serve as a vitrine to present ECSECO, the European Centre for Space Economy and Commerce, a unique European forum for interdisciplinary discussions and research on space economy and commerce.
12:00-13:00 - Eurisy: Bridging the gap between Space and Society - Copernicus&me
13:00-14:00 - Eurisy: Hubert Curien Award 2022- Award Ceremony
All day - The Space Service Hub (Demonstration)