Hungarian space research to take centre stage at Space-Comm Expo Europe in London

Hungary will be represented by a distinguished professional delegation on 4–5 March at Europe’s most significant space technology exhibition and conference, Space-Comm Expo in London. The HUNOR Programme delegation includes research astronaut Tibor Kapu and trained research astronaut Gyula Cserényi. The HUN-REN delegation is led by Dr Zsolt Szalay, HUN-REN’s Scientific Vice-President for Engineering and Natural Sciences.

A highlight of the conference programme will be the panel discussion entitled “Proven in Orbit: How Human Spaceflight Experience Drives Innovation, Growth and Partnership”, exploring the innovation and economic impact of human spaceflight. Speakers include Tibor Kapu, Dr Zsolt Szalay and Tim Peake, the first British ESA astronaut to visit the International Space Station, who—together with Tibor Kapu—is among the event’s headline speakers. The discussion will be moderated by Ferenc Kumin, Hungary’s Ambassador to the UK.

In addition to the panel session, Tibor Kapu will deliver a standalone presentation in the technology track, outlining the scientific experiments carried out in the framework of HUNOR Programme on board the ISS and demonstrating the strengths of Hungarian space science and the national space industry.

At the Hungarian stand, four institutes of the HUN-REN Hungarian Research Network will jointly present the breadth of Hungary’s space research portfolio. Experts available for professional consultations include Dr Mátyás Hunyadi, Senior Research Fellow at the HUN-REN Institute for Nuclear Research; Bernadett Pál, Junior Research Fellow at the Konkoly Thege Miklós Astronomical Institute of the HUN-REN Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences; Lukács Kuslits, Researcher at the HUN-REN Institute of Earth Physics and Space Science; and Petra Bombicz, Head of Research Group at the HUN-REN Research Centre for Natural Sciences.

As a key meeting point for researchers, industry leaders, policymakers and investors, Space-Comm Expo Europe offers outstanding opportunities to forge new international partnerships. Participation in the London event provides an important platform for Hungary and HUN-REN to advance their long-term space strategy: strengthening international scientific and industrial cooperation, enhancing the global visibility of Hungarian space research, showcasing results to a wide professional audience, and reinforcing Hungary’s position within the global space innovation value chain.

The research institutes of the HUN-REN Hungarian Research Network play an active role in numerous European and international programmes, including missions and developments of the European Space Agency (ESA). Their activities span small satellite development and operation, on-board instrument design, interplanetary missions, Earth observation, materials science, and the study of space weather and cosmic radiation. The human spaceflight mission carried out as part of the HUNOR Programme has provided fresh impetus and opened new horizons for these research efforts.

HUN-REN Communications