IAC 2024 and Space Sustainability

Milan was chosen as the venue for the 75^th edition of the International Astronautical Congress (IAC). In this event, representatives from all areas of the space sector come together to share the latest advancements in academia and industry, fostering opportunities for synergy among attendees.

This edition revolved around the theme “Responsible Space for Sustainability,” emphasizing the importance of preserving space as a safe and accessible environment for exploration, peaceful use, and international cooperation. The objective is to ensure the security of the space environment and operations, which has become increasingly urgent due to the entry of new players and the acceleration of space activity, driven by the democratization of space.

GMV had a significant presence at the event, with a stand to showcase its solutions in this field. Alén Space, part of the GMV group since mid-2023, also had a stand to present its products and services focused on small satellites.

Mariella Graziano, GMV’s Director of Strategy and Business Development for Science, Exploration, and Space Transportation Systems, participated in a roundtable on applying generative artificial intelligence in aerospace sustainability to enhance strategic risk management. This session was moderated by an ESA expert and included representatives from NASA, the University of Paris-Saclay, Lockheed Martin, and Leonardo. In the session dedicated to asteroid missions, Graziano also presented the GNC system developed for the Hera mission launched on October 7, and the solutions GMV is working on for the GNC of the Ramses mission. Finally, she chaired the Solar System Exploration section.

Additionally, Fernando Gandía, head of the Robotics and Embedded Autonomy Division, presented two papers on robotic technologies for a sustainable ecosystem and designing flexible and modular robotic vehicles for efficient lunar exploration.

Joao Lousada, operations engineer at GMV, participated in the manned spaceflight session, addressing the development of ESA's new operations concept for the Axiom-3 mission, the European agency’s first manned mission on a commercial spaceflight.

During the astrodynamics symposium on support for ESA operations, two colleagues from GMV's flight dynamics area, who work from the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC), presented five technical papers. Andrea Pasquale presented two papers: one on systematic analysis focused on exploration and planetary defense missions within cislunar space and another on techniques for lunar constellation deployment. Meanwhile, Davide Basso presented two papers on methods for interplanetary transfer and design tools for interplanetary trajectory, as well as a third paper on the Vespucci mission.

The 22^nd edition of the Space Debris Symposium took place as part of the congress. GMV, a European industrial leader in space surveillance (SSA and SST), participated in two sessions discussing advances in space debris cataloging and the characterization and attitude estimation of space objects.

Furthermore, the IAC served as the venue for the signing of three important contracts —MoonLight, RICE, and Ramses—in which GMV will play a key role. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was also signed between the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and the Spanish Space Agency (AEE) to collaborate on space projects.

The International Astronautical Federation (IAF) organizes this event annually in different locations. This year, the congress welcomed over 11,200 delegates from more than 120 countries, over 530 exhibitors, and more than 300 visitors, including children and young students during the open day. These numbers made this 75^th edition of the IAC the largest gathering in its history.