Side Event at 9th SmallSat Conference | Understanding Space Sustainability: Debuting the Handbook for New Actors in Space

Wednesday, August 13, 2025

9:45am-10:45am MDT

Room # 155C, 9th Annual Small Satellite Conference in Salt Lake City, UT, USA,

This side event will explore how to maintain space sustainability without sidelining emerging participants by showcasing Secure World Foundation’s updated Handbook for New Actors in Space—first released in 2017 and revised in October 2024 to reflect the sector’s rapid diversification—offering stakeholders key principles, norms, and best practices. Experts will present their findings, engage with attendees, and everyone will receive a complimentary hard copy of the Handbook.

How can the space community ensure space sustainability without disadvantaging new actors such as small satellite operators and other associated stakeholders? In 2017, Secure Word Foundation released the first edition of the Handbook for New Actors in Space, This guidebook was intended to provide nations, established satellite operators, start-up companies, universities, and other space actors with a broad overview of the fundamental principles, laws, norms, and best practices for peaceful, safe, and responsible activities in space. Since then, the space domain continued to see a rapid diversification and increase in the number of actors involved in space activities. In light of new developments, Secure World Foundation has researched and published (October 2024) the 2nd edition of the Handbook for New Actors in Space. This side event will feature experts across this issue to present and engage with participants. Attendees will receive a free hard copy of the Handbook.

Guest panelists for this event include: 

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Daria “Dasha” Filichkina, Chief Operations Officer at AstroAgency.

Dasha oversees the company's internal processes and client delivery strategies to support a wide range of communications and market information tasks across more than 50 private space companies and several government space agency clients globally. Before joining AstroAgency, Dasha held various roles in the space sector, including Business Development Manager and Delivery Manager within the European launch sector. Before entering the space industry, Daria worked in the IT sector setting up brands, processes and concepts for start-ups. In October 2023 Dasha was presented with a special Sir Arthur Clarke space individual award from the British Interplanetary Society in recognition of her contribution to the UK space industry despite the Russian invasion of her home, Ukraine. The award was previously won by astronauts, leading scientists and communicators, including Tim Peake CMG and Sir Patrick Moore CBE. In 2022, she was a Diversity Hero of the Year finalist at the national UK Diversity Awards and her efforts in overcoming the personal challenges caused by the invasion also led to her being recognised in the Women’s Enterprise Scotland Awards. In early 2023, Dasha established the not-for-profit Ukrainian Business women in Scotland initiative, bringing together more than 40 female entrepreneurs who resettled in the UK for knowledge sharing and networking events in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Dasha is a frequent speaker on the importance of diversity in the space industry and in 2020 helped form the New Voices in Space organisation. She is a mentor for multiple programmes, including STEMaspire by Dell and the Prospero Space Fellowship charity, set up by Joanne Wheeler MBE.

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Dmitry Poisik, TraCSS Program Manager, Office of Space Commerce, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce

Dmitry Poisik is anexperienced and dedicated program and project manager with a proven track record over the last thirty years in the U.S. Navy. Poisik joins the TraCSS program as its first Program Manager, after its initial phase of developmentled by a Chief Engineer. 

Dmitry has held various leadership and engineering management positions, starting as an aviation structural mechanic at Fighter Squadron 101 in Virginia Beach, Virginia.  After earning his Navy commission, Dmitry served in a variety of at sea and ashore assignments, including tours aboard USS PARCHE (SSN 683),USS OHIO (SSGN 726), USS FLORIDA (SSGN 728), Submarine Squadron 19 in Bangor, Washington, and Submarine Squadron 21 in the Kingdom of Bahrain.  Most recently, Dmitry served as missile systems requirements officer overseeing successfully development and delivery of advanced capabilities. 

Dmitry holds a B.S. in Computer Engineering and an MBA in Finance from Old Dominion University, and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) by the Project Management Institute.  Here sides in Arlington, Virginia.   

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Andrew Faiola, UK Director of Business Development, Sales, and Marketing, Astroscale

Andrew joined Astroscale in January 2023 to lead the Business Development, Sales, and Marketing functions in the UK as the company expands to make in-orbit servicing routine by 2030, and deliver on its vision for secure and sustainable development of space for the benefit of future generations. He is a senior leader with over 20 years growing revenue across the satellite communications and space industries.

He was previously VP EMEAAP Sales at ALL.SPACE, leading sales and business development for all commercial and global government segments. Prior to that, he held senior positions at ST Engineering iDirect and Intelsat where he focused on providing critical communications infrastructure to the Aviation, Maritime, and Land Mobile segments. Earlier in his career, he held various sales and marketing roles at New Skies Satellites, and at an independent teleport in the USA called ESATEL Communications. He also performed research and project development work at the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS), the Embassy of Mexicoin Washington, DC, and at NASA, which involved the provision of Internet service and remote sensing for environmental monitoring.

Andrew holds a BA in Economics from Washington University in St. Louis, and an MA in International Affairs from The George Washington University in Washington, DC.

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