Jeff Bezos Keynote, Launch of Startup Space, and SGx Program stand out among week of highlights at SATELLITE 2017
Rockville, Md. – Monday, March 27, 2017 – The 36th Annual SATELLITE Conference and Exhibition was held March 6-9, 2017 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, and welcomed 14,661 satellite communications professionals and 350 exhibitors from 110 countries across the world.
Highlights from the conference program included:
- Special Guest Speaker, Jeff Bezos, Founder & CEO of Amazon, and CEO of Blue Origin, joined SATELLITE Conference Chairman Jeff Hill on stage to announce that Blue Origin has signed a deal with Eutelsat, a French satellite communications operator, to launch a satellite on their new rocket, New Glenn by 2022.
- Keynotes from Will Porteous, General Partner & COO, RRE Ventures, General David Thompson, Vice Commander, Air Force Space Command, United States Air Force, and Robbie Schingler, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, Planet.
- SGx 2017, a full day of-fast-paced, interactive talks by aerospace industry leaders designed for young professionals, returned to SATELLITE for the second year in a row.
“We set very ambitious goals for what we wanted to accomplish with the SATELLITE 2017 conference program and we couldn’t be happier to see that the results far exceeded our expectations,” said Jeff Hill, Conference Chairman. “We had a significant year-over-year increase in attendance across all demographics and levels of conference access. The SATELLITE 2017 show was covered in dozens of national and international newspapers, including The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and The L.A. Times and was broadcast live on CBS This Morning, CNBC, Reuters and several other television and radio networks. The massive success of SATELLITE 2017 and the amount of business that it generates for attendees and exhibitors are clear indicators that the commercial space and satellite industries are thriving and will be for the foreseeable future.”
Additionally, the SATELLITE 2017 Exhibition was the largest in show history, using more than 85,000 square feet of space within the Walter E. Washington Convention Center with participation from 350 companies, 65 of which were first-time exhibitors.
Highlights from the exhibition included:
- The launch of SATELLITE 2017’s Inaugural Startup Space entrepreneur pitch contest was a tremendous success. Produced in partnership with the Space Frontier Foundation, the competition put 20 entrepreneurs on stage in front of more than a dozen investors and industry leaders for a chance to win guaranteed meetings with investors, free full-access admission to industry events and interviews inVia Satellite David Shaw, Co-Founder and CCO of Astrapi was the grand prize winner. Astrapi was established to develop and license spiral modulation, which opens an unexplored area for innovation at the core of telecommunications.
- In addition to enjoying the variety of products and services available on the show floor, attendees also enjoyed the return of the SATELLITE Unveiled Theater which featured live demonstrations from executives at Advantech Wireless, AvL Technologies, DigitalGlobe, Ligado Networks, Pelican Products, and Speedcast.
Michael Cassinelli, Exhibit and Sponsorship Sales Director for SATELLITE 2017, said, “The largest show floor to-date, coupled with record attendance and exciting new features like Startup Space and exhibitor-led presentations in the Unveiled Theater made the SATELLITE exhibit hall THE place to be for thousands of professionals involved in satellite communications and the space industry. As the market continues to evolve, we aim to keep pace to continue to meet the needs and expectations of exhibitors and attendees alike.”
About SATELLITE 2018
The SATELLITE Conference and Exhibition unites the aerospace community together in one place for the largest and most important global satellite technology event of the year. For more than 35 years, SATELLITE has played a critical role in determining how satellites will shape the future of our world. The show welcomes a community of aerospace professionals from every market and field of study, hailing from more than 150 nations around the world for a comprehensive four day conference, and more than 350 exhibiting companies on the show floor. Next year, SATELLITE 2018 will be held March 12-15, 2018 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center located at 801 Mt Vernon Pl NW, Washington, D.C. 20001. For more information, please visit http://2018.satshow.com/
###
CONTACT:
Isabel Burnham, Marketing Coordinator
713-343-4007
