2026 SESSION CHAIRS

First annual AMOS Technologies conference with 161 attendees, including the honorable Daniel Innouye. One international attendee from Canada.

MEDB assumes ownership of the AMOS Conference. The 7th Annual AMOS Conference brings together 467 attendees with 16 internationals representing 6 countries (Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Switzerland.)

(Pictured: MEDB’s then President & CEO, Jeanne Skog presents Opening Remarks to the 2006 AMOS Conference)

Exhibit Hall is introduced to AMOS with a total of 12 companies exhibiting. The companies exhibiting were: Air Force Research Laboratory, Det 15; Analytical Graphics, Inc.; The Boeing Company; CoorsTek Technical Ceramics; FLIR Systems; Oceanit; Office of Aerospace Development, State of Hawaii; Pacific Disaster Center; Rayleigh Optical Corp; RC Optical Systems, Inc.; Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC); Sierra-Olympic Technologies, Inc.

Inaugural sponsors are The Boeing Company; County of Maui; Analytical Graphics, Inc.; Lockheed Martin; Pacific Disaster Center;Raytheon; Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)

(Bold indicates companies are still supporting AMOS in 2019)

Space in the classroom introduced. 300 Middle School students attend a specially designed session on Thursday morning with hands-on demos, a tour of the exhibit centre and included an audience with Astronaut, CAPT Robert L. Curbeam, Jr, USN (Retired). On the Friday there was a workshop for teachers.

The 11th Annual AMOS Technologies Conference brings together 638 experts in the fields of space surveillance and optical systems development from the United States and 9 International countries (Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom)

The first SSA Policy Forum is held in partnership with the Space Foundation.  The topics were: “The Impact of Space Technology Transfer and Commercialization” and  “Integrating SSA: Linking Policies, Operational Needs, Technology and Mission Capabilities.”

The 13th Annual AMOS Conference attracts 638 attendees with 24 international guests from 12 countries (Australia, Austria, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom.)

AMOS dialogue introduced to the AMOS Conference. The AMOS Dialogue was a small, half-day, invitation-only workshop intended to foster dialogue among space situational awareness (SSA) providers and end users, thereby promoting greater collaboration and cooperation toward SSA-enabled safe and responsible space operations.

In a year when Federal travel restrictions were in place, attendance dropped to 378 attendees for the 14th Annual AMOS Conference. 30 international guests from 12 countries participated (Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Poland, Republic of Korea, Spain, Switzerland.)

Technical Short Courses were introduced in 2014 to provide an opportunity to participants to upgrade technical job skills and remain abreast of recent development in fields of interest. The courses offered were:

* Beam Control | Presented by Jim Riker, the Optical Sciences Company
* Ground and Airborne Infrared Astronomy for Space Situational Awareness | Presented by Eric Becklin, USRA
* Principles of Adaptive Optics for Space Situational Awareness | Presented by Robert Fugate, USRA
* Space Trash | Presented by Eugene Stansbery, NASA/JSC

The 15th Annual AMOS Conference attracted 521 attendees with 58 International guests from 16 Countries. Attending for the first time were guests from India, Singapore and Slovak Republic.

In 2016 International Attendees jumped to 105 attendees from 18 countries and the first AMOS Welcome Reception for International guests was held to encourage networking. Countries attending were Australia, Austria, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Poland, Republic of Korea, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom.

Total attendance for the 17th AMOS Conference was 686.

The SSA International Operators Exchange was introduced to provide a forum for SSA operators to engage in a dialogue amongst government, military and commercial SSA operators. The inaugural session had three objectives: 1) provide a forum that helps develops relationship between operators, 2) provide a platform for established SSA organizations to share best practices and collaborate with developing SSA organizations and 3) identify other opportunities for collaboration and dialogue.

The inaugural EMER-GEN Program was held for young professionals and students under 35 years, enthusiastic about careers in space. The program offered mentoring with renowned space specialists from the public sector (military and civil), private sector, and nongovernmental organizations; networking with other young professionals; technical Short courses and professional development sessions. EMER-GEN is a joint initiative between AMOS and the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC).

Another new feature introduced in 2018 were the Best Paper and Best Student Paper Awards. In collaboration with the Space Surveillance Technical Committee of the American Astronautical Society (AAS), the AMOS Conference recognizes outstanding efforts in the field of Space Situational Awareness. Laura Pirovano, University of Surrey, swept both awards with her paper Probabilistic data association based on intersection of Orbit Sets

The AMOS Conference celebrated 20 years with a record-breaking 919 participants. Gen. William L. Shelton, USAF (Ret.) Chairman, Space Foundation; and Former Commander, Air Force Space Command, returned to AMOS to give a welcome and introductions. Hawaii band, Kapena, provided entertainment at a special function to commemorate the milestone.

The AMOS Conference went all virtual in 2020 with the COVID-19 pandemic restricting travel and gatherings. Major General Whiting gave the keynote with Kelly Hammet assisting with introductions and Q & A in the makeshift US Space Force studio. All attendees received a care-package in the mail, including the “I Need my Space” face masks, to experience the aloha spirit of Maui while watching the livestream from their homes.

After the all-virtual 2020. the AMOS Conference returned to in-person with a hybrid format. 667 attended in-person and a further 409 attended online. Social distancing measures were put in place, including limiting exhibits and poster sessions to virtual only to provide more space for the plenary sessions. Presentations were a mix of in-person and through virtual connection.

The 2022 AMOS Conference sold-out in-person tickets in advance for the first time in its history. Attendees had access to the largest pool of technical posters yet, with 124 posters presented in digital format with accompanying briefings. 64 of these posters were invited for in-person presentation during the evening Poster Sessions. With the addition of virtual only posters, the number of poster presentations at AMOS doubled this year.

To bring further recognition to poster presenters, 30-second pitch presentations were introduced to the program. Each of the in-person poster presenters were invited to give a 30-second pitch to encourage listeners to come view and hear more about their posters.

Also for the first time there were three awards presented for Poster presentations. The Golden Ticket (Best poster),  Most Creative poster and a Newcomer award.

The first Women and Allies in SDA was held featuring desserts and dancing under the starlit sky with guest speaker Dr. Ezinne Uzo-Okoro, Assistant Director for Space Policy, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP)

General B. Chance Saltzman was the first four-star general to present the opening keynote at an AMOS Conference. With the August Maui wildfires fresh on the minds of all participants, the Chief of Space Operations of the United States Space Force also met with the Maui Tech Hui that includes the 15th Space Surveillance Squadron (15SPSS), a number of industry partners and commercial startups who had deployed starlink terminals to the westside in response to the wildfires.

The AMOS for Maui fund raised $6,246.73 in response to the Maui fires. Many participants also participated in volunteer activities to assist the Maui community with the recovery.

The AMOS Conference celebrated 25 years with a look back at a quarter century of technical exchange in space situational awareness, including a look at the evolution of topics through the years.

The AMOS Conference introduced in-person dynamic touchscreen monitors for the presentation of posters in the exhibit venue. Attendees were able scroll through posters at their leisure. In addition, 57 authors were scheduled to present their poster in 10-minute slots during the evening Poster Sessions. The posters were also available on the virtual platform to view on-demand.