A spaceport is under construction on a small Portuguese island in the Atlantic. Is Portugal on the verge of becoming a space-faring nation?
Picture rockets blasting off from the Azores, an island chain situated in the Atlantic Ocean, carrying Portuguese-made satellites into orbit—and then envision reusable space capsules making their way back to base.
Although this might seem like a rather futuristic concept, parts of it could soon become a reality. Portugal, after all, is making significant efforts to become a space-faring nation, leveraging its numerous highly skilled engineers and collaboration with the EU.
"Portugal has undergone substantial modernization over the last two decades," Portuguese Space Agency President Ricardo Conde tells DW. "Our universities turn out exceptional engineers. We have developed human capital that we can rely on."
Conde, whose agency was established in 2019, notes that around 80 different companies now employ roughly 2,000 highly qualified workers across Portugal's space industry. It generated a revenue of €200 million ($232.5 million) last year, according to Conde, with even higher output anticipated this year.
This is "because we have another advantage: the Azores," Conde says.
Indeed, Portugal is currently constructing a spaceport on the tranquil Azores island of Santa Maria.
"This will be a major development," Ivo Vieira of space industry group AED Cluster Portugal tells DW. "The European Space Rider spaceplane is even scheduled to land there in 2028."
It will descend using large parachutes and touch down right next to the old runway, which was originally built by the Americans during World War II and is now rarely used. Vieira says a rocket launch is planned for 2030, which will send "a South Korean satellite into orbit."
Several satellite communication antennas are already operational on the island, he adds.
Will Portugal aim to compete with US spaceports?
Is Portugal in the process of creating its own version of Cape Canaveral? Not exactly. Bruno Carvalho of spaceport operator ASC says it will not rival the massive US rocket launch facility.
"It is far smaller and more of a complement to the European Kourou spaceport in French Guiana," Carvalho explains. "We will serve as a cost-effective launch site for smaller rockets carrying smaller satellites, within the EU, which is strategically significant."
The spaceport's remote position in the Atlantic also allows spacecraft to safely land in the ocean without endangering anyone. Thirty-five people will work at the spaceport once everything is fully set up. This makes for a much smaller and more affordable operation than US launch sites.
Carvalho also aims to have the site utilize local resources and hopes it could boost the local economy: "Maybe we can bring back young people who have left the island."
The first Azores spacecraft landing could take place later this year.
"Portuguese authorities have approved the first EU splashdown for the Phoenix 2.1 transport space capsule," Marta Oliveira of ATMOS Space Cargo tells DW.
Oliveira, co-founder of the German space logistics company, aims to deliver satellites to orbit at low cost using reusable capsules. She humorously describes her venture as "the FedEx of space."
For now, transporters are launched into space using SpaceX, though that could change, as Oliveira says, "we are in talks with European companies." The plan is for spacecraft to land in the Atlantic, near the Azores island of Santa Maria, with "ASC spaceport handling logistics and coordinating with local authorities, which is perfect for us."
Portugal's compact satellites
What is still lacking are satellites.
"Three Portuguese centers are developing them," says Ricardo Conde. "One is the CEiiA consortium in Porto in the north, another is the Open Cosmos multinational at the University of Coimbra in central Portugal, and a third is based in Lisbon, which primarily builds satellites in collaboration with the armed forces."
They are small and used for commercial, military, and mixed applications such as communications, Earth and ocean observation, and most recently, fighting wildfires.
CEiiA, which also develops mobility and aircraft technology, is already making significant strides.
"We entered the space sector in 2018," Andre Dias, who oversees the consortium's downstream division, tells DW. "Our goal is to build an industry for high-resolution satellites."
To achieve this, a research and development facility will be set up in northern Portugal, near the city of Guimaraes, to "partner with the city and local university there, as we want to ramp up our production capacity by a factor of four or five."
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CEiiA has the capability to build four civilian satellites, each weighing up to 500 kilograms (roughly 1,100 pounds), every year, says Dias. He adds that demand is steadily increasing and expanding capacity could lead to more international contracts.
One can see decentralization taking place between "the large European space nations like Germany and France and smaller countries such as Portugal, so what we are witnessing is a kind of democratization of space travel," Dias says. "We are focusing on small satellites that cost between €20 and 30 million, not the big ones that can cost up to €500 million."
While aiming to build compact units, the Portuguese space agency's plans are anything but modest.
"We will have 30 satellites in space by 2030, some of them in partnership with Spain," Conde tells DW. "We want to attract international players to Portugal to work with them and are building on European initiatives."
This also applies to the military sector, he adds, which is becoming increasingly important.
This article was translated from German.