23/02/2026
🚀 ESA Keynote at IT-DAY Copenhagen: The Gravity of Innovation 🚀
We are proud to welcome a keynote speaker from ESA - European Space Agency to IT-DAY Copenhagen.
Ruaraidh Mackenzie has worked more than 25 years as a Flight Dynamics Engineer and Mission Analyst for ESA in ESOC and at NASA/JPL.
He has supported missions in Earth orbit and across the Solar System and received the ESA Director General’s Award for Innovation and Transformation in Science and Technology in 2023 for leading the development of ESA’s new flight dynamics system, GODOT.
🎤 The Gravity of Innovation
Spacecraft are among the most complex systems ever built.
They take years, sometimes decades, to develop. Once launched, they may travel for years before their science mission even begins.
Navigating them from Earth means dealing with communication delays that limit precision. Increasing autonomy can improve performance but also increases risk.
❓ So how much risk should we accept?
❓ What is the scientific gain?
Innovation in space is never just technical. It requires cultural change, new trust in systems, and new ways of thinking about mission design and operations.
With faster missions and smaller CubeSats, new approaches are being tested. Future missions must fly closer, operate more accurately, use less fuel, arrive sooner, perform more complex tasks, and cost less.
Europe’s future in space depends on the next generation ready to take on that challenge.
If you are curious about advanced technology, complex systems, autonomy, risk, and innovation at the highest level, this keynote is for you.
🎟 Free tickets are available now. Join us in Copenhagen and experience ESA at IT-DAY.
