Dubai Adventure - IAC 2021!
Dec 22, 2021
Did I mention already that it was quite a year for me?
Welp, If it wasn’t enough, after the BEXUS and EuRoC campaign I had a great pleasure traveling to Dubai for the International Astronautical Congress! Naturally it wouldn’t be possible without the SimLE science club.
Ever since the original Mars Colonial Transporter presentation from Elon Musk in Adelaide, IAC was on my shortlist. The first time I came close was in 2019 when members of the club attended the IAC in Washington. I couldn’t be there, but you might have remember the gift packages that were sent out on my behalf by my friends. I hope you liked it!
This time around I could be there in person, no strings attached. The city itself was quite surprising, knowing that it had been build from scratch on a desert. There is something to be said about the wealth of the United Arab Emirates, as it is one of the few countries that could accomplish something like this.
The congress itself was an amazing opportunity to meet people and companies that I have since known from the internet. I’ve talked with representatives of Boeing, Lockheed Martin, NASA, ESA, Rocket Lab and many many more. Sadly there was no SpaceX present, although I heard you could come by some representatives in private. It doesn’t really surprise me, as they would have been eaten alive if they had a stand on the exhibition hall. You could also visit a stand of the Polish Space Agency where we left some stickers of our science club.
After all it is a congress, so scientific presentations were the main course. The highlight for me was a panel of representatives from JAXA who talked about the complexities of Hayabusa2 mission. There was also a great panel of most space agencies chefs from ESA, NASA, Roscosmos, JAXA and even CNSA who recorded a message to the audience. Another highlight would be a presentation of Roscosmos regarding their reusable rocket development and a cheesy question from the public asking who “inspired” them to take on it. Hearing the answer of Mr. Rogozin in person was quite something and I don’t think any recording can convey the atmosphere in the room :P
Accompanying the congress there was of course a Juri’s Night party! Of course the date is wrong, but it is the only other right time to have fun in the name of the first human spaceflight. I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed any party as much as this one.
Also in town there is a EXPO 2021. Same thing as the EXPO which gave us the Eiffel tower in Paris, this time around it is being held in Dubai. It is still open till March 2022. Among all the countries present my favorite was of course Poland. USA comes close second with their exhibition of Falcon 9 first stage replica!
I had a real blast traveling to Dubai and spent some quality time there doing the things I love the most. Spaceflight industry is really awesome and I hope it is not the last time I have opportunity to attend congress like this one. Next one is in Paris, see you there?
PS: 2$ patrons are being sent a small gift of appreciation from Dubai, let me know when it arrives!