The 2018 Montreal Space Symposium Tries to Build on Last Years Success

With the 2018 Montreal Space Symposium (MSS) scheduled to start in just over two weeks on October 18 and 19, the final program is almost set and features yet again a great list of sessions and speakers.

The theme this year is Bringing Space down to Earth and according to the Montreal Student Space Associations which organizes the conference it “encompasses our vision of a united space program inclusive of all people. With this, MSS hopes to provide a platform to bring space more accessible to everyone, so that the space industry could be an accessible playground where all space enthusiasts of any discipline can have an important role to play.”

There will be over 50 talks organized in several streams; Launch Capability, Social Sciences, Space Awareness, Space Engineering, Space Exploration, Space Sciences, Status of the Space Sector and Plenary Sessions.

The event is unique in the annual calendar year as it’s an organizational effort by the student associations in the Montreal area. It provides an opportunity for many students to speak alongside industry, government and academic veterans.

The Symposium gets strong support from the Canadian Space Agency and as the following tweet shows, endorsement from organizations like the Don’t Let Go Canada Coalition who recognize, as do many others, the importance of students to the future Canadian workforce.

 

Some of the speakers

Some of the featured industry, government and academic speakers at this years Symposium include;

• Mike Greenley, MDA Group President
• Gilles Leclerc, Director General, Space Exploration, Canadian Space Agency
• Dr. Robert Lamontagne, Centre de recherche en astrophysique du Québec
• Dr. Bernard Foing, ILEWG/ESA/ESTEC
• Dr. Yaroslav Pustovyi, Vice President for Strategic Development, Maritime Launch Services
• Zaid Rana, Space Generation Advisory Council
• Larry Reeves, Canadian Satellite Design Challenge Management Society
• Dr. Marie Lucy Stojak, Chair of the Space Advisory Board, Director of the School on Management of Creativity, HEC Montréal
• Dr. Alain Berinstain, Moon Express Inc
• Nathan de Ruiter, Managing Director, Euroconsult
• Stéphane Germain, CEO, GHGSat Inc.
• Dr. Ram Jakhu, McGill Institute of Air and Space Law

Symposium registration is ongoing. A networking cocktail reception is scheduled for Thursday, October 18 at 6:00 pm at the Ritz Carleton Hotel.

SpaceQ is the media sponsor and will be in attendance.