Welcome to SuomiAreena’s Great Space Day on Friday 26 June!
In one week, on Friday, June 26, a major Space Day will be celebrated at SuomiAreena in Pori. The SpacEconomy project has been involved in the preparations and will naturally also be present at the event.
The Raatihuoneenpuisto stage will offer a lot of interesting space-related content from 1 PM to 4 PM. In addition, there will be a small Space Village where space sector actors will present their work and equipment.
The event will culminate in a stratospheric flight carried out by students from Satakunta University of Applied Sciences: the students’ KitSat satellite will ascend with a weather balloon into near-space conditions, take photos from high altitude and transmit data from there.
The launch is expected to take place (weather permitting) at 2 PM from Raatihuoneenpuisto near the main stage, and the flight will be followed live throughout the programme. The broadcast will also be shown on MTV3’s live programme from SuomiAreena.
The “space flight” also culminates SuomiAreena’s 20th anniversary year.
According to SuomiAreena’s Managing Director Antti Lehtinen, the students’ historic stunt fits perfectly into the anniversary programme.
“It is wonderful to be able to provide the setting for this event in the middle of Pori. It is precisely at SuomiAreena that science, technology, young people’s expertise and future opportunities should be prominently visible.”
Several space companies are involved in the event, such as Kuva Space, Gofore and Sensofusion.
Pori invests in space
At the Great Space Day, more than a dozen space experts will discuss how space technology affects our everyday lives, what new business opportunities the sector creates, and how Finland can become a success story in the space industry.
Also participating are SpacEconomy’s Director Heidi Kuusniemi and the project’s Communications Manager Jari Mäkinen, who will host the event. Coordinator Ia Hyttinen will support by presenting the project to the public in the Space Village. Among the speakers are also researchers from the project, such as University of Turku Professor Rami Vainio.
Pori’s Mayor Lauri Inna is involved not only in the event but also in the SpacEconomy project’s steering group.
The Great Space Day presents the broader goal of building a permanent environment in Pori for space technology, science education and practical engineering expertise. Pori Space Lab is a joint education and research platform of the City of Pori, the University of Turku and Satakunta University of Applied Sciences. Its aim is to inspire children and young people towards science and technology through the space theme and to build a clear science pathway from early childhood education to university.
Space has risen to become one of the most important growth sectors of the future, offering opportunities not only to Pori but to Finland as a whole.
The stratospheric flight from SuomiAreena is an exciting experience not only for the audience but especially for the students, because the conditions at an altitude of about 30 kilometres are very space-like. The flight requires careful planning, and the satellite payload is controlled just like a real satellite in space.
“The students will set up a mission control centre on the main stage of SuomiAreena, from where the flight will be directed and monitored,” explains Satakunta University of Applied Sciences’ Principal Researcher Pekka Suominen.
“It is particularly rewarding to see the students’ enthusiasm and thirst for knowledge on the topic. I can’t wait to see where their passion will lead them in their careers.”
European Space Agency also involved
The European Space Agency will also be present at the Great Space Day: the keynote will be given by Heli Greus, who works at ESA’s technical centre ESTEC as the Quality Manager for the interesting RAMSES space mission.
Heli will present not only this mission, which will study the near-Earth asteroid Apophis, but also the HERA asteroid mission, which will arrive at the Didymos binary asteroid system this year. She will also share her own story of reaching the top of space research.
ESA BIC Finland, ESA’s business incubator operating in Finland, will also be present to talk about its activities and to advise both local entrepreneurs in Pori and others interested in the space sector.
The full programme of the event is available on the SuomiAreena website.