Space exploration, from low Earth orbit stations to Moon-and-beyond missions

The SDA Bocconi Space Economy Evolution Laboratory (SEE Lab), directed by Professor Simonetta Di Pippo, hosted the first edition of the Titan Brain Trust (TBT), an exclusive roundtable including SEE Lab’s Members and Partners and internationally recognized experts of the space arena.

In the SEE Lab’s new governance system, the Titan Brain Trust is thought to be a strategy-designing event, where SEE Lab and its Members and Partners can conduct an open discussion with top-level experts on a space-related strategic topic. While being in the first place a support to the Lab’s strategy, the Titan Brain Trust also grants Members the possibility to have long-term insights on the most important trends and topics affecting the space sector, and that could bear consequences for which a conscious and high-level management capability is required.

In this edition, the event focused on Space exploration, from low Earth orbit stations to Moon-and-beyond missions. As a first, outstanding guest speaker to address this topic, SEE Lab had the opportunity to invite Pamela Melroy, NASA Deputy Administrator, Air Force officer and former NASA astronaut. SEE Lab’s Members that joined the discussion were AVIO, Capgemini, D-Orbit, Sitael and Space Alliance (Thales Alenia Space and Telespazio); participating Partners were the National Institute of Astrophysics, the Italian Institute of Technology, the Space Enabled Research Group from the MIT Media Lab, the Space Policy Institute of George Washington University, New York University of Abu Dhabi, and EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation.

During her introductory speech, Commander Melroy shared her view about current space exploration activities implemented by NASA and the important commercial spillovers currently growing in the sector. Members and Partners actively engaged in the discussion and confronted on these and other intertwined themes, as, for example, governmental space budgets, European public-private cooperation solutions and space sustainability.

The enthusiastic participation and the lively exchange of perspectives have set the floor for the next Titan Brain Trusts, through which the SEE Lab will keep creating links among the space industry stakeholders and generate new ideas on the economy of the future.

SDA Bocconi School of Management