PROGRAMME

Please note that this programme is the expected running order of the event, but it is subject to change without notice. This page will be regularly updated.

You'll be registered as you arrive at the event. If you're late, it's not a problem, but you must register at reception before attending any talks.

Richard Parker| Reaction Engines Ltd

Reaction Engines Limited is a privately held company based in Culham, Oxfordshire UK, with a subsidiary office in Colorado, USA. It was formed in 1989 to design and develop a new class of innovative hypersonic and space‐access propulsion system – the Synergetic Air‐Breathing Rocket Engine (SABRE).

Our goal is to deliver a truly versatile propulsion system - a hybrid air-breathing rocket engine that can power an aircraft from a standing start to over five times the speed of sound for hypersonic flight in the atmosphere, and over 25 times the speed of sound for space access. With its wide range of operation and scalability, SABRE represents an entirely new class of aerospace propulsion system. SABRE-class engines will enable the development of a new generation of aircraft able to fly at over five times the speed of sound in the atmosphere and will allow space launch vehicles to be built that will radically improve the affordability, reliability and responsiveness of access to space.

We are partnering with aerospace suppliers to deliver a ground-based demonstrator engine and are supported by a £60m funding commitment from the UK Government via the UK Space Agency and the European Space Agency. We have received a recent £20.6m investment from BAE Systems who have entered into a working partnership arrangement on the development of SABRE.

Mads Stenfatt | Copenhagen Suborbitals

In this talk Copenhagen Suborbitals presents how they are working on achieving manned amateur space flight on a shoestring budget. Their rockets and space capsule is built by off-the-shelf components by the 50 amateurs in their spare time, crowdfunded by a support group with more than 600 members. The end goal: manned flight to above the Karman line, 100 km’s above earth’s surface, boosted by a 100 kN LOX/ETH engine.

Mads Stenfatt, lead of Parachute development. Mads has been a member of Copenhagen Suborbitals since 2011. His main responsibility is to design, develop, test and implement the parachute system that is going to be used on the space capsule in the manned amateur space flight that they are working towards. Mads is also one of the 3 astronaut candidates in the group.

Jacob Geer & Tony Mears| UK Space Agency

The UK has a strong presence in the space sector. The satellite supply chain is particularly strong and some of our brands are truly global. There’s just one thing missing - Launch. The UK Space Agency has created a programme to enable commercial access to space from the UK, with the headline aim of seeing a commercial launch from the UK from 2020. This talk will focus on how we’re doing just that, right from the lead people within the agency.

Jacob is Head of National Spaceflight Policy, Satellite Launch Programme, and leads on making launch from the UK a reality from 2020, working with potential spaceport sites and launch vehicle operators. This involves understanding the systems and components needed by the various national and international companies that want to launch satellites or fly sub-orbital vehicles. He has previously worked for the Ministry of Defence, where he provided scientific and analytical advice to the military in Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Syria, and Iraq.

Tony is Deputy Policy Manager, Satellite Launch Programme, where he works on both national spaceflight policy, working with spaceports and launch operators, and also with international stakeholders to secure export licenses and support bilateral government-to-government discussions. He has held various roles across Whitehall, and in the heritage sector. He has a BA in Archaeology from the University of Reading, and an MA in Political Communication from the University of Leeds.

Dr Adam Baker | Kingston University London

Adam is a senior lecturer in space engineering and astronautics at Kingston University, with 15 years industrial experience in space mission studies, small satellite mission design, business development and sales, and consultancy to UK space companies.

Ray Bainbridge | Tranquility Aerospace

Ray has 42 years' experience in Manufacturing Automation and Robotics, 20 years of which have been in business. Ray started as a maintenance apprentice studying at college, and raised through various companies until at the age of 36 he went to Brunel University as a full-time student. Ray is a director of several engineering companies and 5 years ago founded Tranquility Aerospace, a privately funded company, with the purpose of investigating various rocket technologies. Ray also speaks for a number of charities on transferable skills to engineering and the benefits of modern manufacturing. Ray will be giving an initial outline of a major collaborative short term rocket project with companies and universities within the UK.

Priya Fernando | Airbus Defence and Space

Airbus DS–UK has over 40+ years of experience in the design, manufacture and test of chemical & electric propulsion systems over a vast range of missions – ranging from the highly successful Eurostar telecommunication satellites to the Earth Observation, Science & Inter planetary missions. Airbus DS-UK is responsible for System Design, System engineering, Spacecraft test, Launch support, and Operations support covering cradle to grave.

Dr. Priya Fernando is the Head of Propulsion Design Group at the Airbus Defence and Space, Stevenage, UK. He received his PhD. from Cranfield University, UK and moved to Sweden to work as the Senior Lecturer in Spacecraft Engineering at the Lulea University, Department of Space Science, Kiruna. During his lecturing career Priya Fernando was actively involved in Student Rocket (REXUS) and Student Balloon (BEXUS) projects as well as developing a student ground station. In 2007 Dr. Fernando decided it was time for a change of scenery (and weather) and moved to Stevenage UK to take up the position of EarthCare Spacecraft Propulsion Architect. In addition to his work at Airbus Defence and Space, Dr. Fernando is a regular visiting lecturer at the Department of Space Science, Kiruna, Sweden. Dr. Fernando has earned degrees and diplomas from University of Moratuwa, Sri lanka, International Space University, Strasbourg, Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden and has worked at the Swedish Space Corporation, Sweden.

Kevin Eppenga | DARE

Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering (DARE) is a student rocket society that designs, builds and launches record-breaking rockets. Our flagship project Stratos II+ broke our own European altitude record and set it on 21.5km high. With Stratos III, we want to further improve our knowledge on hybrid rocket propulsion by creating an engine that is more than twice as big as the Stratos II+ engine: The DHX-400. Our famous engine that works on coffee sweetener and candle wax. However, we are also keeping an eye on the future, by developing a cryogenic rocket engine that works on bio-ethanol and liquid oxygen.

Kevin give a short introduction to who DARE are, and then describe their recent DHX-400 project, followed by a look into the future with their cryogenic project.

Giovanni Agostoni | Skyward Experimental Rocketry

Skyward Experimental Rocketry is a student association operating inside Politecnico di Milano. It was born in 2012 with the ambitious goal of designing and assembling small and medium sized experimental sounding rockets. Skyward involves more than 100 students in three main projects. Rocksanne program: High performance and reusable amateur rockets, the R2a is designed to reach 10km apogee. Hre100K program: A Hybrid Rocket Engine designed to reach a Total Impulse of 100,000Ns. Cyrano program: An experimental unmanned vehicle that will be able to launch rockets from high altitudes (8000m).

Giovanni Agostoni is an Aerospace engineering student at Politecnico di Milano and has been member of Skyward Experimental Rocketry since early 2015 in the Structure and composites materials department. He is now the Project Team Leader for Integration for the Rocksanne R2a rocket program.

Witold Wąsowski & Arthur Pazik | Rocketry Group of Students Space Association by Faculty of Power and Aeronautical Engineering of Warsaw University of Technology.

The Students Space Association was founded in 1996 with initiative of Professor Piotr Wolański, A few years later Rocketry group began operating. At the beginning, working with self-made propellant and small sounding rockets. Their first proper launch took place in 2010, they are now concentrating on finishing their "H1" rocket, capable of achieving speeds over Mach 2 and altitudes just over of 6km, and the TuCAN rocket, capable of delivering 8 CanSats to almost 4km heights. They currently consist of 30 students with future plans to build next generation of H1 with a guidance system.

Witold has been member of WUTs Rocketry Group since early 2015. He is primarily engaged in the Engines and Electronics and Support group; in particular with the construction of engine for the TuCAN rocket. From December 2016 he was the leader of Rocketrys Group SERC entry project.

Arthur is an Aerospace engineering student at the Warsaw University of Technology and joined the rocketry group of the Student Space Association in January 2015. He has been involved in the building of H1 and TuCAN rockets, and became team leader of the TuCAN engine group in April 2017, with responsibility for designing and manufacturing the TuCAN rocket engine. .