The UK Space Agency is supporting a new commercially-focused event: an exhibition and conference set to drive growth across UK space sector.

Space-Comm Expo, taking place on 7 and 8 July 2021 at the Farnborough International Exhibition and Conference Centre, will present a showcase of technology, thought-leadership, debate and analysis, and business growth opportunities.

Hosted by Farnborough International and Hub Exhibitions, with support from the UK Space Agency, UK Space, ADS Group, KTN and other founding partners, Space-Comm Expo is an opportunity for industry, academia and government to meet with a dedicated focus on exploring the commercial future of space for business, defense and aerospace.

Graham Turnock, CEO of the UK Space Agency says: “The UK Space Agency is pleased to support the Space-Comm Expo. This platform will showcase the innovation, entrepreneurship and international collaboration that characterizes the UK’s commercial space sector. It’s a fantastic opportunity to come together after what has been a very challenging 2020 for everyone, and to look ahead to the UK’s future opportunities in space.”

Space-Comm Expo Overview

Five theatres situated on the exhibition floor will be the location for world-class content delivered in five very distinct formats. From C-suite keynote addresses through to a demo lab and dedicated product showcase theatre, this programme offers a comprehensive snapshot of the issues and challenges leading the space industry.

There is also a focus on the design, production and manufacture of small satellites and satellite applications, and a downstream theatre with sessions exploring applications such as satellite navigation, earth observation and satellite communications.

Business growth opportunities including:

- Meet the Buyer

- A dedicated Start-up Zone for businesses under three years old.

- Private roundtables for pre-arranged meetings to find synergies and identify opportunities that boost investment returns.

Gareth Rogers, CEO of Farnborough International says: “Through Space-Comm Expo we’re creating an opportunity for the highly innovative space industry to push commercial as well as technological boundaries.

“Space-Comm Expo is a new style of event for the industry reflecting its dynamic nature and ensuring maximum value for exhibitors and visitors. Shaped with input from a number of organisations including UKSA and ADS Group, this will be a targeted and strategic opportunity for different sectors of this vibrant and fast-growing industry to come together and move forward in a number of different ways, whether that’s knowledge sharing, innovation insight or business growth. ”

Rob Sherwood, Managing Director of Hub Exhibitions says: “Hub Exhibitions is committed to bringing business sectors together in environments that enable business opportunities and learning. Space-Comm Expo, with the full support of all the relevant associations and bodies will champion the thriving UK space sector at a pivotal time. Together with our partners at Farnborough International we are excited about this new and definitive event.”

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Small satellites have been a key enabler for new space missions and proliferated architectures that are being developed in response to the driving demands of commercial markets and government equities. The scale and complexity of these missions push the limits of classical command and control, while requirements for increased knowledge product timeliness drive innovative approaches to data delivery.

To provide these operational capabilities with confidence, a host of new mission operations approaches, and integrated onboard autonomy are under development. They will enable information delivery and knowledge exchange without the historical delays associated with terrestrial relays, human-in-the-loop decision making, and ground-based processing. Instead, they will integrate new elements using AI/ML, secure mesh networking, and more sophisticated onboard processing to deliver knowledge products to users at the speed of light.

The 35th Annual Small Satellite Conference will explore the realm of the possible in new space mission operations and autonomy enablers that will drive the speed of information exchange.

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