Portugal-led consortium to propose access-to-space rules in Europe

After Portugal licensed its first launch centre in August 2025, following a technical assessment conducted by the Portuguese Space Agency, the country is set to put that experience to work for Europe. The Agency joins the Alliance for European Autonomous Access to Space (AEAAS) as an associated partner, a consortium led by the Portuguese firms Abreu Advogados and the Atlantic Spaceport Consortium (ASC).

Selected through a Horizon Europe call launched in 2025 that drew seven proposals, the consortium brings together 14 organisations from six jurisdictions, among them spaceport operators, launch service providers, consultancies, law firms and national agencies. Under the motto “From EU Soil to Outer Space: Regulation as an enabler for Spaceports”, AEAAS will examine more than 40 jurisdictions against 30 parameters to identify best practices and put forward a regulatory framework for European launch centres, built on criteria of safety, sustainability and interoperability.

Portuguese experience in Europe’s service

Portugal has one of Europe’s most recent space laws. The 2024 revision, proposed by the Agency to the Portuguese Government, set the rules for licensing spaceports, with the first licence granted to the ASC-operated centre in Santa Maria, Azores. “Whoever commands access to space commands the space economy, and Europe’s autonomous access to space is essential. That autonomy is one we have defended for years, and to which Portugal has contributed, from the legal framework through to the licensing of operations. With Abreu and ASC, we now bring that experience to a European consortium,” says Ricardo Conde, president of the Portuguese Space Agency.

“Coordinating a consortium of 14 leading operators from across the entire access-to-space value chain, drawn from six jurisdictions, is a landmark for Abreu Advogados and for Portugal,” says João Lupi, co-head of the Space and Satellites team at Abreu Advogados. He describes Portugal as holding “privileged potential” that the project intends to “maximise by developing a regulatory proposal that allows Europe to establish itself as a world-leading hub for safe, sustainable and interoperable launch operations, contributing to a genuine launch-centre economy”.

“With initiatives like these, Europe is moving to secure sustainable and competitive access to space, for itself and its allies,” says Bruno Carvalho, director of ASC, noting that the company, based on the island of Santa Maria, is working “to make the spaceport viable” and considers its contribution “essential to the EU’s ambitions”.

Beyond the two Portuguese entities that lead it, the consortium includes Alpha Impulsion, ASTech Paris Region and Borie Conseils Export, of France; Heuking, HyImpulse Technologies and ISAR Aerospace, of Germany; Impulso Space, of Italy; Commercial Space Technologies and Reflect Solutions, of the United Kingdom; and Stellar Kinetics, with a presence on the island of Santa Maria, in the Azores. The German Aerospace Centre (DLR) joins the project as an associated partner, in the same role as the Portuguese Space Agency.

“With an extensive international presence and network of contacts, the Agency plays a central role in this project in dissemination, in raising awareness among sector players, and in building bridges with partners and entities of interest,” says Inês d’Ávila, programme manager for Space Safety and Transport at the Portuguese Space Agency.

The consortium’s first working meeting takes place this Thursday, 9 July, in Lisbon, with all members present, marking the formal start of a project already underway. It has until 30 June 2027 to deliver its final proposal, intended as a direct contribution to the forthcoming EU Space Act.