Meet Up #22 Aerospace Livestream Party

November 8, 2022

Our first Meet Up of the year was a stellar evening! Hosted online, we also had our aerospace community join us from small watch parties all around the country.

Thanks to everyone who tuned in, and to UC Centre for Entrepreneurship for hosting a watch party.

A Refugee Perspective
Mekdim Tesfaye, Founder, Oasis Orbital Systems

There is something magical about getting to see the planet from a higher perspective. Boarding a plane and coming to New Zealand as a refugee in 2000, I fell in love with aerospace. Being able to leave my troubles behind in search of a new, safer place to call home had a profound impact on my entire family. Fast forward to 2021 and I’m fortunate to have the opportunity to share the magic of that higher perspective with others. My venture Oasis Orbital Systems is a Virtual Space Tourism start-up operating out of the University of Canterbury’s Center for Entrepreneurship with a mission to deliver affordable and Immersive space tourism.

Nova Systems Rebrands – positioned to support future growth of Aerospace in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Jude Rushmere, General Manager, Nova Systems New Zealand

Nova Systems is a global engineering services and technology solutions company, partnering with our clients to keep our nations and people safe and secure. Nova Systems has been supporting clients in Aotearoa New Zealand since 2014 and has seen rapid growth over the past 2 years. Much of which has been due to the capabilities and potential within Aotearoa New Zealand’s growing aerospace sector. Nova Systems has recently rebranded to showcase its growth and emphasise the breadth of its capabilities.

Airbourne Astronomy on SOFIA
Ms Karina Leppik, Astronomy Educator and Guide for the Antarctic Academy

Karina Leppik will talk about Astronomy of the Southern skies from her role as a NASA Mission Director through to her work alongside the International Antarctic Centre. She will be supported by Miranda Satterthwaite Academy Director at the Antarctic Academy who will be guiding for the Southern Lights Flights operating from the International Antarctic Centre.

Te Pūnaha Ātea – Space Institute, University of Auckland
Prof Guglielmo Aglietti, Director, Te Pūnaha Ātea Space Institute

The Institute, formally established in 2019 across science and engineering, aims to support and enhance the growth of the National Space Sector. This is being achieved articulating a series of activities, ranging from new courses and programmes to research projects, to partnerships with other institution, and the establishment of facilities for the end to end development and in orbit demonstration of technologies. The talk will give an overview of what has been achieved and future developments.

Reaching The Stratosphere And Beyond
Mark Rocket, CEO, Kea Aerospace

Kea Aerospace is developing a solar-powered, remotely piloted aircraft that will fly continuously in the stratosphere for months at a time to collect frequent high-resolution aerial images. Philipp will give an update on the company’s plans to build a global fleet of stratospheric aircraft.