While Pedro Sánchez consummates his punishment to the Madrid of the PP, leaving him without the headquarters of the Spanish Space Agency and with promises that it will be inaugurated throughout 2023, the equivalent body in Portugal is already celebrating three years of life with a special location: the Island Santa María, in the Azores, the closest to the continent. However, it also houses offices in the Laranjeiras area, in Lisbon, in order to spread the effects throughout the national territory.
It is another example that the neighboring country is in the third decade of the 21st century with the batteries on, in part because legislation is streamlined without any type of regional restrictions, which simply do not exist.
The general shortcomings are greater on the other side of the border, but their adaptation to the new times is much more pronounced and rapid.
The person in charge of Portugal Space is Ricardo Conde, who was chosen by an international commission of experts. But the great promoter of the initiative was the Portuguese Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education, Manuel Heitor, who worked hard to launch this body from the outset, that is, from March 2019.
The Azores appears as a suitable destination for its first major endeavor: to build a base for the launch of micro-launchers and satellites, whose management will be the responsibility of a consortium of specialized companies. Heitor declares that in this way the Iberian neighbor is going to “project into the future”, in addition to “settle many companies linked to aerospace”. He proves palpably that his idea is to promote “new activities and businesses” in this sector of space, emphasizing the observation of the planet with small satellites.
Another objective is to encourage greater participation in the programs of the European Space Agency, under the umbrella of the EU.
The socialist government of Antonio Costa does not specify where the funding for this space aspect will come from (in a country that urgently needs more budget in the areas of Health and Transport), but the boost from European funds will play an essential role. In fact, Portugal and Spain have sealed an aerospace Iberian Perte with a planned investment of 4,553 million, more than half from the private sector.
The movement is now joint, but Portugal has taken steps ahead of its neighbor. “This is not a round mission at all, but Lisbon benefits from an attitude that does not have to overcome internal obstacles, as is often the case on the Spanish side of the border,” she says clearly.
In his opinion, the foundations are laid to “open the doors to a new profile of the economy”, a statement underlined by the reality of the facts and the intentions.
Another of the star plans from the Azores refers to ‘space-based autonomous navigation’, which is being tested with crossings between Horta (Faial Island) and Madalena (Pico Island). It is an area of the archipelago of about eight kilometers. The waters there are calm, which makes the place a perfect place to carry out tests with autonomous vehicles in Portugal.
This circumstance means that the journey between the two islands can be made with unmanned ships, in collusion with Artificial Intelligence and satellite data. This saves time and fuel, although this project is still in a preliminary phase.
The mirror is the navigation that already works in Finland, which uses smart algorithms and has become more efficient. In the long term, the traditional sailors will have to be recycled in the heat of these advanced techniques… a true revolution in the making in a perhaps not so distant future. And the same for other sectors, in all probability.
