New Finnish Space Committee appointed

The government on Thursday appointed the new Finnish Space Committee for a three-year term from September 6 , 2019 to September 5, 2022, said a press release of Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.

Ilona Lundström, Director-General, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment has been made the Chairperson of the committee while Päivi Antikainen, Director of Unit, Ministry of Transport and Communications was made Vice Chair.

Members of the committee are Tanja Jääskeläinen, Deputy Director General, Ministry for Foreign Affairs,

Kai Knape, Security Director, Ministry of Defence, Tanja Suni, Research Director, Ministry of the Environment,

Pentti Lähteenoja, Director-General, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Janne Koivukoski, Deputy Director General for Rescue Services, Ministry of the Interior, Paavo-Petri Ahonen, Senior Ministerial Adviser, Ministry of Education and Culture, Juhani Damski, Director General, Finnish Meteorological Institute, Kimmo Kanto, Head of Space, Business Finland, Susan Linko, Director, Academy of Finland, Veera Sylvius, Managing Director, Space Systems Finland Oy/Association of Finnish Defence and Aerospace Industries AFDA, Juha-Matti Liukkonen, Director, Reaktor Group Oy/Association of Finnish Defence and Aerospace Industries AFDA, Minna Palmroth, Professor, University of Helsinki/Finnish National Committee on Space Research COSPAR.

A secretariat working at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment is provided for the Committee: Maija Lönnqvist, Chief Specialist; Jenni Tapio, Chief Specialist; Tuija Ypyä, Ministerial Adviser; and Heidi Pennanen, Specialist.

The Finnish Space Committee acts as an advisory body to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment in matters related to space policy and the space sector.

Matters falling within the competence of the Committee include the adoption of the national space strategy, follow-up of strategy implementation, and defining the guidelines and priorities for Finland’s international influencing.

The Committee brings together the perspectives of the various administrative branches. However, each Ministry is responsible for space activities within its own administrative branch.

In recent years, the idea of building a decentralised space administration has been discussed in the administrative branches and between various players in the field. In spring 2019, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, in close cooperation with other ministries and interest groups, made preparations to renew the Space Committee.

The Government Decree on the Finnish Space Committee was adopted on 7 June 2019. Its objective is to clarify and improve the Committee’s operations, and to enhance the coordination and preparation of space-related matters.