Chris Blackerby

Chris joined Astroscale as Group COO in August 2017 and leads the global strategic development for the company.   

Chris served as the NASA Attaché for Asia, the senior space policy official in the U.S. Embassy Tokyo, from 2012-2017. In that capacity he identified multiple opportunities for cooperation in the region; served as strategic space advisor to the U.S. Ambassador to Japan and senior U.S. Government officials; acted as an official intermediary between NASA and its partners in Asia in negotiating agreements and resolving disputes; and participated in numerous outreach events highlighting NASA activities.  

Chris began working for NASA as a Presidential Management Fellow in 2003.  While at NASA he was a leader in forging international cooperative partnerships around the world in the fields of Earth science, space science and human space exploration.  From 2005-2007 Chris was the Executive Director of the NASA Advisory Council, which provided advice to senior NASA officials on future policies and plans.  

Chris received a BA in History and Education from the University of Richmond (Va.) in 1995 and an MA in International Relations from the University of Rhode Island in 2002. In 2009 Chris earned an MBA from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University.

Emma Gatti – Moderator

A former NASA scientist turned Space analyst, broadcaster, and science editor. I host several podcasts and stream shows for SpaceWatch Global, for which I am also the Editor in Chief. Catch my weekly Space news show,  Space Nuggets, on YouTube, or listen to my podcast, Space For Good, on Spotify. My radio interviews air on Space Cafè Radio , and my articles appear in SpaceWatch Global and Focus Italy. 

I’ve been interviewed by the BBC and consult on Space matters for the Financial Times and The Economist. I’m also the co-founder of Monnalisa Bytes, an award-winning digital science magazine, and The Funnel, a Science Communication Studio that serves academia and the private sector. 

Dr. Ruth Stilwell

Dr. Ruth Stilwell is the Executive Director of Aerospace Policy Solutions LLC, adjunct professor at Norwich University and served as Senior Nonresident Scholar at the Space Policy Institute of George Washington University. She is one of the leading authorities on integrated space and aviation policy and governance. Her current work focuses on the policy and regulatory frameworks for Space Traffic Management, the integration of commercial space launch in civil airspace, and the development of cooperative traffic management for aviation and space operation in airspace above 60,000 ft. Among her publications, she is a contributing author in reference books including Global Space Governance: An International Study (2017) and An Introduction to the Spaceport Industry: Runways to Space (2020).

Kevin M. O’Connell

Kevin M. O’Connell is a recognized expert on space commerce, the global space economy, and US national security. For almost four decades, he has focused on space commercialization and technological competitiveness and how to advance them in global markets. He has also focused on how these innovations impact US and allied national security.

Mr. O’Connell serves as the Chairman, US Board, NorthStar Earth and Space within his role as the CEO of Space Economy Rising, a firm that provides advisory services to high-tech companies and stakeholders in the space economy. Mr. O’Connell previously served as the Director of the Office of Space Commerce, US Department of Commerce (2018-2021) as the principal advocate for the US commercial space industry within the US government. He has testified before Congress on eight occasions about US space policy and regulatory issues, US space competitiveness and the growth of space commerce. He was also awarded the Vice President’s Dedicated Service Award for his support to the National Space Council.

Mr. O’Connell is a regular author and commentator on developments within the space economy.

Stewart Bain

Stewart Bain is an innovator, entrepreneur, aerospace engineer, and the driving force in the development of NorthStar, the world’s first comprehensive Earth & Space Information services platform that will pioneer space-based SSA (Space Situational Awareness).

Stewart has been spearheading the commercialization of disruptive aeronautical and space technologies for over three decades. He was part of the original engineering design team for RadarSat 1 & 2, created the optical systems centre of excellence in Canada that delivered breakthrough fully-autonomous star tracker systems for spacecraft attitude control as well as precision optical intersatellite link technologies. Stewart led an international team of scientists from USA and Japan that developed high temperature asymmetric phenylethynyl terminated imide (PETI) oligomer composite material that won a NASA R&D 100 award.

Stewart’s current energies are devoted to realizing NorthStar as an enterprise to provide concrete solutions for some of our planet’s most pressing challenges with tools that will enable a safer and more sustainable environment in Space and on Earth for generations to come.

Stewart holds an MBA from Queen’s University and a Master of Engineering from Carleton University. He is a classical trained actor from the National Theatre in London and founder of the Ottawa Shakespeare Festival in 1992.