SpacEconomy project newsletter 3/2026
Welcome to the September newsletter!
The autumn season of the SpacEconomy project has started briskly after the summer break. In this first newsletter after the holidays, we review recent events and look ahead.
The newsletter is only a small glimpse of everything happening in the project. Articles about our activities and news relevant to the project are published continuously on our website and in our LinkedIn group, so it is well worth checking them regularly.
SuomiAreena Space Day gathered a record audience
In June, just after Midsummer, decision-makers, leaders, practitioners and the general public headed, as has become traditional, to Pori for SuomiAreena. The annual societal discussion forum once again covered a wide range of topics, but this year the event concluded with the Great Space Day, co-organised in part by SpacEconomy.
On Friday afternoon, people involved in and entering Finland’s space sector took the main SuomiAreena stage in front of the City Hall. The event opened with the announcement of Pori Space Lab, a joint project of Satakunta University of Applied Sciences, the University Consortium of Pori and the University of Turku, which will bring a nationally significant space-sector education centre to Pori. Also present was Pori-born astronaut trainer Kimmo Nieminen, now based in Houston, on whose initiative Pori, led by Mayor Lauri Inna (who also serves on our project’s steering group), has leapt into the space age.
The SpacEconomy project was present throughout the event. Project PI Heidi Kuusniemi introduced the project, and SpacEconomy’s interaction lead Jari Mäkinen, who hosted the session, highlighted the space economy at appropriate moments. Ia Hyttinen talked herself hoarse at our public stand.
The Space Day culminated in a stratospheric balloon launch by students of Satakunta University of Applied Sciences, with a KitSat educational satellite as payload. The students had designed and built the mission control centre and specialised antennas, modified the satellite for flight, planned the mission and carried out the balloon launch under the stressful gaze of a large audience.
Most of the arrangements were handled by SAMK’s Pekka Suominen and Kimmo Viitala, to whom our warmest thanks. According to the organisers, our event drew a larger audience than former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who had appeared a couple of days earlier!
Watch SuomiAreena’s Great Space Day on MTV Katsomo →
Wasa Future Festival
In August SpacEconomy headed to Vaasa, where the University of Vaasa annually organises the space-economy-focused Space Wednesday event as part of Wasa Future Festival, Vaasa’s future forum. There, ideas, research, innovation and decision-making meet.
This year’s Space Wednesday especially emphasised the importance of cooperation among space-sector actors.
This year SpacEconomy was also prominently featured. Heidi Kuusniemi presented the project to the audience and described the major significance of the space economy for society. University of Vaasa postdoctoral researcher Johanna Kalliokoski, who is involved in the project, spoke about the roadmap work being carried out in the project and its importance.
Recorded Space Wednesday talks can be followed here →
Towards a more sustainable future through research
In September SpacEconomy takes part in the conference organised every two years by the Strategic Research Council.
It promises to be highly interesting, because the ongoing SRC projects are very timely: societies around the world are simultaneously facing challenges such as polarisation, disinformation, geopolitical tensions, and climate and nature crises.
Solving these requires not only acute action but also the building of new future pathways in which research, decision-making and societal dialogue go hand in hand.
This year the conference will be held at Tampere University’s city centre campus on 23–24 September. Many researchers participating in SRC projects and those interested in them will attend.
More information about the conference →
Come build space-based solutions to support peace and societal resilience
In November the destination is Otaniemi, Espoo. There, on 27–29 November 2026, the twelfth EU CASSINI Hackathon will be held, with the timely theme Space for Peace and Resilience.
SpacEconomy will be present, and we are also looking for mentors, jury members and sponsors for the event who want to help interdisciplinary teams turn ideas based on space technologies into practical solutions for the needs of society and business.
The event’s three challenges are:
1. Cybersecurity for space-based strategic enablers
2. Space-enabled crisis response and civil resilience
3. Countering transnational crime and terrorism with space data
The European Commission launched the Competitive Space Start-ups for Innovation (CASSINI) initiative in 2021 as part of a broader effort to support space entrepreneurship and the building of a digital and sustainable Europe. CASSINI hackathons are one of the initiative’s key actions.
By taking part you help support the next generation of space entrepreneurs, expand your network with EU representatives and space-sector companies, and create connections with the field’s young talent. As a mentor you can offer expertise in areas such as space data, positioning services, cybersecurity or business development. You do not need to master every topic alone!
Among SpacEconomy partners, Tampere University, Aalto University and the National Land Survey of Finland are involved in organising and sponsoring the event. See you there!
Read more about the event and register as a mentor or jury member →
Winter Satellite Workshop again in January
The Winter Satellite Workshop, which has become one of Europe’s most important New Space gatherings, will be held for the ninth time in January 2027.
Over nearly a decade the event has grown, and next time it will be held at Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre instead of the charming Dipoli. WSW brings together thousands of researchers, engineers, public administration representatives and decision-makers, entrepreneurs and students.
Programme building has begun, and the programme committee is calling for proposals for talks and posters. The Call for papers is open until 15 October, so there is still about a month to submit your proposal.
Registration for the event has also opened; participation remains free of charge.
Both presentation proposals and registration can be done here →
On the trail of the space economy in Asia
What does the emerging space economy look like from Japan and Indonesia? This was explored by University of Vaasa Professor of International Business Arto Ojala, who is also responsible for implementing Work Package 4 of the SpacEconomy project.
A three-month research visit in spring 2026 gave him the opportunity to examine space business ecosystems, analyse the operations of Japanese space companies and build new collaboration networks in Asia.
During the visit, a new focus of the space economy stood out in particular: combining satellite data, artificial intelligence and digital services to create business value. The trip strengthened the view that the future of the space economy is increasingly built at the interfaces of different industries, technologies and international ecosystems.
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Our next newsletter will appear at the end of the year.
Have a good late summer and autumn!