After joining the European Space Agency (ESA) earlier this year, Lithuania is now moving further into space research. Vilnius was the host for the fifth international conference on space technology and business, “Space Economy in the Multipolar World” (SEMWO‘2014), between 21 and 23 October. As part of its mission to promote research and innovation, FIMA was one of the sponsors of the event.
“FIMA promotes innovation and the spread of technology and science. The opportunity to witness the progress and growing potential of our small country in the space domain means a lot to us. We support enthusiasts and experts in this area. We sponsored the launch of Lithuania’s first satellite, LituaniaSAT-1, into space and we have been in close contact with the conference hosts – the scientists from the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics of Vilnius University (VU), who are currently preparing for the LituanicaSat-2 mission. We have been enthusiastic supporters of this event, too,” FIMA’s Development Director, Vytautas Zinkevičius, said.
SEMWO provides a chance for entrepreneurs from small countries or new entrants in the space market and for global space actors to discuss current developments and trends in the commercial aerospace market, receive updates on innovations and technology and look into opportunities for investing and closer cooperation.
Running for the fifth year in a row, the event included presentations on space research and discussions on future prospects for the space economy. Jeffrey Manber, who directs Nanoracks, the provider of commercial flights to the International Space Station (ISS); Harry Partridge, a researcher from NASA’s Ames Research Centre; and Jaroux Belgacem, who represents the European Space Agency, shared their views and insights. Lithuanian satellite developers also gave an account of the country’s first space mission.
More than 20 speakers from Lithuania, the USA, Saudi Arabia, the UK, Italy, Ukraine and other countries invited the participants to join discussions and share views and ideas.
