8th Prague Space Security Conference

Mr. Lipavský has served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic since december 2021. He served in the Chamber of Deputies for four years as Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Security. In addition, he was a member of the Standing Committee on Hybrid Threats, the Subcommittee on Defence, Cyber and Security Policy and Strategic Concepts of the Czech Republic and the Subcommittee on Migration and Asylum Policy. He focused mainly on issues of energy and international security and hybrid threats. Before entering politics, he pursued a private sector career in banking IT, having worked for McKinsey & Company, Euro RSCG, ZOOT, Total Solutions and Moro Systems. He graduated in International Territorial Studies at the Institute of International Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, and spent a year at the University of Kent in the United Kingdom.

Martin Kupka was born in Jilemnice. He graduated from the Faculty of Social Sciences of Charles University. He studied journalism and mass communication. During his studies he worked as an editor and presenter at Czech Radio 3 – Vltava.

He worked as a spokesman for the Prague City Hall, respectively.

He worked as a journalist for the Prague City Hall and the Central Bohemian Region. Previously, he worked as a spokesman and director of the Department of Communication at the Ministry of Transport. In June 2010, he became a spokesman for the Government of the Czech Republic. In the 2010 local elections, he became the mayor of the municipality of Líbeznice. He successfully defended this position in the 2014 and 2018 elections. He also became a member of the Central Bohemian Regional Council responsible for health care. In 2020, he returned to the council as deputy regional governor for road transport. In the autumn of 2017, he was elected as a Member of Parliament and successfully defended his position in the 2021 elections. Since 2021 he has been entrusted with the position of Minister of Transport of the Czech Republic.

In his position, he covers policy making and development of all transport modes. His portfolio at the Ministry also includes space activities, innovation and new technologies.

During the Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU, he chaired Council meetings. In December 2022, the Council succeeded in adopting a revision of the trans-European transport network for the whole of the European Union with the aim of improving the development of the network in terms of sustainable and intelligent mobility and fulfillment of decarbonization of transport. It also shaped the path towards better connectivity with Ukraine and Moldova through European transport corridors.

He is the vice-chairman of the Czech conservative political party Civic Democratic Party (Občanská demokratická strana, ODS). Martin Kupka is married with two children. He speaks English and likes books, music and tourism.

Lt. Gen. Thomas L. James serves as the Deputy Commander for United States Space Command, Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado. United States Space Command is the Unified Combatant Command responsible for conducting operations in, from, and to space to deter conflict, and if necessary, defeat aggression, deliver space combat power to for the Joint/Combined force, and defend U.S. vital interests with allies and partners.
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Lt. Gen. James’ previous General Officer assignments included Deputy Commander, Combined/Joint Force Space Component Command; Commander, Combined Joint Task Force-Space Operations; Commander, Joint Task Force-Space Defense; Director of Operations, U.S. Space Command; Director, Operations, Plans, and Exercises, Joint Force Space Component Command; and Deputy Commander, Joint Functional Component Command for Space.
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Lt. Gen. James began his military career as an enlisted Soldier in the Mississippi National Guard. He later entered active duty as a commissioned officer, serving as a U.S. Army aviator. Following several tours of duty as an Army aviator, Lt. Gen. James became one of the first Army Space Operations officers and has served in that capacity for over the past twenty years.

Maj. Gen. Gregory J. Gagnon is the Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Intelligence, U.S. Space Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia. In this capacity, he serves as the Senior Intelligence Officer to the Chief of Space Operations and is responsible to the Secretary of the Air Force and Chief of Space Operations for intelligence policy, oversight, and guidance of Space Force intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities. He exercises overall responsibility for the Space Force Intelligence Community Element, which is the 18th member of the U.S. Intelligence Community. Additionally, he serves as the Chief, Service Cryptologic Component with delegated authorities from the Director of the National Security Agency. Prior to this assignment, he served as the Director of Intelligence, U.S. Space Command, Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado.

Maj. Gen. Gagnon was commissioned through ROTC from Saint Michael’s College in Winooski, Vermont. He is a career Intelligence Officer with an extensive background in cyberspace operations. Maj. Gen. Gagnon has commanded at the squadron, group and joint wing levels with one combat command tour in Afghanistan. He is a fully qualified Joint Staff Officer. His staff tours include Pacific Air Forces, Air Force Space Command, Air Combat Command, U.S. Strategic Command, and U.S. Space Command. Maj. Gen. Gagnon has deployed on multiple occasions in support of joint air and special operations.

Major General Michael Traut is Commander of German Space Command. Born in Tübingen on 18th December 1964, Major General Traut is married and has two daughters.

He joined the Bundeswehr as a conscript in 1983 and received his initial officer training at German Air Force Officer School in Fürstenfeldbruck. He studied computer science at the Bundeswehr University Munich and was assigned to numerous postings, first as system administrator and programmer and later within NATO’s Integrated Air Defence System as aircraft controller. He later obtained all tactical air battle management operational qualifications.

Major General Traut served in numerous senior functions in German Air Force and Joint Support Service Headquarters as well as within German Ministry of Defence. He took command of Operational Air Wing Mazar-e-Sharif/Afghanistan in 2007 and served as Commandant of the German Air Force Officer School between 2016 and 2020. In 2021, he became Director of National Air Operations until 2023, simultaneously taking command of the emerging German Space Command.

Major General Traut is a graduate from Bundeswehr Command and Staff College Hamburg, Joint Services Command and Staff College Bracknell and Royal College of Defence Studies London.

Brigadier General Marcin Górka is the Director of the Department of Innovation in the Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of Poland. He is responsible for technology development and innovation policy and represents the Polish MoD in multiple national and international forums, including the European Defence Agency Steering Board in Research & Technology Directors formation, NATO Science and Technology Board and NATO DIANA Board of Directors. BG Marcin Górka also serves as the Minister of National Defense’s Plenipotentiary for Space. In this capacity his duties include the provision of space technology and policy advice and expertise to the Minister and supervision of the implementation of the space operational domain in the Polish Armed Forces (PAF).

BG Marcin Górka entered the Polish Armed Forces as an officer in 1996, after earning his MSc. Eng. in satellite navigation systems from the Military Academy of Technology in Warsaw. Since then, he served in numerous positions in the PAF, as well as NATO Structures, related to satellite imagery intelligence and development of space capabilities. In 2013 he was appointed as the Commander of the newly-created Imagery Intelligence Centre, a position he held until 2018, and was responsible for the overall implementation of satellite imagery intelligence capability in the Polish Armed Forces. Before his current position he served as the Vice-President of the Polish Space Agency, responsible for defense and security affairs.

Lt. Col. Caitlin Diffley is the Deputy Chief of Staff, Combined Forces Space Component Command, Headquarters Allied Air Command, NATO, Ramstein AB, Germany. She leads a multinational team of Allied space professionals across 8 operating locations to aggregate and arbitrate space operations and effects throughout NATO for a 4-star component. She is the architect of the Effects Leverage Nexus (ELEVEN) built to  facilitate collaboration with operational, commercial, and international stakeholders towards the evolution of novel systems and technologies, to execute multi-domain operations and to pre-empt adversarial advances while developing NATO’s proactive deterrence capabilities. Her portfolio includes operations, strategy, policy, and acquisitions via negotiating with national political and military delegations, technology & process improvement, developing requirements, prototyping, deployment, assessments and capabilities. Additionally, she served as Gender Advisor to AIRCOM Command Group, to support NATO’s Women, Peace & Security Action Plan to operationalize gender in military operations.

Lt. Col. Diffley commissioned in 2006 as the ROTC Distinguished Graduate at the University of Notre Dame. She is a space operator with experience as a Payload Systems Operator and Instructor and initial cadre for the Navigation Warfare program. She led executive support as the Aide-de-Camp to the 7th Air Force Commander and her leadership experience includes Director of Operations and Regional Director. Previously, Lt. Col. Diffley served as Division Chief, On-Site Inspection & Building Capacity Directorate, Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), Kaiserslautern Germany as a certified Foreign Area Officer with Russian, Chinese, and Spanish language capabilities. Lt. Col. Diffley earned a Master of Arts in Security Studies, Europe and Eurasia from the Naval Postgraduate School with research on NATO and Hybrid/Grey Zone Warfare.

Dr. Scott Pace is the Director of the Space Policy Institute and a Professor of the Practice of International Affairs at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs.

Dr. Pace rejoined the faculty of the Elliott School in January 2021 after serving as Deputy Assistant to the President and Executive Secretary of the National Space Council from 2017-2020. From 2005-2008, he served as the Associate Administrator for Program Analysis and Evaluation at NASA. Prior to NASA, Dr. Pace was the Assistant Director for Space and Aeronautics in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). From 1993-2000, Dr. Pace worked for the RAND Corporation’s Science and Technology Policy Institute (STPI). From 1990 to 1993, he served as the Deputy Director and Acting Director of the Office of Space Commerce, in the Office of the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Commerce.

Dr. Pace received the Order of the Rising Sun with Gold and Silver Stars from the Government of Japan in 2021, the Office of the Secretary of Defense Group Achievement Award in 2020, the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 2008, the US Department of State’s Group Superior Honor Award (GPS Interagency Team) in 2005, and the NASA Group Achievement Award (Columbia Accident Rapid Reaction Team) in 2004. He has served as a member of the U.S. Delegation to the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space in 2009, 2011-2017, and 2022-2024.

Paul Graziani is the Chief Executive Officer of COMSPOC Corp. The company’s mission is to detect, track, characterize, and protect everything in space by delivering enterprise-level Space Situational Awareness systems to government organizations for the safety of spaceflight and national security. COMSPOC Corp is headquartered in Exton, PA.

Prior to the inception of COMSPOC, Paul championed the use of commercial software in the national security and space industries as the co-founder and CEO of Analytical Graphics Inc (AGI) for 33 years.

Paul also serves as the Chairman of the Board for OneSky, an Unmanned Aerial Systems Traffic Management company. Additionally, he is a Director of Passur Aerospace and holds the position of Vice Chairperson at the Federation of Galaxy Explorers (FOGE). He is a Director Emeritus of the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF) and an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). Paul is a former member of the Board of Governors for the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) and currently serves on the board of the Civil Air Patrol Foundation. After fulfilling his board tenure, Paul was elected to the honorary position of Life Director of The Space Foundation.

Paul earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from LaSalle College but quickly pivoted his career to software, launching into satellite mission planning systems with General Electric’s Space Division in 1980. Paul has been happily married to his wife, Shirley, for 37 years and is the proud father of three great children: Kristin, Kevin, and Lauren. He is a serial early adopter of all technology, an avid woodworker, and a sports car enthusiast.

Hermann Ludwig Moeller is the Director of the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) in Vienna, the European Think Tank on Space, promoting European Space Policy globally. ESPI is developing approaches to European Space Policy and is providing recommendations to European decision makers and institutions. Prior to joining ESPI, he held leading positions at ESA in the creation of EU Copernicus and in the preparation of the EU Secure Connectivity initiative as Head of Telecommunications Strategy, Programme and Transformation Office and as Head of Copernicus Space Segment Office. In these functions, Mr. Moeller has been operating with high level leadership in a complex multi-stakeholder policy environment with national space agencies, member states and delegations in public-private partnerships with industry, at EU level and EUMETSAT.

Prior to that he held the ESA Douglas Marsh Fellow at NASA and contributed to the creation of the European Internet backbone. He acquired early professional experience at the European Patent Office HQ and Siemens HQ.

Mr. Moeller holds a master degree in telecommunications, following studies at Technical University Darmstadt and Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Télécommunications (ENST) – Télécom Paris.

He is of German nationality with working experience in Germany, Italy, the USA, The Netherlands, France and Austria, is married and father of four children.

Dr. Namrata Goswami is an author and educator specializing in space policy, international relations, and ethnic identity. Currently, Dr. Goswami teaches at the Schriever and West Space Scholar Programs, the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, Thunderbird School of Global Management, Arizona State University, and at the Joint Special Forces University. She is a guest lecturer at Emory University for seminars on Technology, Society & Governance, and India today.

She worked as a Research Fellow at MP-Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi; a Visiting Fellow at Peace Research Institute, Oslo, Norway; La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia; University of Heidelberg, Germany; Jennings-Randolph Senior Fellow, United States Institute of Peace; and was a Fulbright Senior Fellowship Awardee. She was awarded the Minerva grant by the Office of the U.S. Secretary of Defense to study great power competition in outer space. In April 2019, Dr. Goswami testified before the U.S-China Economic and Security Review Commission on China’s space program.

Her co-authored book, Scramble for the Skies: The Great Power Competition to Control the Resources of Outer Space was published in 2020 by Lexington Press; Rowman, and Littlefield. Her book on The Naga Ethnic Movement for a Separate Homeland was published in 2020 by Oxford University Press. She has published widely including in The Diplomat, the Economic Times, The Washington Post, Ad Astra, Asia Policy, Live Encounters Magazine, Cairo Review. She was invited in November 2019 to share about her life and her work at a Tedx event held at the Rosa Parks Museum, in Montgomery, Alabama.

Dr. Pascal Faucher graduated (1997) from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de l’Aéronautique et de l’Espace (SUPAERO). He also holds a Master’s Degree in Ocean, Atmosphere and Biosphere (1998) and a Ph. D. in Physical Oceanography (2001) by the University Paul Sabatier, funded by the French Ministry of Defense, as well as an Executive Master of Business Administration (2007) by ESCP Business School. After a post-doctoral position in the European Project Marine Environment and Security for the European Area (MERSEA), his experience includes more than 20 years of various positions at the French Space Agency (CNES) in Paris. For the last 14 years, as a programme manager in defense and security, he is responsible for the following themes: space security, space situational awareness, space surveillance and tracking, space traffic management, space sustainability, space debris, space weather, planetary defense.

He is the Chairman of the European Union Space Surveillance and Tracking Partnership (EU SST) since 2017, Chair of the International Astronautical Federation Space Security Committee since 2021 (re-elected in 2024), and co-Chairman of the European Union Industry and Start-ups Forum on Space Traffic Management (EISF) since 2022. He is also a French delegate to the ESA PB SSA, the EU Space Programme Committee in SSA configuration, the Administrative Board of the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EU SPA), the EU STM Stakeholder Mechanism Main Group, the Steering Group of the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC), the Steering Committee of the Space Mission Planning Advisory Group (SMPAG), and the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, as national point of contact to the Working Group on the Long Term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities (LTS 2.0). In France, he chairs the National Coordination Group on Space Weather (GCME). He is a member of the French Steering Group on Unidentified Aerospace Phenomena (GEIPAN).

Mr. Jun Kazeki has more than thirty-three years of experience in the field of trade and economic policies. He has also been intensively engaged in national security policy for the last decade. As from July 2023, he has served as Director-General for the National Space Policy Secretariat at the Cabinet Office of the Japanese Government. He joined the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of the Japanese Government in 1990. Most recently, he served as Executive Advisor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS Alliance), focusing on Economic Security and Emerging Technology. Between 2020 and 2022, he served as Director-General for the Trade Control Department, where he was responsible for export controls, export and import regulations, sanctions, investment screenings and trade remedies. He also worked for policy coordination on economic security, including protection and promotion policies on semiconductors and other critical or important technologies. Between 2007 and 2010, he was Counsellor for Permanent Mission of Japan to the international organizations in Geneva. Between 2002 and 2005, he worked for the OECD Trade in Paris as a Senior Trade Policy Analyst. He graduated from the Faculty of Law of the University of Tokyo in 1990. He earned a master’s degree from Columbia University Law School (LLM ’95) and was admitted to the New York State Bar. He earned another degree at the School of Law of New York University (LLM Trade Regulation (Antitrust and Economic Laws) ’96).

Yuka Kobayashi (LL.B Kyoto, M.Phil., D.Phil. Oxon) is Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in China and International Politics at SOAS, University of London. Currently, she is British Academy Global Innovation Fellow (2024-2025) seconded to the German Council for Foreign Relations (DGAP).

She has held visiting appointments at the World Trade Organization (Visiting Scholar-WTO) and Nankai University, China (Visiting Research Professor). Prior to joining SOAS, she was a Junior Research Fellow at the University of Oxford. After receiving a LL.B. (specialization in Public International Law) from Kyoto University, she studied Mandarin and Chinese International Politics at Nankai University and then obtained her M.Phil. and D.Phil. at the University of Oxford. Her research interests include International Relations of China, International Law, Connectivity (digital, space), Trade and Investment (Belt and Road Initiative/WTO/FDI), Human Rights and Climate Change/Energy.

She has advised various governments, think-tanks and international organisations on these subjects. She was appointed specialist advisor on China for the UK government (2021), and joined the advisory board for Stiftung Asienhaus (Germany, 2020-2022).

Peter Marquez, Head of Policy for Global Security, Government, & Aerospace, oversees and coordinates global strategic policy activities for Amazon Web Services. Peter served at the White House in three Administrations. Peter was the Space Policy Director for Presidents Bush and Obama at the National Security Council and the Senior Advisor in the National Space Council during President Trump’s first term. In these roles, Peter was responsible for the writing, implementation, and coordination of the U.S. national space policies, authoring the two consecutive U.S. National Space Policies in 2010 and 2020 – guiding the U.S. space program for the past 15-years. In addition, he also had responsibilities for special programs, defense intelligence, missile defense, and other strategic capabilities. Peter worked with foreign governments to; establish their own space agencies, assist in the writing of national space policies, create interagency processes to execute national security activities, and development of other key strategic national security programs.

In industry, Peter was the Managing Partner of Andart Global, U.S., the Vice President of Global Engagement for Planetary Resources, and the Vice President for Strategy at Orbital Sciences Corporation. Peter served for over a decade in the Pentagon in requirements, acquisition, operations, and policy roles for the Air Force and Office of the Secretary of Defense and also served as the Director of Special Programs for the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. Peter is a graduate of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University, an inductee of the Space Camp Hall of Fame, a board member of the Japan Institute for Space & Security, a board member of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, an advisor for the Japan Institute for CyberSpace Studies, and a 2024 recipient of the Japan Minister of Foreign Affairs Commendation.

Kevin O’Connell is the CEO of Space Economy Rising, an advisory firm providing strategy, finance, and regulatory guidance to space and related high-tech startups. He serves on several boards and advisory boards in this capacity.  He was the winner of the U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation’s lifetime achievement award in 2024 for his work on geospatial matters and space commercialization.

Mr. O’Connell brings over four decades of experience in the U.S. government, in research organizations, and as an entrepreneur and business leader to this position.  Mr. O’Connell served as the Director of the Office of Space Commerce, U.S. Department of Commerce (2018-2021) and has written extensively on the policy, security, and global market issues related to the commercialization of remote sensing.  Aside from numerous articles and op-eds, he was co-author of Commercial Observation Satellites: at the Leading Edge of Global Transparency (2000). He served as the Executive Secretary and Staff Director of the NIMA Commission (1999-2000). He was a member, and later Chair, of NOAA’s federal advisory committee on remote sensing from 2002-2016.

Previously, Mr. O’Connell served as the CEO of Innovative Analytics and Training, a Washington, D.C. professional services firm focused on analysis and decision support for U.S. government and commercial clients. During this time, he also served as a senior consultant to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and as an independent advisor to the Director, National Geospatial Intelligence Agency. Mr. O’Connell’s background also includes extensive experience in national security and intelligence matters, including assignments in the Department of Defense, Department of State, National Security Council, and the Office of the Vice President. He spent a decade conducting and managing research in these areas at the RAND Corporation, including as the first director of RAND’s Intelligence Policy Center. Finally, Mr. O’Connell has taught and lectured extensively at universities and research organizations, including MIT, Thunderbird School of Global Management and Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.

Dr. Jana Robinson has been Managing Director of the Prague Security Studies Institute (PSSI) since April 2020. She also serves as PSSI’s Space Security Program Director, a post she assumed in 2015. She previously held the position of a Space Policy Officer at the European External Action Service (EEAS) in Brussels as well as a Space Security Advisor to the Czech Foreign Ministry. She is a 2025 recipient of the Medal for Contribution to Diplomacy, awarded by the Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs.

From 2009 to 2013, Ms. Robinson worked at the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI), seconded from the European Space Agency (ESA), leading the Institute’s Space Security Research Programme. Ms. Robinson is an elected member of the International Institute of Space Law (IISL) and the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA). She is also a member of the Advisory Board of the George C. Marshall Missile Defense Project of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C. Ms. Robinson holds a PhD in the field of space security from the Charles University’s Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Political Studies and received two MA degrees, from George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs and Palacky University in Olomouc, respectively.

She received scholarships to attend the International Space University’s (ISU) 2009 Space Studies Program (SSP09), the 2008 Summer Training Course at the National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei, and a one-year course of study at Shanghai University 1999-2000. She completed the Spring 2025 Oxford University Executive Leadership Programme (online).

Dr. Deganit Paikowsky is an expert on International Relations with a unique focus and first-hand experience in the interface between world politics and technology, especially space. For 20 years, Dr. Paikowsky’s passion and research expertise enabled her to develop a comprehensive understanding of current and future global space market and cyberspace trends and an intimate acquaintance with the space community in government industry and academia. Dr. Paikowsky exemplifies a rare combination of a theoretical social science scholar with an enormous contribution to public policy. In October 2019, Dr. Paikowsky was elected as Vice President of  the International Astronautical Federation for a three-year term. In July 2020, she joined the International Relations Department at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Additionally, she is a non-resident scholar at the Space Policy Institute at the Elliott School for Foreign Affairs, George Washington University. Dr. Paikowsky publishes extensively in leading professional peer-reviewed journals and on popular platforms. One of the highlight of her scholarly work is her book, „The Power of the Space Club,“ published by Cambridge University Press.

​Roger W. Robinson Jr. was formerly Senior Director of International Economic Affairs at the Reagan National Security Council, where he was the principal architect of the secret economic and financial strategy for the take-down of the Soviet Union. He later served as Chairman of the Congressional U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission for the bulk of 2001-2006. Prior to his government service, Mr. Robinson was a Vice President in the International Department of the Chase Manhattan Bank with responsibility for Chase’s loan portfolios in the USSR, Central/Eastern Europe and Yugoslavia. He also served as a personal staff assistant to then-Chase Chairman David Rockefeller for some three years. Mr. Robinson is currently Chairman and Co-Founder of the Prague Security Studies Institute in the Czech Republic. He served for seven years on the Board of Visitors of the Sanford School of Public Policy at his alma mater Duke University and has an MA in International Affairs from the Elliott School of George Washington University. Mr. Robinson has regularly testified before Senate and House hearings and has appeared regularly in print and broadcast media outlets for over four decades, primarily on the subjects of financial intelligence and warfighting with respect to China, Russia and the former Soviet Union.

On 16 October 2020, Rodrigo da Costa took up his duties as Executive Director of the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), formerly the European GNSS Agency (GSA). Prior to this, he was the Galileo Services Programme Manager from March 2017.

EUSPA is an Agency of dedicated EU professionals working for a stronger, more competitive and united European Space Programme, creating synergies between satellite navigation (EGNOS & Galileo), Earth Observation (Copernicus) and secure telecommunications (GOVSATCOM). EUSPA designs and delivers user-centered services working together with the European Commission and a wide range of national, European and international stakeholders, industries and user communities. The EU Space Programme is both a resource and a springboard for the European economy, competitiveness and sustainability.

Before joining EUSPA, Rodrigo da Costa held several senior project management, business development, and institutional key account management positions in the space industry, in the areas of human space flight, exploration, launchers and R&D.

Rodrigo da Costa holds a degree in Aerospace Engineering from the “Instituto Superior Tecnico” in Lisbon, a Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Delft, and an MBA from the EuroMBA consortium of Business Schools.

Ms. Deanna Ryals is the Director of Space International Affairs, Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force for International Affairs (SAF/IA), Pentagon, Washington, D.C.  She serves as the principal space advisor to the Secretary of the Air Force, the Chief of Space Operations, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, SAF principals, and SAF/IA leadership and teams. Ms. Ryals leads SAF/IA’s teams responsible for security cooperation functions spanning international agreements (IAC agreements) and space-related politico-military matters to foreign military sales (FMS) of space systems and education programs. She is the Department of the Air Force (DAF) senior representative to the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), the Joint Staff, CCMDs, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, other Armed Services, Security Cooperation Implementing Agencies, as well as Service Components, Major Commands, and Field Commands regarding space issues involving foreign partners. Ms. Ryals is responsible for the development and coordination of DAF guidance, policies, and strategies for collaboration with Interagency mission partners, Allies and Partners, as well as with industry on international space issues of significance to the DAF warfighting requirements and operations.

Ms. Ryals has served previously both in civil service and industry in Space Acquisition, Program Management, and International Affairs. She started her Space career as an USAF acquisition officer managing a MILSATCOM portfolio of over $10B, and her international affairs career when she became the SAF/AQS focal point for Allied space activities and championed the largest space international partnership in USAF history with the Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) system multinational agreement. Ms. Ryals also spearheaded the first-ever National Security Space payload hosted on a foreign satellite with a partnership with Norway.

​Peter L. Hays is a Fellow at the Prague Security Studies Institute, Space Advisor for the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, and Senior Associate with the Aerospace Security and Missile Defense Projects at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He has been an Adjunct Professor with the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University for over 20 years and taught for six years at Marine Corps University’s School of Advanced Warfighting. Previous service included 20 years as a defense contractor in the Pentagon and Office of the Director of National Intelligence; and 25 years as an Air Force officer where he transported nuclear weapons worldwide as a C-141 pilot, and taught at the USAF Academy, School of Advanced Airpower Studies, and National Defense University. Hays earned a Ph.D. at the Fletcher School and was a 1979 Honor Graduate of the USAF Academy. Major publications include The Handbook of Space Security (2020), Toward a Theory of Spacepower (2011), and Space and Security (2011).

Phil Carrai is President of the Space, Training and Cybersecurity division for Kratos Defense and Security Solutions, Inc. As President, he is responsible for all aspects of business operations, business development/sales, mergers, and acquisitions. Throughout his career, Phil has led numerous acquisitions along with major software and hardware development initiatives to transform the group to be a premier provider of products and related solutions for the global aerospace and defense market. Previously, he was the CEO of Ai Metrix, a telecommunications software company focused on the defense and commercial markets, which was sold to Kratos Defense in 2006.

He is a former Managing Director for the Morino Group and Special Advisor to General Atlantic, Inc. During that period, he served as the Executive Chairman for US mobile media leader, Ztango, until its sale to Widerthan.com, and an active board member for Internosis, a commercial and federal services provider, until its sale to EMC.

Phil also was the CEO of McCabe and Associates, a testing and analysis software company, and remained with the company as Chairman until its sale to a private equity firm. Between 1989 and 1996, Phil held a number of executive positions at Legent, including Vice President and General Manager of its $200 million Resource Management business unit. In this, he managed or was directly involved in numerous product launches, channel and international expansions, new product developments, and mergers and acquisitions—including the merger with Computer Associates.

Phil began his career as a systems analyst/programmer for Alcoa after graduating in 1983 with a Bachelor of Science in Information Science and Accounting from Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP). He is the President of the Alumni Board for IUP, where he is also a University Distinguished Alumni and a member of the Eberly Business Hall of Distinction. He also received his MBA from Carnegie Mellon University in 1989 and currently serves as a board member for Network Alliance.

​Tony Frazier is an accomplished operating executive and corporate board member with more than 30 years of leadership experience at the intersection of commercial space, national security, and data analytics. As CEO of LeoLabs, Tony is focused on advancing the company’s vision to be the leading mission partner for persistent Orbital Intelligence that preserves the U.S. and Allied advantage in space and fosters the growth of the global economy. His leadership is devoted to enabling military space commands, civil government agencies, and commercial operators to confidently detect, track, characterize, and respond to threats in space. Tony’s career is marked by a strong commitment to innovation and mission-driven outcomes. At Maxar Technologies, Tony was the Executive Vice President and General Manager of Earth Intelligence, leading a 1,200-person team to shape and execute programs of record across the U.S. Government and with more than 60 partner nations in support of military and intelligence missions. During his 13-year tenure, Tony helped lead the geospatial intelligence community through a period of significant adoption and technological advancement. Earlier in his career, Tony led teams at Cisco Systems and Infor, where he built collaborative environments that fostered innovation. He is a passionate advocate for leveraging technology to solve complex global challenges and is dedicated to driving solutions that enhance stability and transparency, resilience, and operational excellence.

Dr. Kazuto Suzuki is Professor at the Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Tokyo, Japan, and Director of the Institute of Geoeconomics at International House of Japan.  He graduated from the Department of International Relations, Ritsumeikan University, and received Ph.D. from Sussex European Institute, University of Sussex, England. He has worked in the Fondation pour la recherche stratégique in Paris, France as assistant researcher and the Associate Professor at the University of Tsukuba from 2000 to 2008 and served as Professor of International Politics at Hokkaido University until 2020. He served as an expert in the Panel of Experts for Iranian Sanction Committee under the United Nations Security Council from 2013 to July 2015. He currently serves many advisory committees of the government of Japan, inter alia, the National Space Policy Committee of the Cabinet Office, the Government of Japan, and the President of Japan Association of International Security and Trade. He is also a full member of the International Academy of Astronautics, an Associate Fellow of the Royal Institute of International Affairs, and a Visiting Fellow at The Japan Institute of International Affairs. His research focuses on the conjunction of science/technology and international relations; subjects including economic security, space policy, sanctions, non-proliferation, and export control. His recent work includes Space and International Politics (2011), in Japanese, awarded Suntory Prize for Social Sciences and Humanities), Policy Logics and Institutions of European Space Collaboration (2003), A Global Map of Resources and the Economy, in Japanese, (2024); as editing work includes The Regulatory Power of the EU in Japanese (2012), Economic security and technological advantage (2023) in Japanese, and many others.

Janice Starzyk is the Deputy Director of the Office of Space Commerce, a Senior Executive Service position. Previously, she led Virgin Orbit’s Washington, DC, office and government operations. Her extensive experience and contributions in the space industry include leading the consulting practice at Bryce Space and Technology and more than a decade leading the commercial strategy and market intelligence for launch service providers International Launch Services (ILS) and United Launch Alliance (ULA). At Futron Corporation, Ms. Starzyk worked with a range of civil, military and commercial space industry customers.​

She received her Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University. She holds a Master of Arts in economics and international relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and a dual-degree Global MBA from Tulane University and Universidad Icesi in Cali, Colombia.

For more than a decade, Ms. Starzyk has also provided community leadership and support to local STEM education programs through the Washington Space Business Roundtable. She was appointed to serve as an industry representative on the Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee in 2022.

Tomotaka Ishikawa is engaged in Strategy, Business Development of the entire space business in IHI and IHI Aerospace. IHI/IHI Aerospace’s space business includes launch vehicle integration, solid rockets, propulsion system for satellites/spacecrafts, and turbo pumps as a manufacturer, and in addition, joining the portfolio are ground based SSA , EO data service, and launch service which are expected to expand by actively establishing international collaboration.

Tomotaka Ishikawa began his career in Nissan Motor Aerospace Division which was acquired by IHI in 2000, and has thirty years’ experience as an engineer / project manager for Defense Systems such as MLRS, followed by a business development career in both Space and Defense, especially those with international partners.

He received a Bachelor of Science / Mechanical Engineering from Tokyo University in 1987.

Juliana Suess is an Associate with the STAND Project (Strategic Threat Analysis and Nuclear (Dis-)Order) within the Research Group International Security at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP). There she researches space security, deterrence and arms control. She also hosts the podcast War in Space, which discusses the intersection of international security and space. Juliana is an Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), where she was previously Research Fellow for Space Security.

Jan Jireš has served as the Director General for Defence Policy and Planning at the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic since July 2022. Prior to this role, he spent five years in Brussels, where he served as Head of the Defence Section at the Permanent Delegation of the Czech Republic to NATO and at the Permanent Representation to the EU. From 2014 to 2017, he served as Director for Defence Policy at the Ministry of Defence. Between 2004 and 2014, he lectured on international relations and security studies at the Faculty of Arts, Charles University, and at the CEVRO Institute in Prague.

Christian-Marc Lifländer currently serves as the Head of Defence Policy Section in the Defence Policy and Planning (DPP) Division, which has the lead role on the defence-related aspects of NATO’s fundamental security tasks at the political-military level.

Previously, Mr Lifländer served as the senior cyber and hybrid policy official of NATO’s International Staff and lead the development and implementation of cyber and hybrid policy across NATO.

Before joining NATO, Mr Lifländer held executive and senior advisory level positions within the Estonian Ministry of Defence, including Acting Deputy Undersecretary for Defence Policy, Director of Policy Planning, and Adviser to the Minister of Defence. Mr Lifländer also served as a Defence Counselor at the Embassy of the Republic of Estonia in the United States and as a Defence Counselor at the Delegation of the Republic of Estonia to NATO.

Mr. Lifländer received a direct commission in the Estonian Defense Forces (Infantry) and has been awarded with the Estonian Defence Forces Distinguished Service Decoration as well as Distinguished Service Decorations of the Estonian Ministry of Defence.

Mr. Lifländer received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering from the United States Military Academy, West Point. He received his Master of Arts in Security Studies from Georgetown University’s Center for Security Studies (CSS) in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service.

Professor Sangho Kim received his Ph.D. in Aeronautics & Astronautics Engineering from Stanford University in 2002. He worked at the Stanford University Aerospace Computing Laboratory and the Agency for Defense Development in Korea, and has been a professor at Konkuk University since 2008, where he conducted numerous studies including [Development of an Integrated Multidisciplinary Optimal Design Program for Space Launch Vehicles], [Large Sea Launch Rocket System Mission Design and Concept Research], and [Study on Activation of Standards in the Aerospace Field] etc. Currently, he is performing standardization activities in the aerospace field as the Chairman of the Aerospace National Standards Committee of the National Agency for Technology and Standards and as a member of the ISO TC20 (Aerospace) expert committee. He is also performing the project [Analysis and Research of Trends in Space Security International Cooperation 2025] as the Vice President for the International Cooperation of the Korean Academy of Space Security.

Isabelle Duvaux-Béchon is a Senior Advisor in the Directorate of Strategy, Legal & External Matters of the European Space Agency.

Since January 2023, she is supporting ESA activities and programmes addressing security and defence (Civil Security from Space programme, Rapid and Resilient Crisis Response initiative, office of the Senior Security Advisor to ESA DG).

Prior to that, and after 4 years in the space industry, she joined ESA in 1987 and worked in various areas: Microgravity, International Space Station, Budget, Education, Corporate Planning, Finance, Studies, Advanced Concepts, coordination of activities on transversal challenges (Energy, Arctic, Maritime, SDG), relations with Member States and Strategy.

She is a diplomed engineer from Ecole Centrale Paris (specialisation in Air & Space engineering) and an auditor of IHEDN (the French Institute for Advanced Studies in National Defence – Defence Policy and Maritime Challenges national sessions). She is a Knight in the French “Ordre national du Mérite”, volunteer in the reserve of the French Navy and a full member of the International Academy of Astronautics.

Petr Bohacek is a co-owner at TRL Space, where he is responsible for the business and strategy of the TRL Space group, which focuses on making space and UAV technologies affordable and accessible. This means focusing on substituting costly legacy systems with new and cheaper solutions in the defense sectors, and knowledge transfer in developing regions and space-emerging countries. With branches in Rwanda and the Czech Republic, it brings space closer to developing regions. Next to commercial and defense products and services, Petr is also responsible for TRL Space’s Lunar missions and capability-building projects. Prior to this, Petr was a space technology and security fellow at the Czech Academy of Sciences, European University Institute in Florence, Charles University and the Association for International Affairs in Prague.

Christophe Morand, born on March 9, 1967 joined the French Air Force in 1987.  He started his career in the technical squadron of the strategic ballistic missiles wing.  After several posts in military space units, he was appointed head of the military space programs division in the French joint staff, in charge of all French space intelligence programs. He retired in 2010 as Colonel and joined the Crisis Management and Planning Director in the European External Action service. He established in 2015 the EEAS space task force.

He joined in 2020 the EU Commission in the directorate General for Defence Industry and Space (DEFIS), in charge of the supervision of security activities of the EU space programme. DEFIS leads the European Commission’s activities in the Defence Industry and Space sector. DEFIS is in charge of upholding the competitiveness and innovation of the European Defence industry by ensuring the evolution of an able European defence technological and industrial base. In the area of Space DG DEFIS is in charge of implementing the EU Space programme consisting of the European Earth Observation Programme (Copernicus), the European Global Navigation Satellite System (Galileo) and the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS).

In 2022, he was appointed adviser of the Directorate General Timo Pesonen for Security of Information and Synergies between Space, Defence and Civil Industries. Beyond the security of the EU space programme, he is involved in EC activities in the field of EU crisis response, hybrid threat and cyber Security.

Peggy Hollinger is the Financial Times’s (FT) Space Industry Editor, leading coverage of the companies and agencies exploring the frontiers of the new space economy. Peggy joined the FT in 1987 and has held a variety of editing and reporting roles in London, Paris and Tokyo. These included Paris bureau chief, UK companies’ editor, Industry Editor, Leader writer, a secondment as Nikkei Asia business editor, and assistant editor. In her nearly 40 years, Peggy has covered a range of sectors including the aerospace, space, retail, oil and gas, and utilities sectors.

Since 2011, Mr. Václav Kobera, J.D., has served as the Director of Space Activities and New Transport Technologies of the Ministry of Transport of the Czech Republic. Since 2017, Mr. Kobera has served as the Head of Delegation of the Czech Republic to the European Space Agency (ESA) and since 2021 as the Executive Chairman of Czech Space Coordination Council. Between 2021 and 2025 he was the Chairman of the Administrative Board of the EU Agency for Space Programme (EUSPA), between 2013-2018, he was a Member of the Administrative Board of the European GNSS Agency (GSA) representing the Czech Republic and the Chairman of the ESA Programme Board on Satellite Navigation (PB-NAV) between 2017-2020.

Dr. Regina Peldszus is a Space Security specialist with the European External Action Service, Security & Defence Policy Directorate, where she serves on the team of the EU Special Envoy for Space. Her focus is on space threats, Space Situational Awareness, and Space Domain Awareness.

Prior to joining EEAS, Regina advised the German Ministry of Economic Affairs on space security, including interagency and civil-military cooperation for SSA and transatlantic wargaming. Until 2020, at the German Space Agency at DLR, she served as Co-Chair of EU Space Surveillance & Tracking (EU SST), and oversaw horizon-scanning studies at the intersection of global sensor architectures and geopolitics. She holds a PhD from Kingston University, London, in human systems integration for future space missions, and conducted research at the European Space Agency, including as Internal Research Fellow on high reliability in mission control, with the Special Studies division at the European Space Operations Centre.

Regina’s publications have explored foresight, resilience, and space infrastructure in, amongst others, the Handbook for Space Security, Journal of Space Safety Engineering, Palgrave Studies in the History of Science and Technology, and Wired UK. She lectures regularly, including at the European Security & Defence College. In 2024, she was an invited expert at the German Parliament’s Defence Committee, and in 2025 joines the German Space Agency’s inaugural programme board on space security.

Holmes Liao, currently a Senior Advisor at the Taiwan Space Agency (TASA), is a renowned defense analyst and veteran engineering executive with over 35 years of experience in the defense and aerospace sectors across the United States and Asia. He has extensive expertise in systems engineering and has led the design and implementation of mission-critical programs. Mr. Liao is also proficient in engineering program management and has spearheaded international business pursuits, securing multiple large-scale contracts for his employers.

In addition to his engineering career, he previously served as a distinguished adjunct faculty member at Taiwan’s War College, specializing in military balance and strategic affairs. As a prolific writer and commentator, he has published dozens of journal and conference papers, covering topics such as strategic studies, military assessments, modeling and simulation, and defense technologies. He has also authored over 200 media commentaries and has been featured in international outlets including NHK, CNN, MSNBC, BBC, Sky News Australia, and Spain’s El Confidencial.

Outside of his professional endeavors, Mr. Liao is an avid scuba diver, skier, sailor, martial artist, and calligrapher, and enjoys playing classical guitar.

Kari A. Bingen is the director of the Aerospace Security Project and a senior fellow in the Defense and Security Department at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Her interests lie at the intersection of technology and policy, national and economic security, and the collaboration between the public and private sectors in advancing both. Before joining CSIS, Kari was the chief strategy officer at HawkEye 360, an innovative space technology company. She previously served as the deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence and security, a U.S. Senate-confirmed role in which she oversaw the nation’s defense intelligence and security enterprises. Prior, Kari was the policy director on the House Armed Services Committee and staff lead for its Strategic Forces Subcommittee. Prior to government service, she worked as a space systems analyst in the national security space sector.

In addition to her work at CSIS, Kari is passionate about “paying it forward” as an adjunct assistant professor at Georgetown University.  She is a member of the U.S. National Intelligence University’s Board of Visitors, a member of the U.S. Strategic Command Strategic Advisory Group, and serves on a number of corporate and nonprofit advisory boards.  She holds a degree in aeronautics and astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Dr. John Huth is the Chief of the Office of Space and Counterspace. He leads DIA’s activities on collection, characterization, and analysis of foreign space and counterspace capabilities, vulnerabilities, and intent. Prior to this assignment he served as the Defense Intelligence Officer for Space and Counterspace. In that role he was the senior intelligence advisor to the Director and Deputy Director of DIA on the full range of intelligence matter related to space and counterspace topics to include analysis, collection, counterintelligence, international engagement, intelligence policy, and outreach.

Dr. Huth earned his Doctorate in Computational Science from George Mason University, his Master of Science in Physics from the University of Massachusetts, and a Bachelor of Science in Astronomy from Penn State. He served as an Army Intelligence Officer, technology industry leader, and program manager for over 25 years before joining the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).

Dr. Huth is a lead contributor to several firsts in space and intelligence that have had long lasting impacts to the space and intelligence communities. He has experience across the full spectrum of intelligence activities from analysis to collection, and enterprise management. Dr. Huth has led multiple cross-discipline organizations at the office level.