Results of the First Phase of the Atlantic International Satellite Launch Program

The results of the first phase of the Atlantic International Satellite Launch Program are available on the ATLANTIC ISLP website. The Program received 14 proposals from international consortia, which expressed interest in collaborating with Portuguese companies and national research and engineering centers to design, install, and operate a spaceport on the island of Santa Maria in the Azores. This initiative was launched in September in a partnership between the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and the Azores Space Mission Structure (EMA – Espaço), with technical support from the European Space Agency (ESA).

The 14 expressions of interest were reviewed by a High-Level International Committee, composed of nine national and foreign experts of recognized international standing and coordinated by Jean Jacques Dordain, former Director General of ESA. The Committee recommended a list of candidates to be invited to participate in the second phase of this program (Competitive Bidding Phase).

The Commission has selected five expressions of interest submitted by satellite launch companies proposing to develop a small launcher and seek a launch base: AVIO, AZUL Consortium, Isar Aerospace Technologies GmbH, PLD Space, Rocket Factory Augsburg, and Edisoft. These consortia will be invited to submit a full proposal in the second phase of the AISLP.

The Commission also considered that there is another set of expressions of interest which, not requiring a spaceport, are in a position to conduct specific negotiations with the Portuguese authorities; that others may be suppliers of subsystems; and it also identified the Ariane Group, which has expressed interest in developing, operating, and managing the spaceport.

Applications for the first phase of the program closed on October 31, 2018. This phase consisted of expressions of interest from entities that could guarantee the development and operation of a new generation of satellite launch services into space. The 14 expressions of interest submitted included companies from several countries (11 from the European Union, 2 from the US, and 1 from Russia), which declared their interest in operating across the entire value chain associated with the new generation of small satellite launch services into space. It should be noted that the proposals included innovative solutions for access to space with micro-launchers (representing 7 proposals), systems engineering products and services, and software.

The Atlantic International Satellite Launch Program aims to stimulate the creation of skilled jobs and leverage new space projects with high added value, which could guarantee growth and a new impetus for existing projects on the island of Santa Maria, as well as for national companies and research and technological development centers in this sector, positioning the country and the region at the forefront of the development of a new generation of space activities based on small satellites. It is expected that, once all the phases of evaluation and analysis of feasibility and contractual processes have been completed, the first launch services will begin operating in the Azores in the spring/summer of 2021.

The selection process will proceed with the following steps:

· February 2019: Phase 2 – submission of proposals with the required information, in response to the “International Call for Tender for Launch Services to Space from the Island of Santa Maria”;

· February/March 2019: Evaluation process, including a public presentation of proposals.

· March/May 2019: Final Evaluation Phase.

· End of April 2019: Final negotiations with companies/consortia.

· April/May 2019: Contract for the development and operation of the Spaceport.

· May/June 2019 to May/June 2021 (2 years): Analysis and external evaluation of the implementation phase.

· Spring/Summer 2021: first launch services scheduled to operate in the Azores.