Space-Comm Expo 2021 has been taking place this week with two full days of learning and networking at the UK’s first event bringing together the commercial space sector.

The event took place at Farnborough International Exhibition and Conference Centre and featured more than 90 different speakers.

Bringing together the supply chain for business growth opportunities

Space-Comm Expo 2021 was designed to bring together the supply chain for business growth opportunities, insight and thought-leadership. Event features included a Meet the Buyer programme offering 20-minute appointments which connected suppliers face-to-face with buyers, investors and organisations with access to funding streams.

Other features included a dedicated Start-up Zone for businesses under three years old and a series of private roundtables to meet with peers in an exclusive business environment. The event also featured an open forum to discuss issues within the industry and how to tackle them.

VIASAT’s Steve Beeching and DSTL’s Dr Mike O’Callaghan opened day two of the event with a discussion on using outcomes to action a sustainable space-based strategy whilst another panel chaired by Airbus Defence & Space looked to the UK Military’s architecture for the future. Other sessions led by Rajeev Suri, CEO of Inmarsat discussed the global benefit from growth in the UK space sector and Nik Smith of Lockheed Martin moderated a panel on the need to create a secure space environment for commercial endeavours.

Rob Sherwood of Hub Exhibitions said: “This is the culmination of 17 months work from the teams at Hub Exhibitions and Farnborough because of the pandemic. To see the aisles full and stands full of people and business being done and all the great content in the seminar theatres is really emotional. It’s been brilliant.”

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