Gemma Bagheri

Space Lead Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl)

Gemma has a technical background in Astronomy/Astrophysics and joined the MOD Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) in 2013 from academia. Gemma began her MOD career in a technical role and moved into technical leadership before transitioning into Programme Management. Gemma has had a variety of positions such as Innovation Lead for the RAF Rapid Capabilities Office, Science Advisor to the RAF Space Capability, STEM Futures Space Hub Chair supporting space skills development, and as the Technical Authority for the MOD Artemis small satellite operational capability demonstrator programme. Currently Gemma is the Dstl Deputy Space Systems Programme Manager, responsible for the Dstl contribution into the Space Command ISTARI Programme to develop space-based Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capability.

Day 1 | 23rd February 2026

3:20 PM Leadership Fireside Chat – How Standards and Interoperability in Space Can Reduce the Cost of Imagery Acquisition and Exploitation

Lower Integration Costs: How to standardise formats and protocols to simplify multi-source imagery ingestion and processing.
Accelerate Imagery Access: How to enable seamless cross-platform sharing through interoperable space data architectures.
Reduce Duplication Waste: How to coordinate collection and tasking across partners to avoid redundant imagery capture.
Boost Analytical Efficiency: How to streamline tool compatibility and workflows for faster, more affordable insight generation.

5:30 PM Dragon’s Den – Revealing 3 Innovative Start-Ups Disrupting Collection of Data and Imagery from Space to Help You Transform Your Geospatial Intelligence

Spot Emerging Disruptors: How to identify early-stage innovators changing the way geospatial data is collected from orbit.
Transform Imagery Access: How to adopt agile commercial solutions for faster, cheaper satellite data and analytics delivery.
Unlock Competitive Advantage: How to integrate breakthrough technologies into your ISR stack for tactical and strategic gain.
Accelerate Innovation Cycles: How to partner with start-ups to test and deploy novel space capabilities at speed.

Check out the incredible speaker line-up to see who will be joining Gemma.

Download The Latest Agenda