SpaceCom Expo 2024 - My Experience

Last week, I attended the SpaceCom Expo and Conference in Orlando, Florida. In this article, I talk about the conference, my experiences, and some other fun things I did in Florida!

What is SpaceCom?

SpaceCom is an event to bring together space professionals working across industry, government, academia, and more during Commercial Space Week. It actually comprises of multiple events being held at the same location (Orange Country Convention Center):

• SpaceCom | Space Congress — this is the official event name. There’s two parts in the name, which mean different things:
  • ‘SpaceCom’ is a huge exhibition/expo, with hundreds of exhibitors demonstrating their space technologies, products, and services.
  • ‘Space Congress’ is a conference featuring keynotes, panels, networking, and more from industry experts, thought leaders, and innovators across four tracks: Commercial Space Infrastructure, Off-Planet Commercialization, Space Exploration, and Space Innovations.
• Space Mobility Conference — the U.S. Space Force and Space Systems Command co-host this single-day conference. It features keynotes and panels from government, defense/military, and national security experts on dynamic space operations, commercial support for military space operations, rapid delivery to/from space, spaceport resiliency, and more.
• Annual GSA Spaceport Summit — this is also a single-day conference hosted by the Global Spaceport Alliance (GSA) as a forum to focus on the future commercial global network of spaceports. I didn’t attend this one, though.

My motivation for attending this conference was to learn as much as possible about the space industry from both public and private-sector perspectives. Given my background in astronomy (BSc Astronomy) and data science (MS Data Science), I want to learn about technological challenges that exist in the space domain and where I can fit in, and what’s a better way than immersing myself in this conference for 3 days straight where I can hear from experts?

My Experience

I attended the Space Mobility conference and the SpaceCom | Space Congress conference over three days. In this section, I recap my learnings from the sessions I attended.

Day One: Tue 30 Jan — Space Mobility Conference

This was an interesting day, and I learned about the government/military perspective, since most of the keynote and panel speakers were from the U.S. Space Force and other associated military branches and government organizations. Here are my key learnings and takeaways from the talks and panel discussions:

• The National Space Council passes space-related legislation drafts to the White House, thus shaping the United States’ space policies.
• China is making very rapid advances in the civilian and military space domain, and this pace must be matched by the U.S. to deter aggression.
• The Space Force and related agencies are building a solid path for assured access to our space portfolio, which is key for national security, defense, and public safety.
• The space industry as a whole is moving towards sustainability in space (think reusable rocket boosters and modules).
• The U.S. military, especially Space Force, has collaboration with industry and academia at the forefront of their minds, to build a meaningful partnership that benefits all parties (commercial and military).
• We need to get out of the mindset of “because that’s the way it’s always been done”, and look for unconventional ways to innovate, so we can move fast to meet needs.
• In order to promote better collaboration, the military needs to think about how to provide easier access to information — whether this is re-evaluating the way security clearances are granted to people from industry, or figuring out how to use government funding in a flexible manner.
• The lines between what is considered military technology and what is considered civilian/commercial technology are very blurred, especially in the space domain.
• Spaceports should be considered ‘critical infrastructure’.
• Some areas the Space Force and related agencies are focused on include: space access, mobility and logistics (SAML), in-orbit refueling, space domain awareness, in-space servicing, assembly and manufacturing (ISAM), and more.

Below are some quotes from the talks and panels which I found memorable.

“Now is the time to act.” — Dr. Diane Howard (National Space Council)

“The industry’s going a mile a minute, and I love the innovation.” — Col. Richard Kniseley (U.S. Space Force)

“Our nation needs assured access to space.” — Ret. Maj. Gen. Ted Mercer Jr. (Virginia Spaceport Authority)

Day Two: Wed 31 Jan — Space Congress Day #1

I continued to learn more about the space industry today, especially from the commercial/industry perspective. Some brief summaries of the talks and panel discussions I attended today:

• NASA is very focused on advancing Earth, lunar, Martian, and space exploration in 2024 and beyond, through multiple initiatives (Artemis-II, Quesst X-59, Moon to Mars architecture, NASA 2040, and more).
• Space technologies permeate every aspect of our lives (think imaging technology, fire-retardant clothing, GPS, etc.), and every industry should have a ‘space plan’ for how they use/work with these technologies.
• The United Launch Alliance (ULA) is the largest ‘rocket factory’ in the world today. It was not always this way — 10 years ago, ULA exclusively supported U.S. national security missions, but they changed their strategy and went commercial, embraced competition, and repositioned their product line to meet market needs globally.
• The state of Florida, under the administration of Ron DeSantis, is the best place right now for space, with its $1.5 trillion economy, and a clear vision by the DeSantis administration to expand Florida’s aerospace industry by investing in education, healthcare, workforce development, veterans, the semiconductor industry, and more.
• Artificial intelligence has very important applications in space (astronaut safety, data & predictive analytics, remote sensing, and more), but it is not trustworthy yet, and needs human-in-the-loop capabilities and guardrails.
• Private and commercial investment has not only grown rapidly, but has also diversified across every industry. Additionally, it’s a non-localized domain, which means that any event in space affects all players, regardless of geopolitics. That being said, geopolitics is a real consideration for all decisions.
• Transferable skills are very valuable in the space sector, given how multidisciplinary it is. One doesn’t necessarily need a degree in engineering to be a part of the space industry — in fact we’re seeing a lot of non-traditional education and career paths in this sector.
• The government (especially Space Force) needs to put out clear demand signals, and work with industry and commercial partners, both domestically and globally, to reach our goals. They have an unofficial motto, “Buy what you can, build what you must”, which is really key for mission success at scale.
• The Space Force, Air Force, and other branches of military are thinking about how to get younger generations (Gen Z, Gen Alpha) interested in serving our country. One way they are connecting with these younger people is by setting up gaming hubs, for example, to allow them to socialize with each other in a way they’re already used to. The games these generations have grown up with (for example Call of Duty) require strategy, thinking, collaboration, etc. which translate very well to military service. They’re also using virtual and augmented reality technologies to train the younger generations!

Some more memorable quotes from today’s speakers:

“No sector in Florida is taking off more than the aerospace industry, both literally and figuratively.” — Jeanette Núñez (Lieutenant Governor of Florida)

“The future is here, it’s just not evenly distributed.” — Owen Brown (Scientific Systems)

“Every opportunity is also a risk.” — Neil Mickelson (Booz Allen Hamilton)

“Turn that data into information that can help with better decision-making.” — Dr. Nelli Babayan (Microsoft Federal)

Day Three: Thu 1 Feb — Space Congress Day #2

This was the final day full of interesting panels and keynotes. Here’s a brief summary of the talks and panels I attended today:

• All of NASA’s centers have their own areas of research and applications that they specialize in, and they collaborate with each other to serve the mission, for example Moon to Mars.
• José Hernández, a former NASA astronaut, gave an amazing keynote about his inspirational journey from migrant child to NASA astronaut, and how he persevered to achieve his goal of becoming an astronaut. He’s retired now, but owns and operates his own farm/vineyard, has a biopic movie based on his life story, consults in the aerospace industry, and runs his own charitable foundation!
• In-Space Assembly and Manufacturing (ISAM) is critical for humanity to really become space-faring. ISAM technologies will enable us to build and deploy things in space, instead of using Earth’s resources — but we need a ‘testbed’ to test various applications, for example semiconductor material growth, autonomous robotic movement, and more. Additionally, we need to make sure these technologies are reusable, sustainable, and modular to really provide best value and growth opportunities.
• One of the biggest problems in space is the huge volumes of data (for example, NOAA produces over 20 terabytes of data every day) being captured by satellites and downlinked to Earth. It raises questions to how to best collect and process this data, and if that much data is even necessary.

Again, some more thought-provoking quotes from today’s speakers:

“As a community, we aren’t yet asking ‘how to do it?’, from the autonomous perspective.” — Dr. Danette Allen (NASA Langley Research Center)

“We are a silicon-based society.” — Dr. Jessica Frick (Stanford University)

“There’s no such thing as a good model, but some are useful.” — Dr. Rusty Powell (Axient)

All Days: SpaceCom Expo

There were over 200 exhibitors at the expo from every part of the industry. There were manufacturing and rocket component companies, software and data analytics companies, literal rocket launch companies, space education companies, NASA, Space Force Association, and many more. I enjoyed chatting with the exhibitors and learning about how they help support the space industry. It was an eye-opening experience for me to learn about how diverse the space industry is! Plus the ton of swag I got was a sweet bonus!

My Key Impressions and Takeaways

• Florida (or at least Orlando) is really beautiful, and I can see why people willingly move here (it’s not just for Disneyland!). It also really lives up to its ‘Sunshine State’ name. Also a key factor is its all-around booming economy, space and otherwise.
• The space sector is a rapidly growing economy that affects every one of us, and has a lot of opportunities for everyone, regardless of background. To me, it’s clear that now really is the time to jump on the space bandwagon, it’s literally the future — who doesn’t want to be involved in that?
• We are becoming closer and closer to a space-faring species. Things that you see in sci-fi books and media, like holographic technology, quantum computing, permanent lunar/Martian habitation, asteroid mining, building things in space, space cities, space tourism, and more are very quickly becoming a reality. There is still a lot of work to be done, but we’re definitely getting there. There’s a lot of government and commercial support for these initiatives.
• There are a lot of opportunities for collaboration across government, industry, and academia, both domestically and globally. There seems to be a clear willingness by all parties to work together, but there needs to be better messaging and communication.
• Some of the technical challenges that exist in the field include big data (so much data is being generated from satellites, sensors, and other instruments, and it’s difficult to process and generate insights in real time), space domain awareness (it’s difficult to gauge depth when visually tracking small satellites, debris, and more, but computer vision can be used to help with depth perception, among many other uses), accurately predicting space weather (solar activity and emissions affect all of us on earth — especially if solar flares knock out GPS comms! It’s important to predict solar activity and other radiation events), and more.
• There are also a lot of ‘traditional’ data challenges, like lack of standards, lack of data governance and management, silos of data that don’t communicate with each other, unnecessary or incomplete data collection, data storage issues, and more. I think this is where roles like Chief Data Officer come in, because it’s very important to have a solid infrastructure and strategy for dealing with data to enable insight discovery, which enables better decision-making.
• For me personally, after talking to very smart people (field experts), I gained clarity on how I might combine my astronomy and data science skills to help solve these technological challenges in this sector. I also learned about industry and government organizations and companies that work in the space sector, the types of roles that exist, and skillsets that are currently in demand. With this knowledge, I can continue to build my knowledge about the space domain, and work towards a career in this space (no pun intended).
• I liked how this conference was run. The day starts with 2–3 keynotes, after which there are multiple breakout sessions. What I found unique about this was that most of the breakout sessions were panel discussions, with thought leaders and space experts engaging in a live discussion (and sometimes heated debates) in response to questions from the moderator and audience. It was very engaging and cutting-edge to hear first-hand informed opinions on how to tackle different challenges in this sector. The conference organizers did a splendid job with logistics too!

Orlando + Florida

This was my first time visiting Florida, and when I learned that Universal Studios and Disney World are located in Orlando where the conference is, I was so excited that I booked my stay for a few extra days beyond the conference! I stayed at the Castle Hotel, Autograph Collection, which was not too far from either Universal Studios, or the Orange County Convention Center where SpaceCom was held. It’s a very well-themed hotel, giving medieval vibes.

I bought a ‘2-park, 2-day + 2 days free’ pass to visit Universal Studios during my days off, mainly to visit the Harry Potter rides and shows. I also got to ride the Hogwarts Express between both parks!

• My favorite rides: Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey (I loved it so much that I rode it 5 times), Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, and Revenge of the Mummy. These were all thrill rides, and I really enjoyed how they completely immersed me in the story.

• In terms of shows, the Jason Bourne Stuntacular was absolutely amazing — it uses film, visual effects, actual actors, and more, and totally immersed me in the story. Encore please!

• I would be amiss if I did not mention the numerous Butterbeers I drank while walking around Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade, and Hogwarts. If Hagrid came up to me and said, “Yer a wizard, Aayushi!”, I would have totally believed him, because that’s how realistic-looking the sets were, and made me feel like I’m really part of the magical world (still waiting for my Hogwarts letter!).

Universal Studios isn’t the only fun thing I did in Florida, I also visited the Kennedy Space Center! Located about an hour east of Orlando in Cape Canaveral, KSC is where NASA and SpaceX launch their rockets, assemble rockets in the Vehicle Assembly Building, and perform other operational duties. Located here is also Launchpad 39A, where the Apollo missions were launched.

In the KSC Visitor Complex, I learned about the history of launches from here, including the Apollo missions and Space Shuttle Program, and upcoming NASA missions. I even got to be an astronaut and experience what it feels to launch to space in the Space Shuttle simulator! There were also a lot of really cool virtual reality (VR) experiences, including a game where NASA has a lunar base and my job is to mine moon rocks for regolith by blasting them.

Overall I really enjoyed my visit to KSC and learning about NASA’s great history of launches, and continued legacy of new launches with commercial partners like SpaceX and Blue Origin (as an aside: apparently Elon Musk frequently visits KSC for SpaceX launches, and was seen driving around in a Tesla Cybertruck, according to KSC employees)!

Closing Thoughts

This was a very well-spent and enjoyable week in Florida for me! From the SpaceCom conference, I accomplished my goal of learning about the space industry landscape, and I now have a better understanding of how the space sector works.

I also accomplished my goal of understanding how to potentially combine my astronomy and data science expertise by networking and talking with space thought leaders and experts, who pointed out numerous applications that require both skillsets. With my newfound understanding of the space sector, my next steps are to stay involved with the space community, and keep learning more.

I also had a great time touring Florida, having spent 3 days at Universal theme park, and a day at Kennedy Space Center. I definitely need to come back again to visit the rest of Florida’s vast number of attractions and soak up that sunshine!

This blog post by no means covers everything that I learned during my 3 short days at SpaceCom, but it has given me a lot of food for thought, which I look forward to thinking and reflecting about in the next few days, and pursuing new avenues of research. Here’s to space exploration!