Welcome to the Ilan Ramon International Space Conference

 Moderator: Menny Barzilay

Opening Session

 Isaac Herzog, President of the State of Israel

 Orit Farkash-Hacohen, Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology

 Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Prof. Isaac Ben Israel, Chairman of the Israel Space Agency

Memorial Ceremony for Ilan Ramon

Keynote:

 Her Excellency Sarah bint Yousef Al Amiri, The UAE Minister of State for Advanced Technology and Chairwoman of the UAE Space Agency

In the last decade, global space activity experienced a dramatic expansion of the commercial space activity and growth of national space ecosystems. The panel puts forward the issue of the current unique role of space agencies in an age of national space ecosystems.

Dr. Deganit Paikowsky is a Researcher and Lecturer at the Department of International Relations, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a Non-Resident Scholar at the Space Policy Institute of the Elliott School for Foreign Affairs, George Washington University. She also serves as a Vice President at the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) on behalf of the Israel Space Agency. Her book "The Power of the Space Club," published by Cambridge University Press is considered by many as fundamental reading for global space policy researchers, practitioners, and decision-makers.

Tal Inbar studied Political Science (Bachelor’s degree) and Security Studies (Master’s degree), both in Tel Aviv University, Israel. He started working at the Fisher Institute for Air and Space Strategic Studies in 2003 and became the director of the institute’s space and UAV research canter in 2007 until the closing of the institute in 2019. He co-founded the international Ilan Ramon Space Conference in 2006. Mr. Inbar follows the space and missile programs of Israel for 30 years and has written numerous articles and op-eds in national and international media. He is a frequent speaker at international conferences, workshops, and seminars. Mr. Inbar contributed to the Space Competitiveness Index (Futron product) and several other classified reports delivered to governmental and industry customers. He is a visiting speaker on various think-tanks and research institutes including RAND, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, Secure World Foundation – to name a few. He is consulting Israeli defense and space companies, and develop[ed the Space and Missile courses for IAI, addressed to engineers. Inbar delivered several congressional briefings on ballistic missile programs of Iran and North Korea. Inbar is also a speaker at various HCoC (Hague Code of Conduct) conferences and presented his findings at a UNIDIR conferences in Geneva. In his daily work, Mr. Inbar covers several space issues such as space policy and technical assessments of foreign space, ballistic missiles and rocket programs of Iran, North Korea, and China, as well as of non-state entities. On May 2021 Inbar joined the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance (based in Washington, DC) as a senior research fellow. Inbar is a consultor for the Heinlein Trust Fund and Excalibur-Almaz Inc., both in the US. He is the curator for Israel space week for several years and serves as the national coordinator of the World Space week in Israel for years. Inbar is a member of the History Committee of the International Academy of Astronautics Since 2019 he is a member of the board of D-Mars, Israel's Mars simulations center. He is also a national mentor for "Horizon", the Israel Space Agency community of space educators.

This panel discussess the space-based technologies designed to monitor climate change and develop a more sustainable way of life on planet Earth.

Minister Zandberg holds a bachelor's degree in psychology and economics from
Ben-Gurion University, a bachelor's degree in law from Tel Aviv University, and a
master's degree in social psychology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Minister Zandberg began her doctorate in politics and government at Ben-Gurion
University, but her studies were cut short when she was elected to the Knesset.
Minister Zandberg began her political career as a parliamentary adviser to MK Ran
Cohen of Meretz. She was then elected as a Meretz Party representative to the Tel
Aviv City Council in 2008, where she chaired the Committee for Women's
Advancement.
She was first elected to the Knesset in 2013 and was designated chair of the
Committee on Combating Drugs and Alcohol. she was the first person in this position
to endorse legalization. Minister Zandberg also served on the Internal Affairs and
Environment Committee, the Committee on the status of Women and Gender
Equality, and the Economic Affairs Committee. As MK, Minister Zandberg
established an environmental-social lobby, a lobby for sustainable transportation, an
urbanism lobby, a secular lobby, and a lobby for Jewish-Arab collaboration and a
two-state solution.

Environmental issues, women's rights, human rights, secularism, and legalization are
just a few of Zandberg's most noteworthy Knesset battles. During her time in office,
she passed the Paternity Leave Act, expanded the right to public housing for women
who were victims of domestic violence, strengthened labor rights for women staying
in shelters, and established a grant law for home births.
Minister Zandberg recently received the Green Globe Award, Israel's leading award
in the field of sustainability for her outstanding public service to protect the
environment, and recently published a detailed piece on the climate crisis in "Telem"
magazine.
As Minister of Environmental Protection, Ms. Zandberg implemented a levy on single-
use plastic utensils, blocked the Med-Red pipeline agreement, halted the phosphate
mining program in Sde Barir, expanded the Deposit Law, passed a series of
government decisions to combat climate change and is promoting a comprehensive
and effective climate law.

Meir Ariel received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Electrical Engineering with honors and a Ph.D. in the
field of Algebraic Group Theory (all from Tel Aviv University). He has over 30 years of experience in
research and development in the fields of signal processing, wireless communication and space
technologies, and in the management of scientific institutions and companies, both in industry and in the
public sector. Between 1999 and 2012, Dr. Ariel served as CEO of CUTe Systems Inc. (Computerized
Vision) and TMPG Inc. (FinTech). Since 2013, Dr. Ariel has served as the Director General of the
Herzliya Science Center. He is currently the Director of the Nano-Satellite Center at Tel Aviv University.
Since 2014, thirteen scientific nano-satellites have been built and launched under its management. Dr.
Ariel is a member of a number of public commissions in the areas of defense, science and education,
among them the National Infrastructure Committee, the Steering Committee for Education at the Ministry
of Science and Technology, and the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR). He is the recipient of the
“Marco Polo Society Award for Cultural, Technological and Civic Achievements” (2018) and was
selected as one of the 60 Israeli pioneering inventors of all time by the Ministry of Science and
Technology (2016). He holds 14 patents in the field of signal processing.

The Rakia mission is a unique opportunity of extraordinary collaboration between diverse factors. This Mission will enable entrepreneurs and researchers to advance innovative ideas to be tested in space environment, thereby contributing to international space eco-system.

Inbal Kreiss is the former Director of the Israeli Arrow 3 Missile Defense Program, an exo-atmospheric state of-the-art Interceptor. Inbal's leadership in space systems Development & Innovation has contributed significantly to Israel's national space challenges, one of those are the 1st Israeli spacecraft ('Beresheet') challenging journey to the moon! Inbal received various awards for her contribution including the Technological Entrepreneurship Award from the International Aerospace Conference for brilliant concept in missile defense and the IAI award for Arrow 3 successful flight test. In 2012 Inbal was awarded the “Woman of the Year” by Lady Globes Magazine and in 2014 was voted as one of the 10 most inspiring women in Tech in Asia & the Middle East. In 2016 she selected by the Israel Defense Magazine as the 'women of the year' Inbal holds a B.S.C in Engineering, graduated with honors from the Technion, an Executive Master of Business Administration (E.M.B.A) Degree with honors from Tel-Aviv University, and was a researcher in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT, Boston.

Join us for a fireside talk with Astronaut Hazza Al Mansouri, the first Emirati in space. The talk will focus on Al Mansouri's mission and remarkable journey, the UAE's vision on space, and much more. Interviewed by Tal Inbar.

Hazza Al Mansouri is an Emirati astronaut and the first person from the United Arab Emirates in space. Previously, he was the UAE's youngest F-16 fighter pilot. On 25 September 2019, he launched aboard the Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft to the International Space Station, where he stayed for eight days. Born in Abu Dhabi, Al Mansouri graduated in 2004 from Khalifa bin Zayed Air College with a bachelor's degree in aviation. Prior to becoming an astronaut, he was a Major in the United Arab Emirates Air Force, piloting a F-16 "Desert Falcon". He was selected by Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre alongside Sultan Al Neyadi to become the country's first astronauts on 3 September 2018 and underwent training at Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia.

Over the course of his career, Dan has served in senior leadership roles across a
wide range of aerospace programs, spanning human spaceflight, satellite
development, launch, and missile defense, and running through all phases of the
aerospace product life cycle, from research and development through design,
production, and spaceflight operations.
Dan currently serves as CEO for Virgin Orbit, Richard Branson’s pioneering
commercial space firm, which launches small satellites into space from a rocket
carried under the wing of a modified Boeing 747. It is Virgin’s contribution to the
massive transformation going on in space technology, and has the clear goal of
opening access to space to improve life on Earth.
Dan joined Virgin Orbit after more than three decades of aerospace leadership at the
Boeing Company, where he most recently served as Vice President of Government
Satellite Systems. In that position, he oversaw Boeing's government satellite
programs, developing and managing missions for the U.S. Department of Defense,
NASA, NOAA, and other national programs. Dan’s portfolio included marquee
programs such as Global Positioning System (GPS), Wideband Global SATCOM, the
Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS) system, and the X-37 spaceplane.
Outside of Virgin Orbit, Dan serves on the U.S. Investment Advisory Council (IAC),
which advices the Secretary of Commerce on the development and implementation of
strategies and programs to attract and retain foreign direct investment (FDI) in the
United States. Additionally, in early 2020, California Gov. Gavin Newsom selected
Dan to join the Governor's Task Force on Business and Jobs Recovery, which works
to develop actions government and businesses can take to help Californians recover
from the COVID-19 induced recession.
Dan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in physics from the State University of New
York at Albany and attended the Harvard Business School Advanced Management
Program. He is a passionate and committed advocate for STEM education, and
serves on the Executive Board of the California Science Center, as well as the Dean’s
Advisory Council for California State University, Long Beach’s College of Engineering.