According to José Manuel Bolieiro, the headquarters of the Portuguese Space Agency will be located in the former home of the director of Santa Maria Airport in Vila do Porto. The building is undergoing renovations with a total value exceeding one million euros.
“I have the pleasure, accompanied by the president of the Portuguese Space Agency and the Secretary of State for Defense, as well as the Regional Secretary for Infrastructure, to announce that on November 7th, the national headquarters of the Portuguese Space Agency will be inaugurated,” said the leader of the Azorean executive (PSD/CDS-PP/PPM), who visited the site as part of a two-day statutory visit to the island of Santa Maria.
Bolieiro added that the activities dedicated to space transportation that the agency will carry out will be developed on that island of the Azorean archipelago.
“We are providing content for the future, modernity, excellence, and above all, prestige and geostrategic dimension to Santa Maria and the space ecosystem we are building here. I am therefore proud, happy, and confident, and I want to convey this to the people of Santa Maria, the entire Azores, and Portugal,” he declared.
He added that it is the country “that gains prestige and redefines itself within the framework of its European integration, as a Member State of the European Union, and even its global and worldwide geostrategic relevance, with this Atlantic focus on space activities.”
The head of the Azorean executive also revealed that the second half of 2024 will be “highly productive in terms of various achievements or preparation for achievements,” admitting that Santa Maria could have “a space return flight” by the end of the year.
“In fact, we defined these strategies, made and conformed them, in agreement, obviously, with the Government of the Republic, the appropriate legislation and the convergent definition of strategies – regional, national, and community – for the European Union’s space policy,” he concluded.
In turn, the president of the Portuguese Space Agency, Ricardo Conde, said that there are investment prospects in Santa Maria, such as the creation of a space technology center “which will have an investment of over 12 million euros”: “We are on the verge of starting it, I cannot give more details for now.”
“There is a new project that we are going to start at the Santa Maria teleport, which has an investment of 4 million euros,” he said, referring to it as part of the so-called Santa Maria space ecosystem.
Ricardo Conde also told reporters that they are “preparing the conditions to receive” Space Rider, Europe’s first reusable space vehicle.
The future headquarters of the Portuguese Space Agency will house, among other things, actions related to the safety conditions of space access and return operations.
The Secretary of State for National Defense, Ana Isabel Xavier, was also present during the visit to the facilities but did not make any statements to the media.
