The Israel Space Forum: Interviewing Melody Korman

Israel is constantly growing and developing its technology landscape, challenging every industry and company within the market to follow suit. In 2023, Israel’s Space Tech industry received $314 million in investments.

This sudden growth confirmed the necessity of a new, groundbreaking organization that would fulfill Israel’s natural inclination to the exploration and research of space. In April 2024, the Rakia mission and the Israeli Space Agency joined forces and launched the Israel Space Forum.

I sat down with Executive Director, Melody Korman, to hear first-hand about the forum’s mission and future activities.

Eytan: Back in 2022, the Rakia Space Mission returned to Israel after a successful landing of the Ax-1 on the International Space Station. Apart from continuing Israel’s human-space exploration legacy, how did the mission impact Israel?

Melody: I think the unique opportunity that the Rakia mission presented to Israel was the fact that we opened the entire mission to the public.

We invited entrepreneurs, researchers, academics, teachers, startup leaders, and even kids, to suggest ideas for activities for you to conduct on the International Space Station. It was the first time we’d had an astronaut speaking in Hebrew from the ISS.

We somehow managed to gather all those ideas into a complete mission that showcased, not only scientific and technological experiments, but also artistic activities, outreach, and of course education and inspiration.

Eytan: Melody, although you’re quite young, you’ve been around the space sphere for a long time. What first inspired your enthusiasm for space? 

Melody: To tell you the truth, it all started when I was just seven years old and I started watching the classic Sci-Fi series, Stargate SG-1. It had this fantastic character named Samantha Carter (played by Amanda Tapping).

She was this amazing, kick-ass pilot and astrophysicist, and I grew up wanting to become her. Actually, there’s a funny story that happened when I first joined the International Space University – and I  first really understood just how much of a cultural impact science fiction movies and books can have.

When you are just beginning your journey at the International Space University, you are asked to present on what brought you to the space industry. I, of course, relayed that I had always wanted to grow up to be Samantha Carter. Twelve other women raised their hands and said: “I did too”. I think it is the perfect example of how science fiction can influence young people to get into science and the other STEAM disciplines.

Eytan: How would you describe the Israeli Space Forum’s mission? 

Melody: First and foremost, it is a place for everyone to speak their mind. A place to gather the entire ecosystem, or the community, of space enthusiasts, space entrepreneurs, companies, and CEOs. Everyone in the space ecosystem in Israel can join and help us to create a sustainable space ecosystem in Israel.

Eytan: How did the Israeli Space Agency react to the idea of having an Israel Space Forum? Is it a complementary endeavor to what they do? 

Melody: The Israel Space Forum is a joint venture between the Israeli Space Agency and the Rakia mission, alongside the Israel Export Institute, the Israel High Tech Association, Start-Up Nation Central, the Israel Innovation Authority, and also the Ministry of Economics.

Eytan: Is there room for artists, philosophers, and academia in the space forum?

Melody: There has to be room. There is no way that this ecosystem will be able to continue to grow and expand to produce cutting-edge technologies without those parts of humanity. We need the philosophers, we need the poets, we need the academics to inspire others to join the ecosystem and to dream further than we have ever dreamed before.

Because space is for everyone. I think we demonstrated that on the Rakia mission on Ax-1 and now the Israel Space Forum continues to bring that frontier to the entire population in Israel.

Eytan: Partnerships are a very important part of space exploration due to the high risk and the high costs involved. Isn’t that right?

Melody: You’re absolutely correct, Eytan. At this moment we’re in a phase of learning about the entire ecosystem in Israel and discovering what our main barriers might be and how we can overcome them to bring opportunity.

One of the steps towards reaching this goal has been to create partnerships with similar organizations around the world. They are also trying to bring their domestic ecosystem under one roof so that they too can start creating collaboration with us.

I’m also happy to share that, thanks to the success of the Ax-1 Mission and the amazing cooperation we had with Axiom Space, we are now part of their Access Program. In fact, we are the only non-profit organization to participate in the program – the others are countries. Hopefully, this will help us to introduce more of our innovations to the ISS or other commercial space stations in the future.

We also have partnerships with a variety of entities in NASA and other commercial companies that help us to export Israeli art, science and technology to space. We have also been building strong relationships with other space agencies and ISS service providers, and we hope to continue building those links with any potential future space stations. We are working with different companies from around the world – Europe, Asia, and the US – to create continued opportunities for Israeli initiatives.

 Eytan: Who can become a partner in the Israel Space Forum? 

Melody: The short answer is: everyone. Because the forum presents a unique opportunity for collaboration; for brainstorming. We want to bring companies, individuals, entrepreneurs, teachers, and artists into the same community and enable them to think in different directions – and bring us to a better place.

Eytan: Can you give us insight into the 2024 Human’s in Space Challenge initiative?

Melody: Sure, this challenge was established by a South Korean company named Boryang. We are working with them in an attempt to bring new companies from the Healthcare sector into the Space sector.

Basically, this is a great example of another opportunity that the Israel Space Forum is promoting across Israel. The challenge provides access for funding for various Healthtech companies to reach the space industry, but it also provides a platform for them to meet with major players within the global ecosystem, such as the Aurelia Institute, TRISH (Translational Research Institute for Space Health) and many others.

Eytan: How can companies, individuals or researchers in Israel gain access to research on space?

Melody: Earlier this year, we issued a call for proposals for research in the field of microgravity and space environments. We received a lot of interest from multiple companies and researchers in academia here in Israel. Now, we are working together with different service providers associated with the International Space Station to launch the research and technology demonstrations to the ISS. This will inspire new, cutting-edge, Israeli innovation in microgravity conditions.

We are planning to continue the program and to launch more and more Israeli tech demos and research through the ISS.

Eytan: How long will the ISS be there?

Melody: At the moment, it is scheduled to finish operations in 2030

We currently have two space stations orbiting Earth. One is the ISS and the other is the Chinese Space Station. But there are a number of commercial companies which are now designing and building future space stations, such as Vast, Axiom Space, Sierra Space, and Voyager. I’m happy to share that we are collaborating with each and every one of them.

Eytan: Later this year in October, the forum will be setting up the Israeli National Pavilion at the International Astronautical Conference (IAC) in Milan. Can you tell us more about this?

Melody: It’s going to be amazing! For the first time ever, we are going to foster an Israel Pavilion, bringing startups, companies and major players in Israel to a platform where they can gain global exposure: the IAC.

But in addition, we’re bringing artists from across Israeli society to present their works on space and art.

The IAC has set the perfect stage for that. I think our pavilion will be particularly unique because of the artwork displayed. It’s going to attract more of an audience from the global space industry and spark interest by employing this new perspective, which will in turn create those important opportunities for the companies in attendance.

This is one of the world’s main space conferences and attracts people from academia, museums, industry, and from space agencies all around the world to foster cooperation and present their work.

We’re also going to help each startup to identify potential future stakeholders. Who are the major industry players that they would like to meet? Who are the potential customers? We’ll then set up briefings and meetings with a goal to ignite future international partnerships. This is a unique opportunity and we want to create a significant impact – so we are calling on everyone to come and join us.

Besides that, our location is fantastic. We are right by the entrance.

Eytan: Is this conference in Milan open to the public or only for professionals?

Melody: I think what makes the IAC really special is that it’s open to everyone. “Space for All” is one of their main slogans – similar to the philosophy of the Rakia mission – and I love it!

Eytan: This is a great opportunity for Israeli innovators to participate in space research.

Melody: Definitely. And this is exactly what we’re trying to promote with the Israel Space Forum.

Find out more information on the Israel Space Forum by following them on LinkedIn or visiting the Rakia Website.