Lisbon, March 20, 2026 (Lusa) - The economy minister highlighted on Monday that the successful launch of six Portuguese satellites represents the most significant milestone for the country's space programme, describing it as only the beginning.
"Today is the most significant day, but it is only the beginning, because other satellites will follow these later this year and we are going to have our own launcher in the Azores," said Manuel Castro Almeida.
The minister for Economy and Territorial Cohesion monitored the launch of the six Portuguese satellites, four from the LusoSpace consortium for the Lusíada Constellation, one from the Portuguese Air Force, and another from the CEiiA Engineering and Development Centre, both part of the Atlantic Constellation.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the satellites at 12:02 a.m. from the Vandenberg base in California as part of the New Space Portugal Agenda. The Pavilhão do Conhecimento in Lisbon broadcast the event live.
The minister said that previously only large, wealthy nations ventured into space, a situation from which Portugal remained entirely excluded. He said that the nation now acts as an active partner aiming to be at the forefront of space exploration.
He pointed out the dual-use capabilities, particularly of the Atlantic Constellation, saying that Europe should focus on this specific area.
He said that Portugal plays a decisive and leading role in strengthening Europe's military capabilities, marking a new era in the country's connection with space.
When asked if increased defence spending included investment in this space connection, the minister said that investment in the military sector does not focus on purchasing weapons.
Portugal intends to strengthen European military capabilities by counting space-related military spending as part of its overall defence budget, the official said.
Four of the satellites, Camões, Agustina, Pessoa, and Saramago, named in honour of Portuguese writers, join the first one launched in January 2025 as part of the Lusíada Constellation, which will enable the creation of a maritime navigation service.
The goal is to create a service providing real-time information to ships, a sort of "Waze for the oceans," according to LusoSpace's executive director, offering data such as pirate alerts, weather, people in need of assistance, drifting icebergs, oil spills, and more.
The Falcon 9 rocket carried two additional satellites belonging to the Atlantic Constellation: a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite for the Air Force and a VHRLight NexGen optical satellite managed by CEiiA and N3O.
These satellites join three others orbiting as part of the Atlantic Constellation. The director of New Space Portugal, the consortium funding the constellations through the Recovery and Resilience Plan, said that this expansion strengthens a dual-use capability serving Portugal and Europe.
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