The Canadian Space Commerce Association (CSCA)'s first Canadian SmallSat Symposium will be held at the Novotel Toronto Centre hotel on February 2-3, 2016.
The symposium is expected to be attended by over 200 people from the space industry, government, academia, the investment community and others interested in the Small Satellite (SmallSat) segment of the space industry.
In 2015, the global space sector generated $330 billion in revenues. According to a 2015 Euroconsult report on small satellites, 510 SmallSats will be launched in the next 5 years, valued at $7.4 billion. This figure does not include any of SpaceX' planned SmallSat constellations, which are likely to add several thousand more satellites and billions of dollars in revenue.
A drastic shift in the space satellite segment is expected in the next few years, as the 510 SmallSats planned for launch will increase the total number of satellites in space by at least 36% (currently there are 1400 active satellites in orbit).
Several companies will be presenting their SmallSat constellations plans and updates including OneWeb and Canada’s own NorStar and UrtheCast.
OneWeb's plans are particularly ambitious, as the company plans on building a new global communications system of up to 900 SmallSats to create affordable broadband services. Their goal is to provide reliable high-speed internet access to all communities around the world who don’t currently have access. OneWeb’s founder, Greg Wyler will be the symposium’s first plenary speaker.
The Symposium will feature eight plenary talks, eight panel discussions and an additional forty-eight speakers discussing topics relevant to the SmallSat segment.
Notable plenary speakers include:
- Greg Wyler, Founder, OneWeb
- Sylvain Laporte, President, Canadian Space Agency
- Pete Worden, Chairman, Breakthrough Prize Foundation
- Wade Larson, CEO, UrtheCast
- Phillip Miller, Vice President, Operations and Engineering, exactEarth
- Robert, Zee, Director, UTIAS Space Flight Laboratory
- Luis Gomes, Director, Earth Observation and Science, SSTL
- Dave Anhalt, Vice President and General Manager, Iridium Satellite, LLC
The Canadian SmallSat Symposium is about opportunity, building capability and international partnerships. The demand for SmallSats is growing, especially at the micro and nano scale. To take advantage of this demand, the CSCA is bringing together stakeholders from across the country and inviting international participation to foster cooperation and market growth.
More information is available at: smallsat.ca
