Portugal Space launches inquiry to national space companies
The Portuguese Space Agency is updating the Portuguese Space Catalogue to provide an accurate picture of the size, relevance and economic weight of the space sector in Portugal.
Portugal Space is carrying out a market study to build an up-to-date picture of the space industry and research centres in Portugal. The study of the Portuguese ecosystem has as its starting point a questionnaire, available on the Portugal Space website and addressed to companies and research centres with links to space, which addresses issues such as the number of employees, and the number of PhDs employed. It also looks at issues related to financial results, the revenues of the organisation, how it is related to the space sector, and the percentage of funding received from national and international organisations and sources.
When concluded, the results of this analysis will be used to create the Portuguese Space Catalogue, an in-depth portrayal of the national ecosystem, profiling companies and research institutions operating in the Space sector in Portugal, showcasing their products, services, applications, technologies and R&D projects.
The Catalogue aims to increase the outreach of the Portuguese space ecosystem both within Portugal and internationally, serving as a working instrument for international and national professionals, both public and private, helping them identify potential partners in Space activities.
Marta Gonçalves, Portugal Space’s Industrial Relations and Projects Officer, points out that the Catalogue will be “an essential tool in the dynamisation of the Portuguese space ecosystem inside and outside Portugal”. “It allows the Agency to display the capacities of Portuguese entities in terms of products, technologies, services and knowledge related to the area of space, which is transversal.”
According to Joan Alabart, who, within the Agency, works primarily in bringing together space and non-space actors, “the review of the Portuguese Catalogue of Space aims to update the 2013 version, which no does not reflect the evolution seen in the past years to the size and relevance of the national space sector that we witness today”. With an industrial and academic ecosystem that has 20 years of history – next November marks the 20th anniversary of Portugal as member of ESA – the space sector has a dimension and importance unknown to most of the public.
By updating the Portuguese Space Catalogue, Portugal Space also aims to reach the non-space sector, as the Agency acts as a broker to bring space to businesses for their economic success and the development of products of societal benefit.
The questionnaire for the Portuguese Space Catalogue 2020 is available at Portugal Space website, and the deadline for replies is 6 of July.
