Portugal and ESA sign an agreement for the Space Rider to land in Santa Maria
Portugal and the European Space Agency have formalised today in Bremen the choice of the island of Santa Maria in the Azores as the landing site for the maiden flight of Space Rider, thus consolidating the development of the future Santa Maria Space Technology Centre.
This Thursday, November 27th, as part of the European Space Agency (ESA) Ministerial Council meeting in Bremen, Germany, a cooperation agreement was signed between Portugal and ESA. This agreement consolidates the development of the Santa Maria Space Technology Centre in the Azores and the future landing site for Space Rider, the new European reusable vehicle.
In the framework of the national subscription to ESA programmes, which will close tomorrow, Portugal will ensure the development of the future Santa Maria Space Hub and Space Rider landing site, with the contribution and commitment of the Regional Government of the Azores.
The agreement builds on several ESA programmes promoting the development of new European space transportation capabilities, including access to and return from space services. Space Rider, currently under development, is a reusable, unmanned orbital vehicle designed for short-duration missions in low orbit to conduct microgravity experiments, demonstrate technologies, and deploy small satellites, after which it returns to Earth. The maiden flight is scheduled for 2028, aboard a Vega-C launcher, from the French Guiana Spaceport, with its return to the island of Santa Maria.
The formalisation of this agreement, witnessed by the Minister of Education, Science and Innovation, Fernando Alexandre, the Secretary of State for Science and Innovation, Helena Canhão, and the Italian Minister for Enterprises, Adolfo Urso, is the result of joint work carried out in recent years by the Portuguese Space Agency, which included a feasibility study of the landing site. This study, which was concluded in July 2024, confirmed the technological and economic feasibility of Santa Maria as a landing site for the vehicle.
The design phase is currently underway, and the development of the Santa Maria Space Hub will soon begin, including the Space Rider landing and post-landing processing infrastructure integrated into the future Santa Maria Space Technology Centre. These capabilities will be scaled to support various space activities, equipping the island of Santa Maria with permanent capabilities to support access and return missions.
The national investment, undertaken via ESA, guarantees the necessary means to move forward with the infrastructure preparation phase, strengthening Portugal’s participation in European structural programmes and the competitiveness of the national industry linked to space technologies.
In the next phase, which is operational in nature, the purpose is to prepare Santa Maria to welcome the maiden flight of Space Rider and subsequent missions, as well as experimental entry missions. The choice of Santa Maria as the landing site reinforces the strategic role of the Azores in the European context. It is part of a broader vision to create a multifaceted space hub on the island, including initiatives to establish access-to-space facilities in Santa Maria.
With this agreement and the financial commitment now made, Portugal is taking a new step towards consolidating Santa Maria as a European space hub and creating new scientific, technological, and economic opportunities for the country and the Autonomous Region of the Azores, establishing itself as a strategic player in the sector at a European level.
