ESA
ESA’s Space Rider unmanned orbital laboratory
The country is investing heavily in space exploration and intends to become the European center for satellite launches with the spaceport in the Azores.
Rockets launched from the Azores carry satellites built in Portugal into space; their reusable space capsules return to the Atlantic Ocean, near the archipelago.
A dream? For now, yes, but it will soon become reality — at least in part.
Portugal wants to become a great space nation and is betting on its highly qualified engineers, European cooperation and a small island.
“Portugal has modernized significantly in the last 20 years. Our universities train exceptional engineers. We create human capital that we can develop”, explains the president of the Portuguese Space Agency, founded in 2019, Ricardo Conde.
Around two thousand highly qualified people work in the space sector, in around 80 companieswhich last year generated R$200 million in revenue. This year there will be many more. All this, explains Conde, “because we have one more trick up our sleeve: the Azores”.
Launch base in the Azores
A Portuguese spaceport is being built on the island of Santa Mariain the Azores. The European cargo ship is expected to land there in 2028. It will descend with giant parachutes next to an old runway built by the Americans during the Second World War and which is now practically unused.
“A rocket is expected to launch a South Korean satellite into orbit from there in 2030. Several satellite communication antennas are already operating in Santa Maria”, he adds Ivo Vieirafrom AED Cluster Portugal, the space industry association.
A Portuguese Cape Canaveral, then? “Much smaller and above all a complement to the European spaceport in Kourou, in French Guiana”, he explains Bruno Carvalhofrom spaceport operator Atlantic Spaceport Consortium (ASC).
“We will be an economically viable launch site for smaller rockets, with smaller satellites. And within the European Union, which is strategically very important”, he confesses.
And in the middle of the Atlantic, that is, in an uninhabited area. This is a positive and important factor for reusable spacecraft that can land there. 35 people are expected to work on site when everything is completed.
It is a relatively simple infrastructure, cheaper than the major North American competitor, which will use local resources, thus strengthening the island’s economy.
“Maybe we can even bring back the young people who left the island,” says Carvalho.
First landing in the EU
The first ditching in the Azores is scheduled for the second half of 2026.
“The Portuguese authorities approved the first ditching on EU territory for the transport capsule Phoenix 2.1”, says the Portuguese Marta Oliveiraco-founder of the German company Atmos Space Cargo.
The objective is to launch satellites into space in an economical way, using reusable space capsules. Currently, the launches are carried out by the North American company SpaceX, “but we are also in negotiations with European companies.”
The ditching is planned for the Atlantic Ocean, near the Azorean island of Santa Maria. “The ASC spaceport facilitates logistics and coordinates contact with local authorities. This is ideal for us.”
Only the satellites themselves are missing.
“They exist three centers in Portugal that should manufacture satellites“, says Conde. “One is being built by the CEiiA consortium in Porto, in the north of the country; another by the multinational Open Cosmos in the university city of Coimbra, in the central region; and a third in Lisbon, which works mainly in cooperation with the Armed Forces.”
These are smaller satellites for commercial, military and mixed applications such as communications, Earth and ocean observation and — increasingly important — forest firefighting.
Small but efficient satellites
The CEiiA consortium, which also operates in the automotive and aerospace sectors, is one of the main players in this area.
“We entered the space sector in 2018”, he says André Diasresponsible for the Downstream division. “Our goal is to build an industry for high-resolution satellites.”
To this end, another center is planned in the north of Portugal, close to the city of Guimarãesin partnership with the city and its university.
“We want to quadruple or quintuple our production capacity”, he confesses.
Currently, CEiiA can build four civil satellites per year, weighing up to 500 kilograms. But demand is constantly growing and, with increased capacity, Portugal will also be able to attract international contracts. The watchword is decentralization.
“From the great European space powers, like Germany and France, to smaller countries like Portugal. This is a kind of democratization of space flights. We are specializing in smaller satellites, which cost between 20 million and 30 million euros, and not in large ones, which can cost up to 500 million”, explains Dias.
But the Portuguese Space Agency’s plans are far from modest.
“By 2030, we will have 30 satellites in space, some in cooperation with Spain”projects Conde. “We want to attract international partners to the country to collaborate with us, we are focused on European initiatives.” Including, of course, the military sector, which has been gaining more and more importance in Europe.
