Pedro Duque

Why organisations work with Pedro Duque

• Two flown space missions, STS-95 aboard Space Shuttle Discovery and the Cervantes mission to the International Space Station, give him first-hand experience of mission-critical decision-making in high-risk multinational technical environments.
• Three years running Spain’s national innovation system as Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities. He saw what happens when research and innovation policy meet the real economy, and where the translation breaks down.
• Chair of Hispasat, one of three European operators inside SpaceRISE, the consortium awarded the IRIS² concession. He is inside the construction of European technological sovereignty, not commenting on it from the outside.
• He has approached the same questions about technology, risk, and capability from three operationally distinct positions: as an astronaut at ESA, as a CEO at Deimos Imaging, and as a minister in the Spanish government.

Biography highlights

• ESA astronaut who flew STS-95 aboard NASA’s Space Shuttle Discovery in 1998 and the 10-day Cervantes mission to the International Space Station aboard Soyuz TMA in 2003.
• Spain’s Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities from 2018 to 2021, and Minister of Science and Innovation from 2020 to 2021.
• Member of Spain’s Congress of Deputies for Alicante, 2019 to 2020.
• Chair of Hispasat since December 2023; the company is one of three European satellite operators in the SpaceRISE consortium awarded the EU’s IRIS² satellite constellation contract.
• Former Managing Director and Executive President of Deimos Imaging during the launch of Deimos-1, Spain’s first Earth observation satellite.
• Member of the Spanish Royal Academy of Engineering; recipient of Russia’s Order of Friendship, Spain’s Grand Cross of Aeronautical Merit, and the Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation.

Biography

On 29 October 1998, Spain watched its first astronaut launch from Cape Canaveral aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. Pedro Duque has stayed close to space ever since, but rarely from orbit.

After a second flight in 2003, this time on a Soyuz to the International Space Station for the Cervantes mission, Duque moved between roles that few people combine. He led Deimos Imaging during the launch of Deimos-1, Spain’s first Earth observation satellite. He returned to ESA to head its Flight Operations Office, which oversees European activities on the ISS from the Columbus Control Centre near Munich.

In 2018, Pedro Sánchez named him Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities. He held the post through 2021, including a period as Minister of Science and Innovation, and represented Spain on the European Space Agency’s Ministerial Council. During his tenure he committed an additional €701 million to Spain’s ESA contribution between 2020 and 2026.

Since December 2023 he has chaired Hispasat. The company is now one of three European satellite operators inside SpaceRISE, the consortium awarded the IRIS² concession in late 2024. IRIS² is the EU’s third flagship space programme, a 290-satellite constellation built for European sovereignty in secure connectivity. Few speakers can describe what that means from the inside.

Key speaking topics

• Space technology and the modern economy
• Satellite infrastructure and European sovereignty
• Innovation policy and national competitiveness
• International cooperation in complex technical programmes
• Decision-making in high-risk operational environments
• Earth observation and applied satellite data
• The space industry and geopolitical risk

Ideal for

• Boards and executive teams setting strategy under technological and geopolitical uncertainty
• Government, policy, and public sector leadership forums on innovation, science and industrial strategy
• Aerospace, defence, telecommunications, and infrastructure leadership
• Corporate audiences shaping long-horizon technology and capability decisions

Audience outcomes

• A reframing of satellite and space infrastructure as a strategic layer of the modern economy
• A view from inside the IRIS² consortium of what European secure connectivity actually requires
• How mission-critical decisions get made when failure is unacceptable and teams cross nationalities
• A grounded read on where national innovation policy translates into commercial outcomes and where it stalls