BEGIN:VCALENDAR PRODID:-//eluceo/ical//2.0/EN VERSION:2.0 CALSCALE:GREGORIAN BEGIN:VEVENT UID:133ab84ded0c39d939dcb353e13bc3d5 DTSTAMP:20261009T073254Z SUMMARY:Alumni Insights: Protect\, connect and know our world – the role of satellites and the future of space tech DESCRIPTION:What if the technologies shaping our future aren’t on earth a t all?\nFrom safeguarding our planet to advancing global connectivity – to providing disaster response and perhaps even redefining our place in th e universe – space innovation is transforming how we live\, communicate and understand our world.\nAs space becomes increasingly essential to eart h’s survival\, are we ready for the risks and rewards of reliance beyond our planet?\nJoin us for a thought-provoking and timely discussion with e xpert alumni at the forefront of the sector\, exploring:\n\nInsights into current trends\, challenges\, and opportunities ahead in satellites and sp ace technology\nThe implications of space innovation for society and educa tion\nCareer insights from leaders shaping the field\nAudience Q&A\n\nThe event will be chaired by Professor Jonathan Eastwood (Convening Director o f the School of Convergence Science in Space\, Security and Telecoms).\nIn addition to the panel session\, Imperial founders who have launched their own ventures in the field will be giving a round of speed-pitches during the event.\nFollowing the panel and pitches\, join us for refreshments and networking to continue the discussion and get to know our panellists\, fo unders\, and the alumni community working in the fields of space\, securit y and telecoms.\nKey details \nDate: Tuesday 21 October\nLocation: LGR – Imperial Business School\, South Kensington Campus\, Exhibition Road\, London SW7 2AZ\nCost: £10 for alumni and their guests\, £5 for students \nRegister: book your spot via Eventbrite.\nIf you are staff wishing to at tend\, please email alumnievents@imperial.ac.uk to secure a spot.\nPanelli sts \n\nLibby Jackson OBE (Physics 2002) – Head of Space at the Science Museum\, where she plays a key role in the museum’s space-related publi c engagement activities and supports the museum’s curators to acquire ne w space technologies for the national collection. Libby is one of Britain ’s leading experts in human spaceflight\, having spent nearly two decade s working at the forefront of the field in mission control and management roles\, including as the UK Space Agency’s Head of Space Exploring\, Pro gramme Manager for the hugely successful education programme for Tim Peake ’s mission to the International Space Station\, and as a Flight Director for the Columbus module\, Europe’s laboratory on the ISS.\nNikki Antoni ou CEng (Physics 2005) – Domain Lead for Intelligence\, Surveillance and Reconnaissance for UK National Future Space Programmes at Airbus Defence and Space. Nikki has been in the Earth Observation\, Exploration & Science business unit of Airbus Defence and Space since 2006\, including a decade at their smallsat subsidiary\, Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. Across he r time in the space industry she has worked on complex ESA missions such a s Solar Orbiter all the way through to 3U cubesats\, and specialises in en d to end mission design and spacecraft platform development. She is passio nate about space sustainability and was a finalist in the 2024 Women in De fence Awards in the Innovation and Sustainability Category.\nAndrew Stanni land (Aeronautical Engineering 1992) – Managing Director of MDA UK. Andr ew is an experienced leader in the space and satellite communications indu stry with over two decades of senior roles across major aerospace and sate llite organisations. Prior to his role at MDA UK\, Andrew spent five years at Thales Alenia Space as Chief Executive Officer UK. Previously\, Andrew held leadership positions at Astrium Services and Paradigm Secure Communi cations\, developing and delivering mission-critical satellite services.\n Jason Maroothynaden (Materials 1996\, PhD 2000) – Managing Director of K -research.vc\, providing venture capital solutions to space start ups and scale ups. Jason is a leading expert on venture and access to finance for space activities. He has a multi-decade career spanning the European Space Agency (ESA) – firstly in human spaceflight working on various microgra vity platforms\, and secondly\, as ESA’s investment and finance relation s expert for downstream applications\, working with space focused venture capital firms. More recently he worked at HE Space Operations as UK Managi ng Director\, responsible for providing space skills (including climate sc ience) to ESA\,  and delivering satellite monitoring and control\, and da ta processing services. He is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society a nd has been a mentor with the Imperial Venture Mentoring service (IVM) sin ce 2019.\n\nImperial founders showcasing at this event\n\nAstron Systems – Flexible\, fast\, and affordable rides to orbit and back for small pay loads with the first small-lift class 100% reusable rockets. Astron are pi oneering full rocket reusability in a small-lift class size rocket for the first time\, with an architecture designed for minimum operating cost and long service life. Founded by Eddie Brown\, Kieran Jones-Tett\, and Rafal Sokolowski (MEng Aeronautics with Spacecraft Engineering 2021).\nSuperSha rp – An earth-imaging company developing unfolding space telescopes to c apture high-resolution thermal infrared (TIR) images of the earth. Their t echnology allows a large telescope to fit inside a small satellite\, makin g low-cost\, high-resolution\, and frequent earth-imaging possible. The im ages captured by their telescopes can be used for applications tackling cl imate change\, crop monitoring\, and maintaining global security. SuperSha rp are on a mission to offer high quality affordable earth-imaging solutio ns to empower our world in responding to global change. Co-founded by Marc o Gomez-Jenkins (MBA 2019).\nProject Svarog – A student led aerospace en gineering initiative with the goal of becoming the first student team to b uild a spacecraft capable of leaving the solar system. To achieve this goa l\, Svarog develops Solar Sail technology. Over the past two years\, Svaro g has participated in the European Space Agency’s BEXUS program\, allowi ng them to test their solar sail prototypes on a stratospheric balloon at 30km in altitude. Over the last year\, Svarog have compressed their design into a fully integrated CubeSat\, taking them one step closer to a space- ready satellite. Looking to the future\, Svarog wants to aim higher\, look ing at participating either in the ESA REXUS program\, parabolic flights o r hitch ride on a private LEO (Low Earth Orbit) launch to test the solar s ail in microgravity conditions. On the night Project Svarog will be presen ted by student team leads\, including Nishant Kidangan Mathew (MEng Electr ical and Electronic Engineering with Business 2027).\n\nAbout the Chair \ nProfessor Jonathan Eastwood is Convening Director of the School of Conver gence Science for Space\, Security and Telecoms. He is also Professor of Space Physics in the Department of Physics.\nHe has a diverse background h aving worked at the University of California\, Berkeley\, and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.\nJonathan’s research interests include fundamental space plasma physics\, focusing on magnetic reconnection and challenge-le d research into severe space weather. He combines spacecraft data analysis \, the construction of space instrumentation\, and computer simulations fo r space weather modeling.\nThe School of Space\, Security and Telecoms\nTh is event has been aligned with the newly launched School of Space\, Securi ty and Telecoms\, designed to create a deeply integrated research and inno vation community that will deliver societal impact. \nThe School is missio n-led\, shaped by some of society’s most complex challenges. Discover he re some of the exemplar missions the School is exploring. URL:https://www.imperial.ac.uk/events/197982/alumni-insights-protect-connec t-and-know-our-world-the-role-of-satellites-and-the-future-of-space-tech/ DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251021T183000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251021T204500 LOCATION:LGR\, Imperial Business School\, South Kensington Campus\, Imperia l College London\, London\, SW7 2AZ\, United Kingdom END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Europe/London BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20251021T183000 TZNAME:BST TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR