Within the scope of this project, the municipality in the district of Braga on 5 March, will sign a collaboration protocol with CEiia – Centro de Engenharia e Desenvolvimento de Produto, based in Matosinhos, in the district of Porto, “for the development of the project of the Centro de Operações Atlântico, which will control a set of 16 satellites to monitor the Atlantic and forests, to be built by the consortium led by the Portuguese company GeoSat, until the end of 2025”.

In accordance with the municipality, the “Guimarães Space Hub” will enhance “the stimulation of cooperation in the space sector, with a focus on business, teaching and research, between the North of Portugal, Galicia and Castilla-Leon, through the promotion of the Guimarães-Vigo and Guimarães-Valladolid axes” in Spain.

The protocol signing ceremony for the “Guimarães Space Hub” took place on 5 March at 2pm, in the Teatro Jordão, in Guimarães, with the presence of the mayor of the local council, Domingues Bragança (PS), by Ricardo Conde, from the Agência Espacial Portuguesa, several members of CEiiA and the rector of the Universidade do Minho (UMinho), Rui Vieira de Castro.

The municipality states that Guimarães “has drawn up a central strategic focus in the area of science and knowledge, as an axis of development for this territory centered on innovation, industry and internationalisation”.

Among the new projects in this field the municipality has under development, in partnership with UMinho, the “Fábrica do Futuro – Plataforma Regional de Especialização Inteligente – Área de Industrialização e Sistemas Avançados de Fabrico” is highlighted as “a transformative and fundamental project which will contribute to Aerospace Engineering having an active and decisive role in the strategic positioning of the city and to the country in emerging in the New Space sector”.

The municipality considers that the ”Guimarães Space Hub” “will benefit from the active and decisive role of the Escola de Engenharia da UMinho, namely Aerospace Engineering, and the high scientific and technological competence of CEiiA, in the development of new products and services in sectors of Aeronautics and Space, as well as in establishing international partnerships of reference in the sector”.