Be there when the future of technology starts. The ESA Investment Forum

Urban myth has it that the most useful things brought back to people on Earth by man’s conquest of space are Teflon-coated non-stick frying pans and Velcro fasteners.

Not only is this untrue (the first frying pan was coated with Teflon by a Finnish company in 1960, one year before the first man in space, and Velcro was invented by a Swiss engineer in 1948 who was annoyed by picking burs out of his dog’s fur after taking him for a walk in the woods) but this also misleadingly diminishes the importance that space technology has for our modern life.

ABS, ceramic brakes and the air bag are based on a technology which was originally invented for space applications.

It is widely known that for the past 40 years, space programmes have dedicated large amounts of money and resources to developing and perfecting top-notch innovative technologies. A fact not so well-known is that many of these state-of-the-art space technologies have found their way back to Earth. We are surrounded by technology derived from space applications in our everyday life – ABS and airbags being just two of many prominent examples that have generated considerable profits. The importance of spinning off sophisticated space technologies to businesses of the future is ever rising, with satellite based services being one of the most promising sectors of future business profit. In that light, ESA is now setting up a European Venture Fund to support these golden opportunities.

Find out how your company can participate in shaping the huge profit potential of future high-tech space technology spin-offs at the

ESA Investment Forum
European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) of ESA
2200 AG Nordwijk ZH
The Netherlands
24 April 2007

With our partners, we cordially invite you to the ESA Investment Forum as well as the preceding Gala dinner in the evening of the 23 April 2007.

ESA and its partners are looking forward to welcoming you to the Investment Forum at ESTEC the 24 April 2007.

Kind regards,

Frank M. Salzgeber
Acting Head of Technology Transfer Programme Office
European Space Agency