Event 2024 — VýťahConf.

Space industry conference 2024

Past event

INTRO

8.30 Open door + Registration

9.00

Conference opening

BLOCK 01

Cassini Matchmaking (Public)

9.10 Intro

9.20 Pitches

10.10 Networking coffee

BLOCK 02

Cassini Matchmaking (Private)

Networking / Matchmaking

10:30

1 hour

Software

10:30

Balazs Slezak - Wozify

10.45 Géraldine Caudron - Airbus

11.00 Johannes Willbold - Ruhr University

11.15 Hybrid panel Q&A session

11.30 Networking coffee

BLOCK 03

Hardware

12.00 Leszek Orzechowski - Space Is More

Tomas Hamman - Space Villages

12.15 Neil Monteiro - Space Forge

12.30 Hybrid panel Q&A session

12.45 Lunch

13.00

BLOCK 04

Institutional help

14.30 Daniel Sagath - Sario

14.45 Dinka Dinkova - DG DEFIS

15.00 Stefan Schneider - EUSPA

15.15 Hybrid panel Q&A session

Including Erika Hlavata from CVTI

15.30

Networking coffee

BLOCK 05

…and Beyond

16.00 Raphael Roettgen - Prometheus Life

Guillermo Söhnlein - Humans2Venus

16.20

Networking coffee

16.40

Q&A session merged with keynote

BLOCK 06

Keynote Speaker

17.00 Kelly Wienersmith - A City On Mars

Q&A session

17.40

inc. and beyond speakers

18.00 Closing and photoshoot

Afterparty

19.00

Venue

Meet the Speakers

No clue about space industry? Or already there and looking for a new connections?

Our speakers would cover various topics in the language understandable by everyone. For more technical discussions you can poke them during the breat.

Keynote speaker

Kelly Weinersmith

Author - A City on Mars | ACOM

Dr. Kelly Weinersmith received her PhD in Ecology at the University of California Davis, and is an adjunct faculty member in the BioSciences Department at Rice University. Kelly studies parasites that manipulate the behavior of their hosts, and her research has been featured in The Atlantic, National Geographic, BBC World, Science, and Nature.
When she isn’t studying Nature’s creepiest wonders, Kelly is writing books with her husband, Zach Weinersmith (creator of Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal Comics). Their books, "Soonish: Ten Emerging Technologies That’ll Improve and/or Ruin Everything" and "A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through?" are New York Times Bestsellers.
Written by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith, "A City on Mars" investigates perhaps the biggest questions humanity will ever ask itself—whether and how to become multiplanetary.
"A City on Mars" is a New York Times Bestseller, and was named a best book of 2023 by Scientific American, The Times, and the Los Angeles Time

entrepreneur, investor - Humans2Venus | H2V

Guillermo Sohnlein

Guillermo Sohnlein is an entrepreneur, investor, explorer, and philanthropist with experience in space, oceans, technology, and sustainability.
He is co-founder / CEO of Humans2Venus, a space venture studio with a long-term vision of establishing a permanent presence of 1,000 people in the Venusian atmosphere by 2050.
A former officer in the US Marine Corps, he earned his AB in Economics from UC Berkeley and his JD from the UC College of Law, San Francisco.
He currently lives in Barcelona, Spain.
Humans2Venus is a visionary space venture studio with a long-term vision of establishing a permanent presence of 1,000 people in the Venusian atmosphere by 2050.

Head of Business Development - Space Villages | SV

Tomas Hamann

Tomas Hamann is an experienced senior project manager. Previously he honed his skills at OHB and ArianeGroup.
Space Villages is developing a unique on-orbit servicing & repair spacecraft. Our services range from simulating technical problems on Earth to final mission execution in orbit. The in-house developed robotic payloads and mission concept represent the perfect solution for:
- In-orbit repair
- Inspection and Diagnostics
- Bring Into Use Services
- And more...
We are transforming on-orbit servicing by offering multiple services through a single spacecraft. Our philosophy towards simplification allows us to offer a competitive alternative, providing cost-effective solutions quickly.

Johannes Willbold

satellite and space system security researcher | RUB

Johannes Willbold is a satellite and space system security researcher and doctoral student at the Ruhr University Bochum.
He is chair and co-founder of the SpaceSec workshop, the first academic workshop on the security of space and satellite systems.
Johannes also supports the efforts to standardize secure-by-design systems for space as subcommittee chair of the integration layer in the IEEE SA Space System Cybersecurity Working Group.
In 2023, Johannes published his award-winning paper "Space Odyssey: An Experimental Software Security Analysis of Satellites" and has since worked on identifying real-world systematic security issues of space assets.
He also presented his research at numerous security conferences, including the Black Hat US 2023.

Raphael Roettgen

space investor - Prometheus Life Technologies | PLT

Raphael Roettgen is a space investor (E2MC Ventures), educator and businessman. He is the co-founder and CEO of PLT.
He lectures on space entrepreneurship and finance at several universities including the International Space University (ISU) and the Swiss Institute of Technology at Lausanne (EPFL), hosts the popular Space Business Podcast, and is the author of an introductory book on the space economy, currently available in German (“Hoch Hinaus”) and Portuguese (“Para Cima”), and forthcoming in English.
Prometheus Life Technologies is a space biotech company.
It is developing a disruptive space-proven technology to produce high-quality human tissue organoids in Low Earth Orbit with the vision of improving and saving lives.

Neil Monteiro

Microgravity Research Manager | SF

Neil Monteiro is Microgravity Research Manager at Space Forge, responsible for the microgravity-as-a-service offering of the ForgeStar platform.
Prior to Space Forge, Neil worked as a full-time science presenter, communicating the value of science and space to the publi.
Space Forge are developing the world's first returnable and re-launchable satellite platform to use the space environment to manufacture materials impossible to create on Earth.

Géraldine Caudron

Sales manager | Airbus

Géraldine is Sales manager for Airbus Intelligence Business Line. She’s responsible for Northern and Easthern Europe. Prior to this role, Géraldine was in charge of developing the Business Web Portal of Airbus Intelligence focusing on customer experience enchantment. She is always happy to share her knowledge about how to meet the customer expectations.
She is based in Toulouse in the Airbus Town, but ready to travel to meet the partners and the customers.
Airbus' Defence and Space division, which includes the Intelligence business, contributes to the defence and security of nations through its strong capabilities in military aircraft, intelligence and cybersecurity.
Airbus' space technologies have a growing impact on people's daily life: from deep-space exploration and scientific missions to today's most reliable secure telecommunications and Earth observation satellites.

Balázs Slezák

CEO & Founder of Wozify Engineering Group | W

Balázs Slezák is an entrepreneur, product development expert and space mentor. He is the founder and CEO of Wozify Engineering Group.
As a space mentor, he helps space companies build better products and be better at business. He works alongside several international space incubators and accelerators like ESA BIC, EUSPA's CASSINI Program, Techstars Space Accelerator in collaboration with NASA JPL, the UK Space Agency Accelerator.
Before becoming hyper-focused on space, he co-founded, built and sold a 3D printing startup; and mentored more than 150 (non-space) startups.
He has a Bachelor's in Computer Engineering and a Master's in Business Information Technology.
Originally from Hungary, he currently lives in London.
Wozify is a software development company established in 2012. Wozify's space division focuses on web development for space industry applications; custom downstream software development; and applied data science and Artificial Intelligence for Earth Observation.
The team prides itself on its product development methodology capable of delivering digital products that the market actually wants.
Wozify has offices in Budapest and London.

Daniel Sagath

International Cooperation Manager at the Slovak Space Office | SSO

Daniel Sagath is currently working as the International Cooperation Manager at the Slovak Space Office – Industry Branch (SARIO) and is a member of the national delegation to the European Space Agency (ESA) (industrial policy and technology harmonization).
He holds a Ph.D. in strategy and organization and has more than a decade of experience in the space sector worldwide. He is an expert on space policy and business development, innovation, and science commercialization.
Previously he worked for organizations such as the ESA, or the Netherlands Space Office (NSO).
The Industrial Branch of the Slovak Space Office is an official national contact point for international cooperation for the space agencies, offices, associations, businesses, and research entities.
It aims to support Slovak entrepreneurs and researchers in integrating into European industrial structures and participating in international projects.

Leszek Orzechowski

Space Architect, Analog Mission Simulations Researcher, Science Communicator | SIM

Leszek Orzechowski is an award-winning space architect and a recipient of numerous international awards for his design team, Space is More, and their concepts on lunar and Martian architecture.
As a scientist, he is the founder and director of the LunAres Research Station, one of the leading private facilities for analog mission simulations. The facility hosts medical, psychological, and procedural studies that contribute to broadening our understanding of various aspects of future human space exploration.
Leszek is part of the European Space Agency's Topical Team for Analog Research. His laboratory is currently preparing several experiments for the Axiom 4 mission on the ISS, alongside a parallel analog mission simulation in LunAres Research Station.
Space is More is a pioneering company at the intersection of space architecture, design, and science, dedicated to pushing the boundaries of human habitation beyond Earth.
The company was a finalist in the NASA 3D-Printed Habitat Stage 1 competition (2015), laureates of the ESA Moon Challenge (2015), the Mars Colony Design Contest (2019), and the Moon Station competition (2023).
Founded by a team of visionary architects, engineers, and space enthusiasts, the company specializes in developing innovative solutions for living and working in space, based on Earth-based analog simulations at LunAres Research Station.
With a focus on sustainability, efficiency, and the well-being of astronauts, Space is More's concepts for habitats and infrastructure are deeply rooted in years of experience in running isolation studies with space mission scenarios involving human participants.
The simulation environment offered by Space is More, utilized by space agencies and research institutions, is highly regarded by partners and customers as a data-rich and cost-effective field-test stage for Technology Readiness Level (TRL) development.

Dinka Dinkova

Deputy Head of Unit for DG DEFIS | DG DEFIS

Ms Dinka Dinkova is Deputy Head of Unit at the European Commission’s Directorate General for Defence Industry and Space (DG DEFIS).
During her career at the Commission, she has worked in different functions covering aspects of EU space policy and EU space programme, including promoting space research, innovation and New Space; space-defence synergies; uptake of space data for societal challenges and growth; international relations and outreach.
Before joining the Commission in 2010 she worked with various international organisations in Southeastern Europe to promote a knowledge economy and innovation policies, regional development and multilateral donor assistance coordination. Ms Dinkova holds a Master’s degree in business administration.
DG DEFIS leads the European Commission's activities in the Defence Industry and Space sector.
In the area of Defence Industry, DEFIS is in charge of promoting the competitiveness and innovation of the European defence industry by ensuring the evolution of a capable European defence technological and industrial base.
In the area of Space, DG DEFIS is in charge of shaping EU space policies and legislation, and implementing the EU Space programme.

Erika Hlavatá

Slovak Centre of Scientific and Technical Information | CTVI SR

Erika Hlavatá is currently working as a Slovak National Contact Point for Horizon Europe Cluster 4 - Digital, Industry and Space at CVTI SR.
She also actively participates on COSMOS4HE, a networking project for Cluster 4 Space NCPs, which aims to increase the quality and support harmonisation of the services provided by NCPs in this area, as well as lower the entry barriers for newcomer applicants and increase the visibility of the thematic area of Space to new types of players.
Previously she worked as project manager for organizations such as Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava (STU) and Biomedical Centre of Slovak Academy of Sciences (BMC SAV). She has experience with wide range of european, international and national funding schemes.
Slovak Centre of Scientific and Technical Information (CVTI SR) is a national information centre and specialised scientific library of the Slovak Republic focused on natural, technical, economic and social sciences.
It is a subsidiary organization (public body) of the Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth of the Slovak Republic.
Within CVTI SR, the National Horizon Office acts as the main support structure in Slovakia to stakeholders interested into the Horizon Europe programme.

Stefan Schneider

Space Downstream Entrepreneurship Officer | EUSPA

Stefan Schneider serves as the Space Downstream Entrepreneurship Officer at EUSPA, the European Union Agency for the Space Programme, where he oversees the Cassini initiative.
Cassini, an undertaking by the European Commission, aims to bolster entrepreneurs, start-ups, and SMEs within the space industry, particularly in New Space endeavours.
Central to Cassini's objectives is its matchmaking component, facilitating networking opportunities through a series of events tailored for start-ups and SMEs.
Participation in these events enables start-ups to broaden their professional connections and discover potential partners for product development, as well as opportunities for securing customers and investors.
EUSPA is the operational European Union Agency for the Space Programme, whose unique mission is to serve as the essential link between space technology and user needs, translating the European Union’s investment in space into valuable, reliable services for European citizens.
At the heart of its work are the efforts to support an innovative and competitive EU space sector, to ensure that space continues to drive innovation-based growth in Europe, deliver services and applications that meet the challenges that we face and support the implementation of priority EU policies.
It leads the implementation of the EU Space Programme, provides safe and secure European satellite navigation services, advances the commercialization of Galileo, EGNOS, and Copernicus data and services, engages in secure satellite communications (GOVSATCOM & IRIS2), and operates the EUSST Front Desk.