The Space & Defense Festival, held on March 26, 2026, at the Bálna Conference and Event Center in Budapest, was a worthy continuation of an initiative launched in 2002. Since its inception, it has become one of the most significant defence and space industry summits in the region.

The event has grown into a large-scale festival, building on the success of the earlier “Space & Defense Day” professional events.

Space & Defense Day

The festival aims to strengthen the Hungarian and regional defence industry ecosystem, foster innovation, and promote technological sovereignty. Key areas of focus include international cooperation, support for startups, and the development of future talent.

It is therefore no coincidence that the event welcomed guests and exhibitors with a true festival atmosphere, including our company, PHARMAFLIGHT. Today, PHARMAFLIGHT and the PHAPA method it developed are recognized worldwide as playing a key role in the continuous monitoring of the mental and physical condition of pilots and astronauts. The festival provided an opportunity for our company to engage in direct dialogue with decision-makers and prominent industry players, and to present its uniquely developed, scientifically validated diagnostic and training methods to the most significant actors in the defence market.

Space & Defense Day

In one of the sessions, the Space Research roundtable discussions featured Kornél Szepessy, Business Development Director of PHARMAFLIGHT. He emphasized that, alongside technology and technical advancement, the human factor is the most critical element, in which field Hungary can offer globally competitive expertise. Through the PHAPA method and program, he introduced a sensor system developed by PHARMAFLIGHT that monitors, in real time and in a data-driven manner, the cognitive load capacity and stress levels of pilots and astronaut candidates.

Space & Defense Day

This is not only crucial in space exploration and aviation, but also plays a key role in fatigue management, an increasingly important factor across many high-responsibility, high-stress industries. The roundtable also highlighted that the commercial opening of low Earth orbit creates a significant demand for both civilian and military medical validation capabilities, such as those provided by PHAPA.