Winter Satellite Workshop Brings New Space Community to Finland

The Winter Satellite Workshop (WSW) has developed in recent years into one of Europe’s most interesting New Space technology conferences. It will take place next week in Otaniemi, Espoo, in the Helsinki metropolitan area.

From 20 to 23 January, the event is expected to gather nearly 2,000 participants from Finland, the Nordic countries, the Baltic states and around the world, making it the largest space-sector meeting ever held in Finland. The event also incorporates the Remote Sensing Days and FinCOSPAR, the annual meetings of the Earth observation and space science communities.

This year’s programme includes close to 400 presentations covering the whole scope of space activities, from propulsion and innovation to space sustainability and policymaking. The accompanying exhibition features more than 60 companies, agencies and research institutes.

What began as a small, wintertime student satellite workshop at Aalto University has grown into a major meetup for the Nordic and Baltic New Space ecosystem. Over eight years, the Winter Satellite Workshop has mirrored – and helped shape – the transformation of the space sector from a domain dominated by large institutional actors into a dynamic industry powered by startups, scale-ups, research organisations and established companies alike.

This year’s edition of the conference will also include, for the first time, an invitation-only seminar focusing on the dual-use and defence aspects of space technologies.

Among the international participants are the leaders of the Nordic space agencies, as well as numerous representatives from organisations, companies and universities. Almost a third of the participants are students – the young generation shaping the future of New Space.

Also attending is Swedish astronaut and Gripen test pilot Marcus Wandt, who will share first-hand experience from his recent spaceflight.

Like Slush, another well-known Finnish technology event, the Winter Satellite Workshop has retained its youthful and relaxed atmosphere, combining informal networking and evening activities (including sauna, of course) with high-level presentations and economically significant discussions.

Registration is still open – and free of charge: https://spaceworkshop.fi

Press conference on 20 January

On Tuesday morning, 20 January, the conference will open with a dedicated press conference bringing together leading figures from Finland’s space sector: Pekka Laurila, Co-founder and CSO of ICEYE; Janne Kuhno, Co-founder and Lead Engineer of Kuva Space; Perttu Yli-Opas, Co-founder and CEO of Aurora Propulsion Technologies; and Matti Anttila, Finnish New Space pioneer representing the Finnish Defence and Aerospace Industries Association (PIA).

They will be joined by Professor Jaan Praks from Aalto University, originator of the Aalto Satellites and the Winter Satellite Workshop, and Professor Heidi Kuusniemi, who leads Finland’s new strategic research initiative, SpacEconomy.

The press conference will be held in Finnish, but the speakers will also be available for questions and interviews in English.