Portugal has taken a big step in its area ambitions by awarding the nation’s first-ever license to function a spaceport.
The license has been granted to the Portuguese Atlantic Spaceport Consortium (ASC) to conduct area entry actions from the island of Santa Maria within the Azores, the Portuguese House Company announced on Wednesday (Aug. 13).
The five‑year permit granted to ASC covers the operation of a launch center in Malbusca, an area within the Azores, but does not include individual launch authorizations. Separate licenses and safety assessments will be needed for each mission.
The process was conducted in close collaboration with ANACOM, Portugal’s national space authority that’s responsible for licensing. Sandra Maximiano, president of ANACOM, stated the authority’s commitment to agile regulation that supports innovation and the evolving demands of the national space sector.
The launch site is expected to first facilitate suborbital flights, which could begin as soon as 2026. Infrastructure is also being constructed on Santa Maria to host the return to Earth of the European Space Agency’s Space Rider, which is being developed as Europe’s first reusable area transportation system, with an indication mission presently anticipated in 2027.
“The award of this primary license demonstrates that Portugal is ready to host launch actions based mostly on a strong and clear authorized framework that’s according to worldwide greatest follow,” Ricardo Conde, president of the Portuguese House Company, stated in a statement.
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The transfer is a part of Portugal’s nationwide technique for area, dubbed Portugal House 2030, which goals to place the nation as a European platform for entry to area. It additionally makes use of the strategic geographical place of the Azores, an archipelago composed of 9 volcanic islands within the North Atlantic Ocean that is round 870 miles (1,400 kilometers) west of Lisbon on the Portuguese mainland.
The launch middle at Malbusca is one among various spaceports being established in Europe — together with SaxaVord off the coast of Scotland, Andøya Spaceport in Norway and Esrange in northern Sweden — to supply new choices for entry to area for the continent.
