UND to host first-ever Space Operations Summit, then Space Ag Conference in October – Grand Forks Herald | Space

GRAND FORKS – UND will host back-to-back space industry events, including a first-ever Space Operations Summit, in October.

The inaugural Space Operations Summit will take place Oct. 23 at UND’s Memorial Union, featuring “speeches and networking opportunities from individuals representing the defense community, academia and the private sector,” according to a release.

The Grand Farm-organized Space Ag Conference is set to be held the next day, Oct. 24, also at Memorial Union.

Discussion topics for the Space Operations Summit will include space law and policy, space traffic management, innovation and entrepreneurship in outer space and NASA’s Artemis Program.

President Andy Armacost will deliver opening remarks at the summit, with retired U.S. Air Force Col. and Space Shuttle astronaut Paul Lockhart delivering the keynote address.

Other scheduled speakers will include UND Space Studies Department Chair Pablo de León; Grand Forks Air Force Base Commander Col. Timothy Monroe; national security associate dean Ryan Adams; Col. Michael Stobie, commander of the 10th Space Warning Squadron at Cavalier Space Force Station; and more to-be-announced guests.

The Space Ag Conference will focus on sustainable farming, food security, and the potential for permanent human settlement on the moon. Further agenda details were not immediately…