I was there – and I liked it!
Hi. Nice to meet you! I am the Kvarkenaut, a space traveler from Kvarken born in the KvarkenSpaceEco project. I live at the University of Vaasa and I mostly observe the situation on the fourth floor of Fabriikki.
As a child of the Pandemic era, I’m not very used to large crowds, although I’ve been able to spar a few times with children crafting satellites. It was nice!
The engine broke down in the middle of nowhere and I had to change trains and continue my trip behind the prams.
Last week my coworkers surprised me by wrapping me in black plastic and taking me on a train. The first train journey in my life was quite exciting, because after traveling for less than a couple of hours, the train stopped in the middle of the forest when the engine broke down. So, we had to change trains in the middle of nowhere, and I had to spend the rest of the journey crammed into the same corner with the prams.
Soon everything is ready for the FSW2023.
At the slushy Helsinki train station, we jumped into a large taxi that took us to Otaniemi, Espoo. At Dipoli, my coworkers helped me out of the plastic wraps and made me stand between the tables and the roll-ups. After getting the things in place, they said good night and promised to come back in the morning.
In the morning the venue was crowded with FSW2023 attendatns.
The next morning, the Finnish Satellite Workshop event started in Dipoli. Starting in the morning, people came to the place, crowding between tables and roll-ups and asking us what Kvarken Space Center is, what we do, what’s up with the KvarkenSat cube satellite, and every now and then someone wanted to be in the same picture with me.
Many of my coworkers attended the FSW2023.
During the couple of days I spent in Dipoli, I hadn’t chance to listen to presentations related to satellites, earth observation, remote sensing or positioning, but I was able to participate in Finland’s biggest space event. I met lots of experts from different fields, students, researchers, company representatives and decision-makers. I also made many new friends and got to pose for selfies.
I’m already looking forward to next year’s FSW event. See you there?
Best regards,
Kvarkenaut
P.S. My coworkers were also very happy and wanted to thank assistant professor Jaan Praks and his crew for the well-arranged event.