Conferences & Speakers | Toulouse Space Forum 2026

Preliminary programme

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08h30

Opening

Amphithéâtre

Jean-Luc MOUDENC

Mayor of Toulouse, President of Toulouse Métropole

Thierry COTELLE

Regional Councillor of the Occitanie / Pyrénées-Méditerranée Region, First Vice-President of the Economy, Employment, Innovation and Reindustrialisation Committee. President of NEREUS-Space

08h55

The Time for a Sacred Union in the European Space Sector?

Amphithéâtre

Alain FAURÉ

Executive Vice President of the space division of Airbus Defence and Space and President of Airbus Defence and Space France

Hervé DERREY

Chairman and CEO of Thales Alenia Space

Massimo COMPARINI

Managing Director of Leonardo's Space Division

09h40

Debate: Do We Still Really Need Astronauts?

Amphithéâtre

Philippe PERRIN

Astronaut and Test Pilot at Airbus

Philippe LUGHERINI

Ingénieur aérospatial

10h05

Networking Break

Amphithéâtre

10h30

What Strategy for European Space Exploration?

Amphithéâtre

Giampiero DI PAOLO

Deputy CEO, Senior Vice President Observation, Exploration and Navigation Domain at Thales Alenia Space

Didier SCHMITT

Head of the Future Preparation Department for Robotic and Human Exploration at the ESA

David MASTERSON

Vice President, Future Programmes – Earth Observation, Science & Exploration, Airbus Defence and Space

Anna CHRISTMANN

Former Federal Government Coordinator for German Aerospace Policy

11h15

Awards Ceremony: DEFENCE AND SOVEREIGNTY Award – Presented by the OCCITANIE REGION

Amphithéâtre

11h20

Awards Ceremony: GRAND EXPORT Award – Presented by Isabelle FERRER

Amphithéâtre

11h30

Interview

Amphithéâtre

Pierre LIONNET

Economist, Research Director and Chief Executive Officer of Eurospace

11h50

The German Model Facing New Space

Amphithéâtre

Anna CHRISTMANN

Former Federal Government Coordinator for German Aerospace Policy

12h10

The Guest - What New Technological Frontiers for Space?

Amphithéâtre

Emmanuel CHIVA

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ONERA

12h30

Awards Ceremony: RISING STAR Award – Presented by LE CLUB GALAXIE

Amphithéâtre

12h40

Lunch Break

Amphithéâtre

14h00

Interview – Guest Country: Spain

Amphithéâtre

Juan Carlos CORTES

Director of the Spanish Space Agency

14h15

Guest Country: Spain, Europe’s New Space Conquistador

Amphithéâtre

Juan Carlos CORTES

Director of the Spanish Space Agency

Carlos HERNANDEZ MEDEL

Director of European Projects

Adrià ARGEMI

Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Pangea Propulsion

Miguel Ángel MOLINA

Space Council Chairman at GMV

Raquel GONZALEZ SOLA

Vice President and Head of Airbus Space Systems Spain

15h00

Interview – Defense Space: A New Boost for France

Amphithéâtre

EVA PORTIER

Space Deputy to the Director General for Armaments

Contre-Amiral Sébastien GOINERE

Deputy Commander of the Space Command

15h30

Overview – Defense Space: What Should We Expect from New Space?

Amphithéâtre

EVA PORTIER

Space Deputy to the Director General for Armaments

Pierre BERTRAND

CEO of Skynopy

Thomas PFISTER

CEO of U-Space

Emmanuelle MERIC

President of the European subsidiary of Loft Orbital

16h00

Constellation Wars: Who Will Win Europe’s Small Satellite Battle?

Amphithéâtre

Claire BERTAUX

Strategic Operations Manager of ICEYE

Jean-Claude SOUYRIS

Director of Strategy at CNES

Florian DECONINCK

Vice President, Growth, OpenCosmos

Thomas HIRIART

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of KINEIS

16h50

Award Presentation – Special Jury Prize

Amphithéâtre

17h00

Closing Remarks

Amphithéâtre

Among THE 2026 speakers

Chaque année, le Paris Air Forum réunit des dirigeants, experts et décideurs de premier plan : PDG d’industriels mondiaux, responsables d’agences spatiales, ministres, investisseurs et chercheurs. Après une édition 2025 marquée par la présence de figures emblématiques, l’édition 2026 promet de nouvelles personnalités d’exception.