- Juan Carlos Cortés, director of the Spanish Space Agency (AEE), was Speaker of Honor and was accompanied by the Spanish astronaut of the European Space Agency (ESA) Pablo Álvarez, Guest of Honor of the first edition of ‘New Space & Solutions’
- The Regional Government of Andalusia, through the Regional Ministry of University, Research and Innovation, and the City Council of Seville reaffirmed during the opening ceremony their commitment to the aerospace industry and technological innovation in the region and in the Andalusian capital
- The day was marked by a historic milestone: the first connection in Andalusia with the International Space Station (ISS), with live video and audio. The protagonist was the pilot Nichole Ayers, who talked with Andalusian authorities. This event became the third connection of its kind on a national scale
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New Space & Solutions demonstrated that the space sector is already part of the everyday life of citizens, bringing its applications closer to society
Seville became the epicenter of the aerospace sector with the first edition of New Space & Solutions, held from March 17 to 21. This event brought together space experts, astronauts, professors, companies and institutions in a space for debate on the future of exploration and innovation in space.
One of the highlights was the first connection in the history of Andalusia with the International Space Station (ISS), a milestone that reinforces the region’s commitment to the aerospace industry.
The day was highlighted by the live connection with the ISS, where the pilot Nichole Ayers, member of the new crew that has taken over from Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, held a conversation with institutional representatives of the Junta de Andalucía and the City Council of Seville. During the talk, Ayers shared his first impressions from the space station, where he will remain for six months in what he described as “the most wonderful trip of his life”. With emotion, she noted: “I’m fulfilling every little girl’s dream. I’ve always dreamed of going into space and here I am,” and she was excited about the projects that await her and the breathtaking view of an Earth without borders.
New Space & Solutions kicked off on Monday, March 17 with the celebration of its opening day at the Cartuja Auditorium -managed by Yventu-. The event is organized by Medina Media Events in collaboration with public and private entities, especially highlighting the support of the Department of University, Research and Innovation of the Andalusian Regional Government and the City Council of Seville.
Seville, headquarters of the Spanish Space Agency (ESA) since 2024, has established itself as a benchmark in the aerospace industry. Its director, Juan Carlos Cortés, was Speaker of Honor at the opening ceremony, where he highlighted the “privileged situation” in which the aerospace sector finds itself in Spain and especially in the Andalusian capital. “Spain is at the highest level and its growth in the value chain has been constant”, assured Juan Carlos Cortés, who detailed that “the Spanish Space Agency has managed 580 million euros in space in 2024”. A figure that highlights the importance of the sector at national level. Regarding the situation in Europe, Juan Carlos Cortés assured that “we have an enviable situation in terms of programs and astronaut corps, but we need a boost to have an autonomous capacity to travel to space”.
Juan Carlos Cortés shared the stage with Spanish ESA astronaut Pablo Álvarez in a talk about space exploration and the future of manned missions, “the biggest challenge for astronauts in the next decade once the International Space Station de-orbits”. Alvarez shared his personal experience to become a tenured ESA astronaut in a process initiated by 23,000 applicants.
“We are preparing for a six-month mission, scheduled to take place before 2030,” explained the Spanish astronaut. He took the opportunity to launch an inspiring message to young people: “Take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way, it will take you to places you would never have imagined”.
Commitment of the Regional Government of Andalusia and the City Council of Seville
Alvaro Pimentel, Deputy Mayor of Seville, inaugurated and welcomed to the Andalusian capital all participants, speakers, experts, professionals, institutions, organizations and companies in the aerospace and satellite sector. “From the City Council we want to reaffirm our commitment and facilitate the start-up of innovative companies to make Seville the epicenter of the sector in southern Europe,” said Pimentel, who highlighted the “large business ecosystem consolidated in Seville by bringing together 70% of the aerospace industry in Andalusia.”
As part of the large presence of the Seville City Council at the first edition of New Space & Solutions, a round table moderated by Fernando Mañes, vice-president delegate of the CVA Presidency of the Seville City Council, was held to discuss the boost to the space sector in the Andalusian capital. Josechu Ferreras, director of the Seville Space Forum, advocated “creating a space atmosphere in Seville that shows that it is an ideal place for business projects. The space sector is capable of creating enthusiasm for new frontiers”.
The Regional Government of Andalusia, through the Regional Ministry of University, Research and Innovation, reaffirmed its commitment to the aerospace industry and technological innovation in the region with the intervention of Lorena Garrido, Deputy Minister of University, Research and Innovation, who provided data on investment in the aerospace sector in this legislature.
“The Regional Ministry allocates to the aerospace sector an amount of 72 million euros through various public aid programs and actions with the aim of promoting innovation and continue contributing to its ability to transform the Andalusian economy,” said Lorena Garrido, who stressed that “the turnover of the sector accounts for 1.2 points of regional GDP, experiencing exponential growth that has tripled the turnover in the last 15 years”.
For his part, Jorge Paradela, Minister of Industry, Energy and Mines of the Regional Government of Andalusia, highlighted the importance of space for our daily life and emphasized that “space is one of the best industrial opportunities that Andalusia has to offer”. “For every euro that is invested, there is a return of three”, he said about the booming aerospace industry, which “together with the aeronautical, defense and security sector, represents 14% of the Andalusian GDP”.
Spain, at the forefront of innovation
Teresa Riesgo, Secretary General for Innovation of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities: “It is very important that investors see that high-tech companies are a good business”.
Miguel Ángel García Primo, General Manager of Hisdesat, spoke about the projects on which this Spanish company is working, among them the PAZ satellite, which “collects images day and night without interruption”, and the SpainSat NG I, “a new generation military communications satellite developed to guarantee the security and operability of the Spanish Armed Forces and their NATO allies”.
Presence of space agencies and international institutions
Dylan Mathis, head of communications for NASA’s Office of External Affairs, discussed the roadmap the U.S. space agency has designed for transitioning the International Space Station (ISS) into a new era of commercial low-Earth orbit (LEO) destinations. “We are able to make connections with the ISS to inspire young people; to have extended more than 11 kilometers of fiber optics into space; or to have successfully bioprinted a 3D heart tissue,” Dylan Mathis noted among the many advances and milestones to which the ISS has contributed during its 25-year history.
In addition, the opening day of New Space & Solutions was attended by several international space agencies. Sergio Tabasco, head of Industrial Policy at ESA, spoke about the impact of space on the Earth in general and, in particular, on critical infrastructures. “According to the OECD, space is essential for more than half of the infrastructures considered critical on the planet”, so “the space sector is essential”.
Among the important international institutions, the EU Agency for the Space Programme made a presentation. Carmen Aguilera, EUSPA’s operational market development manager, spoke about how Earth observation from space through the Galileo global positioning satellite system and the Copernicus Earth observation program influences our daily lives. “The benefits expected to be extracted from Earth observation over the next decade will be 4.6 trillion euros.“
Female talent in the aerospace sector
The first day also featured a small preview of what will be the last session of the week, on Friday, March 21, dedicated entirely to female talent in the sector. Gema Martín del Burgo, president of the Association ‘Ellas Vuelan Alto’, moderated the panel ‘New Space: A new horizon for the space industry in terms of diversity’ in which Ana María Marín Pérez, director of the Technical Office of the AEE, thanked the existence of policies focused on breaking the glass ceiling of female scientists because “any measure in favor of this diversity will directly benefit the sector”.
For her part, Marcia Arizaga, Director of Communications at ALTER Technology, argued that “if we want an innovative, productive and competitive sector, equality is not an option, but a priority“. Finally, Lucía Fonseca de la Bella, director of Strategic Projects in the aerospace sector at the University of Surrey, insisted that “the Industry-University-Government trinomial is fundamental to overcome the challenges set by the New Space”.
Solutions offered by ‘New Space
For her part, Eva Díaz, Director of Business Development at ALTER Technology, indicated that “aerospace is a key and strategic sector and the future of Seville will go hand in hand with the development of this sector“. Rafael Vázquez Valenzuela, director of the Chair of Space Surveillance at the ETSI of the University of Seville, added that “these are very exciting times for the city in aerospace matters” and took the opportunity to announce “the creation of a Master’s Degree in
Eva Diaz, Business Development Director at ALTER Technology, highlighted how “New Space democratizes space: “It requires high technology and specialization; strict quality requirements; reliability in extreme conditions; international collaboration; constant innovation and digitalization.”
Finally, Jesús Boby, director of Intelligent Industry at the Advanced Center for Aerospace Technologies (CATEC), said that “the space sector in Seville has a wonderful future” and expressed the “great desire to collaborate and cooperate” that exists between public and private actors to continue growing.
Satellite Collaboration and Artificial Intelligence
Eduardo Valencia, Director of Electronics Industry, New Entrepreneurship and Territorial Development of Ametic, moderated the panel ‘Satellite Applications’ in which participated Javier García, Director of downstream services partners of Open Cosmos, who put on the table the Open Constellation concept, that is, “sharing satellites between clients so that those in orbit are more efficient”.
Javier Izquierdo, Hispasat‘s Strategy Director, concluded that “we need collaboration in the industry to move forward because no one can work autonomously”. Finally, Juan Alberto Vecino, director of Hi Iberia, spoke about Artificial Intelligence focused on space through SEDA, a project that allows the automatic download of images through the integration of various data sources, automatic analysis and the generation of reports.
Juan Peña, CEO of Orbital, offered a different point of view with a speech in which he wanted to put the focus on end users. “Satellite data is not worth anything, it is worth as much as the problems it helps us to solve”.
David Sanjuán, commercial applications engineer at Kistler Ibérica, elaborated on the new challenges in measurement for the space and aviation industry and how “advanced sensor solutions are driving the adaptation of satellites and spacecraft to increasingly demanding environments“.
Likewise, Jose Tórtola, co-founder and VP of Operations of PARSEC, pointed out that we are in “a revolution in space that opens up a new market” and added that “maximum leverage will be reached when private players enter the scene”.
Sergi Giménez Binder, a lawyer specialized in aerospace law and partner of Augusta Abogados, analyzed the impact of the Space Protocol of the Cape Town Convention, “an internationally unified system, suitable for companies of any size, which uses asset financing techniques through a voluntary system that does not replace or restrict other forms of financing.
Yasuhito Uto, CEO of the startup BULL, spoke about sustainability and presented the work this company is doing to “prevent space debris before it forms.”
In the second day of ‘New Space & Solutions’ at the Cartuja Auditorium in Seville, which will connect from Houston with astronaut Michael López-Alegría, with the participation of Álvaro Pimentel, Deputy Mayor of the City of Seville; Luis Pérez, General Director of the Cartuja Science and Technology Park; Héctor Guerrero, Deputy Director General for Aerospace Policy and Strategy of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities; and Andrea Pérez-Carro, representative and national point of contact for the space area of the Cartuja Cluster 4.0; Héctor Guerrero, deputy director general of Aerospace Policy and Strategy of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities; and Andrea Pérez-Carro, representative and national contact point for the space area of the CDTI Innovation Cluster 4 of Horizon Europe, among many other representatives of institutions, organizations, associations, universities and companies related to the aerospace sector.
All presentations will be available for on-demand viewing through ‘The Observatory’, the digital platform of Medina Media Events, where each intervention will be available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, free of charge.
The first edition of ‘New Space & Solutions’ is organized by Medina Media Events with the collaboration of the City of Seville and the Department of University, Research and Innovation of the Andalusian Regional Government and has the support of Rohde & Schwarz, ALTER, Ansys, Augusta Abogados, CT Ingenieros, DEKRA, Integrasys, Kistler, Orbital, Parsec, Government of the Canary Islands -through Proexca-, Space-Aero, Universidad Loyola Andalucía, CEU Universidad Fernando III, among others.