Moonshot mindset: Rocket science logic for down-to-earth businesses

A keynote on boundary-pushing innovation, bold leadership, and the mindset to make the impossible possible.

This is the keynote that challenges your organization not to become 10% better, but 10 times better.

In this keynote, I take you into the world of space exploration, my world. As a satellite engineer, I helped build PROBA-3, a 150-meter Belgian space telescope, created for a fraction of the budget of comparable missions. It was a project that was impossible on paper. Something no one had ever done before. Yet, we made it happen.

This isn’t a consultancy pitch. It’s not a theoretical framework. It is a first-hand account of what it actually takes to attempt a moonshot, and survive.

The best part? You don’t have to build a rocket to benefit from these insights. The lessons from aerospace, about thinking radically different, working with limited resources, and tackling the impossible, are surprisingly relatable for anyone with big ambitions. Whether you work in healthcare, education, industry, or corporate business: moonshot thinking is not a privilege reserved for engineers. It’s a mindset that propels every organization forward.

Key Takeaways

Why a moonshot? Ambition at this level carries a real risk of failure. But it also offers the chance for breakthroughs that incremental improvements can never deliver. I’ll show you why the real threat isn’t failure, but the refusal to try.

How do you make the impossible possible? The techniques used by SpaceX and the space industry to push boundaries, from the Future Press Release to a fail-fast culture, are surprisingly applicable in any sector. Discover why you should always tackle the hardest part of your project first, and leave with concrete tools to realize your own moonshot.

Who do you need? Technology and budget aren’t the primary factors in success or failure. Mindset is. I’ll tell you which people you want on board: Talent over experience. Passion over comfort. And a management team that dares to reward those who find failures and focuses on the long term.

Who is this for?

This keynote is designed for leaders, teams, and organizations that feel the status quo is no longer an option. For everyone who dares to ask: What if we did it differently? What if we thought bigger? Whether you lead a multinational or an innovation team of five: the principles of moonshot thinking are universal. And the stories are unforgettable.

Leading organizations I’ve inspired

The Moonshot Mindset keynote has been delivered with great success at events and companies including SuperNova Festival, KBC, Deloitte, Barco, Eneco, Proximus, Orange, SAP, Arthur D. Little, DVV, Vlaanderen Connect, ILVO, Savaco, CFO Conference, OM Conference, and Nerdland Festival, to name only a few.

Are you ready to break the status quo?

Stop trying to be 10% better. Dare to dream about the 10x factor. Get inspired by space exploration and transform the way you and your organization look at the future.

About Me

I am a satellite engineer. Not an innovation guru, not a consultancy firm. I build satellites at Redwire Space. On December 5, 2024, I served as the flight director for the PROBA-3 mission, a mission that left the world in awe and could fundamentally change our view of the universe.

The goal of my keynote is to inspire every organization and make them believe they can realize their own moonshot, if they dare to think the way we did when no one believed it was possible.

A few events where I presented recently can be found here.

I am regularly asked to give interpretation on Belgian radio and television and give some 30 lectures a year for various organizations. I recently gave 2 TEDx talks. The first one dealt with Planetary Protection, and in December 2023, I gave a talk about the Moonshot Mindset. This last TEDx talk was the inspiration to make a full keynote about a Moonshot Mindset. This keynote is therefore much more elaborate and practical, compared to the TEDx talk. It is full of tips and tricks on how to adopt a Moonshot Mindset in your organisation.

Koen Segers (Partner Healthcare and Lifesciences, Arthur D. Little)

I invited Stijn to speak at our Arthur D Little MedTech event on Transformation with a deliberate intention: to bring a story that sits completely outside the MedTech world.

Precisely because of that distance, I believed it could offer a genuinely fresh perspective on innovation and transformation.

It did… and then some.

Stijn delivered his story with authenticity, warmth and a clarity that won the room immediately. The audience, a group of seasoned MedTech executives, connected with his message not despite the space context, but because of it. The parallels with the challenges faced in our own organisations were striking, and Stijn made sure they never felt far-fetched.

The feedback from the group was unanimous. His talk was referenced in our panel discussion that followed and I have no doubt the conversation continued later that evening.

If you are looking for a speaker who can make an audacious vision feel both inspiring and actionable, and who can do so with contagious enthusiasm and genuine passion, I would not hesitate to recommend Stijn.

Piet Baeke (Festival of the Future – POM):

Stijn Ilsen on your stage? That is seeing your childhood dreams come true: he launches you into immeasurable space, talks non-stop about the Belgian satellites he helped to put together and shows breathtaking photos of our globe. With his clear explanations, contagious humor and delightful enthusiasm, he transforms every room into a space capsule full of new discoveries!

Stijn Ilsen? Highly recommended!

Frederik Petré (Te gast bij keynote bij Corda Campus):

Most companies aim for 10% better.
Moonshot thinkers aim for 10x.

Earlier this week at a very inspiring Corda Campus Keynote by space engineer Stijn Ilsen, one idea stuck with me:
👉 You don’t wait for certainty.
👉 You commit first — and figure it out along the way.

That’s the opposite of how most companies operate.
We analyze.
We de-risk.
We wait.

Moonshots don’t.

And that’s what makes them so uncomfortable.

But also …
what makes them work.

Because the principles behind moonshot thinking felt surprisingly familiar.
Especially if you’re trying to build something new beyond your core business.