Spain Founds Own Space Agency: Goodbye, ESA?

Image Credit: Space.com The Spanish government has declared that a new royal decree authorizing the establishment of the Spanish Space Agency, a government agency that will report to the Ministries of Science and Innovation and Defense, has been approved. This new organization will serve to ensure Spain's strategic space activity, including technological advancement and space utilization in fields like security, earth observation, geolocation, and telecommunications.

SPAIN-CATALONIA-NATIONAL-DAY-INDEPENDENCE

On October 12, 2017, a massive Spanish flag draped the exterior of a building that was under construction in Madrid's Valdebebas neighborhood. Spain celebrates its national day amid considerable stress as the nation grapples with the greatest danger to its cohesion in a generation—the potential secession of the Catalan region. End of the ESA? Although Spain already participates in the European Space Agency (ESA), the establishment of its own agency is viewed as a critical step in securing the nation's independence in the space sector. Although the country's future plans with ESA were not mentioned, it is expected that it will continue to be a member of the European space agency. The Spanish Space Agency represents a strong commitment by the Spanish government to a crucial industry that creates possibilities and high-quality jobs, according to Minister for Science and Innovation Diana Morant. This year, the Spanish Space Agency will employ 75 employees with highly qualified profiles and established professional careers, with an initial budget of more than 700 million euros ($763 million). The organization, which will have its headquarters in Seville, will be in charge of overseeing Spain's strategic space policy. Image Credit: TST In order to progress the domains of cybersecurity, navigation, the battle against climate change, or the monitoring of phenomena like drought or fires, space is a priority and key area, according to Minister Morant. The new Science, Technology, and Innovation Law, which gave permission to establish this organization within a year after its reform's ratification, was followed in creating the Spanish Space Agency. Also, it is in accordance with the National Security Plan, the Strategic Project for Aerospace Economic Recovery and Transformation (PERTE), and the Spanish government's strategy for the decentralization of General State Administration institutions. PERTE Aerospace The Aerospace PERTE, whose budget was increased from the planned 2,100 million euros ($2,291 million) of public investment to 2,315 million ($2,525 million), has also been discussed by Minister Morant. The Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan's supplement is anticipated to provide another 300 million euros ($327 million), raising the project's endowment total to 327 million euros. Image Credit: eoPortal With the appointment of two new Spanish astronauts at the ESA, Pablo Lvarez and Sara Garca, Spain's standing in Europe in the realm of space is strengthening. In addition, the Ministry of Science and Innovation has issued a request for proposals for the 45 million euro ($49 million) creation of a small satellite launcher. Read More: THE SMARTEST HANDS-FREE LIVE TRANSLATOR – TRAGL With the advancement of this technology, Spain would become the first nation in Europe to possess a microsatellite launcher, which is the future of the space industry from a commercial standpoint.