My guest this week is the President of Portugal Space, the Portuguese Space Agency, Ricardo Conde. Portugal Space was only recently formed, in 2019. Ricardo and I talk about that experience of founding a new national space agency and dive into some of their marquis projects, including in the remote sensing value chain and the Santa Maria Spaceport in the Azores Islands. We also talk about the space economy in general and how a country like Portugal can add specific value. A quick heads up: this episode was live recorded in Ricardo’s offices and there is some background noise from the AC, but it gets better over time. Enjoy! Opportunities to learn more about space & the space economy:

Check out the edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy
Raphael is designing a new, live-taught course. Join the mailing list to get updates and early access: https://jfx8zhjodpz.typeform.com/to/t0VSuhVD
Raphael's introductory book on the space economy recently came out in its Portuguese translation: https://www.amazon.com/Para-Cima-Economia-Espacial-Portuguese-ebook/dp/B09X5WV3WC/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1ROKTHNSCZCRI

The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics.

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Timestamps

0:00 Intro

3:51 The origins of Portugal Space

17:29 Global navigation data friction and space debris

31:44 Portugal Space timeline

37:52 Open sourcing capability for space startups and space education

48:33 Building an ecosystem of space companies in Portugal

52:54 Space law and regulations in Portugal

57:45 International space companies

59:37 The potential successful outcome

01:02:25 PT Space is hiring!

01:05:00 Closing message

#76 Ricardo Conde, Portugal Space