25 Mar 2019
Dr Christer Fuglesang, Sweden's only astronaut, shared about his astronomical career with over 160 staff at a DSTA Lecture on 21 March 2019.
Speaking on the topic 'Space Challenges – for a Human to Humankind', Dr Fuglesang, who is the Director of KTH Space Centre and a professor at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden, shared his personal experiences as a European Space Agency astronaut. Between 1992 and 2017, he undertook two shuttle missions to the International Space Station.
Highlighting the importance of space to modern society for functions such as navigation, weather forecasts and communications, he also talked about recent and future technological developments in space. Beyond that, he shared how systems engineering has helped overcome the challenges of travelling to and operating in space.
Dr Fuglesang then elaborated on the trends in satellite data fusion and the application of artificial intelligence to draw insights from satellite images. He also shared that commercial organisations are developing technologies for sub-orbital flights for space tourism and microgravity experimentations.
Close to 30 students from 13 schools were also present to spark their interest in science and technology.
