【#IPSEC 2024 Latest Trends in the Space Business】Perspectives on Disaster Countermeasures x Space Technology in Perspective!
The Indo-Pacific Space & Earth Conference 2024 (IPSEC 2024) was held in the western Australian city of Perth from November 25 to 28, 2024. Now in its second year, the conference is attracting attention as a forum for discussions on a wide range of topics, including AI, robotics, and optical communications for use on Earth and in space. The conference will also take advantage of the stable weather and geographical characteristics of the host city, Perth, to enhance its role as a hub for space technology and optical communication networks.
From Warpspace, Mr. Mori, CSO, and CEO of Warpspace USA, attended the conference and participated in a panel discussion, and Ms. Kawaguchi, who is in charge of writing this article, also accompanied the group.
1. Joint Conference with APRSAF!
This year’s IPSEC was held jointly with APRSAF, a forum for space agencies in the Asia-Pacific region organized by JAXA. Due in part to this, Japanese companies exhibited, and Japanese participants accounted for about 30% of the total, making it an event with a very strong Japanese presence. Universities, governments, and private companies also exhibited from a wide variety of fields, including earth observation, small satellite development, and optical satellite communications, and participants ranged from students to government officials view of the venue.
2. disaster management x space technology prospects
Mori participated in a panel discussion titled “Space Technologies for Disaster Management: Building Resilient Communities. Experts from various fields gathered to discuss the potential of space technology for disaster management from various perspectives, and the main topics discussed were as follows
- Lack of Public Relations Challenges
First of all, the panel discussion pointed out the lack of promotion of the use of open data. For example, the need to improve the current situation where the general public still has low awareness of resources accessible to ordinary users, such as the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2 earth observation data, and to establish a system that allows more people to utilize such resources was discussed. - Utilization of Space Technology in Times of Disaster
The participation of experts in the medical and aeronautical fields in this panel discussion provided an opportunity to hear opinions from different perspectives from different fields. For example, the futuristic concept of people “evacuating to space” in the event of a disaster, and ideas about technology for “hibernating” in a safe state during an emergency were discussed, leading to an interesting discussion exploring the feasibility of such a system.
３． Importance of Perth in Optical Communications
Western Australia, including Perth, is known as a hub of the space industry due to its abundance of sunny days and concentration of observatories and ground stations. Furthermore, it is a key location for terrestrial optical communication networks and is expected to become a hub for future optical communication ground stations, such as the TerraNet project planned by the University of Western Australia in Perth.
The region is also important to WarpSpace’s business development, as LatConnect 60, a strategic partner of WarpSpace, is headquartered in Perth.
IPSEC 2024 presented new possibilities for discussing how space technology can help solve Earth’s problems. In particular, there are many expectations regarding the application of space technology and optical communication technology in disaster management. How the technologies and knowledge that will drive the next generation of the space industry will develop from here will be the focus of much attention in the future.
(Writer: Natsumi Kawaguchi)
