The future of Space has been discussed in a participated workshop organized by SITAEL in its Headquarters at Mola di Bari, Italy. In the presence of the Italian Minister of Education, University and Research, Mrs. Stefania Giannini, the leading representatives and experts of the main agencies and research institutions took turns on the stage. Mr. Battiston, President of the Italian Space Agency, Mr. Ongaro, Head of ESA-ESTEC, Mr. Vendola, President of Nereus, Mr. Ferroni, President of the Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN), Mr. Magrassi, military adviser to the Italian Prime Minister, Mr. Matsumori, senior vice-President of SpaceX, and other prominent experts in the sector, gave their view on the evolution of Space activities in the next 15 years.

The workshop was an opportunity for an interesting and fruitful discussion between two different but complementary approaches to the development of Space. The one traditionally supported by public funding, which allowed the space adventure to begin and develop until today, and that of private investments who believe the time is ripe for a commercial development of the sector.
The discussion focused on the opportunities that will arise in the near future thanks to cost reductions achieved by the development of “small satellites” in applications that are already interesting for big companies like Google and others.

Samantha Cristoforetti, the Italian astronaut currently on-board the International Space Station, sent her greetings to the participants with a dedicated video-message.