Dear fellow space cadets,
The International Astronautical Congress (IAC) is a conference unlike any other. Spread across five days jam-packed with talks, workshops, sessions and networking about space, this conference will host over 4,000 delegates from around the world — including heads of space agencies, astronauts, top aerospace engineers and educators, and (and!) Bill Nye and Elon Musk. Though IAC has run annually since 1950, the conference organisers have just announced that there is a record number of delegates attending the 2017 event.
Each year, IAC is held in a different city around the world — and in 2017, we are lucky enough to have the world’s largest space conference being held just one state over in Adelaide, South Australia.
With 20 volunteers organised to attend this astronomical event (pun intended), MSP is looking forward to making the most of this incredible opportunity to connect with both local and international space professionals. We’ll also be using it as an opportunity to help our volunteers gain valuable experience in networking, encouraging and assisting them in building their own personal and professional connections based on what they learned during MSP’s networking workshops.
Co-hosted by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) and the Space Industry Association of Australia (SIAA), IAC2017 coincides with some major milestones: the 60th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik 1; the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Outer Space Treaty; and the 50th anniversary of the launch of WRESAT, Australia’s first satellite, which was designed and built in Adelaide and launched from Woomera, South Australia.
We plan on blogging, tweeting, Facebooking and sharing every part of our experience during IAC — so follow along on our adventure!
And here’s to hoping that an international space conference held in Australia sparks the creation of an Australian space agency…
Stay tuned for more of the excitement to come! – the Melbourne Space Program
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