Dublin Lecture to Examine Resilience of Space Infrastructure
The Royal Aeronautical Society's Republic of Ireland Branch will restart public lectures after more than seven years with an event on 28 October 2026 at Wynns Hotel in Dublin. Malcolm McDonald, the society's president, will discuss why satellite counts alone do not capture the value of space systems and how those systems support communications, navigation, timing, Earth observation and emergency response. The talk will draw on research from the University of Strathclyde's Applied Space Technology Laboratory.
The Dublin branch of the Royal Aeronautical Society will hold its first public lecture since 2019. The 28 October 2026 talk at Wynns Hotel begins at 20:00 and is open to members and guests alike. Malcolm McDonald, the society’s president, will argue that satellite totals reveal little about the wider systems they enable.
His presentation draws on Strathclyde’s Applied Space Technology Laboratory and covers satellite engineering, network science, resilient timing and Earth observation. Examples include work connected to neurodivergence and support for lifeboat crews in badly mapped waters. McDonald also holds academic roles at Strathclyde and University College Dublin and directs Weather Stream.
This lecture may help Dublin audiences better understand space infrastructure’s role in communications, navigation, timing, observation, emergency response. It could reconnect aviation/aerospace professionals and attract newcomers. Greater awareness may influence how businesses, public services, and citizens think about reliance on space-enabled systems and resilience planning. However, as a single public talk, its direct societal impact is likely modest, serving mainly as education and networking.