I’m delighted to once again be returning to the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on behalf of Voyager Space Holdings.
The WEF is an annual conference where approximately 3,000 business leaders, political figures, economists, and members of the media gather in the Alpine town of Davos to discuss global issues across more than 500 public and private sessions.
As chairman and CEO of Voyager, I support the development of commercial space activities, and as founder of the global non-profit Space for Humanity (S4H), my aim is to democratize space and develop solutions to world problems by leveraging the power of space.
The 2020 gathering marks the sixth time I have attended in the past eight years, but it will be the first time I have hosted an event dedicated to Space. Alongside Co-hosts Joe Landon of Advanced Space Systems at Lockheed Martin and world-renowned artist and Space For Humanity Advisory Board member Drue Katakoa, Voyager and S4H will host an event on the “Future of Humanity in Space” on Thursday evening.
The theme for the 2020 World Economic Forum is “Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World” and at the “Future of Humanity in Space,” attendees will learn how the space industry is placing this theme at its core, and what issues will shape space exploration in the near future.
If you are in Davos this week, I hope you will reach out for an invitation to the event. For those of you not at the WEF, I would encourage you to review the key points in a recent op-ed I authored for Space News. It will help you understand why my colleagues at Voyager and I are so committed to furthering humanity’s exploration of the cosmos as entrepreneurs and advocates for commercial space.
National space programs—led by NASA but including agencies from around the world including Russia, Japan, India, Middle Eastern countries, and Europe—continue to press forward in space exploration and the development of space technologies. However, it is the rise of private companies that have shaken up the industry.
Space exploration has been a human fascination since ancient times. Today is undoubtedly the most exciting era for the industry in terms of technology, breakthroughs, and innovation. There are no limits to what can be achieved in space exploration and space technology. I have no doubt that with the proper leadership these advancements will ultimately have an enormous positive impact on humanity.