All About Space - UK (2020-02)

Secret missions

8 Portugal’s security satellites

Portugal’s recently assembled space agency

is thinking long and hard about what its

initial plans and objectives should be.

There have been in-depth discussions

about whether it should construct its own

spaceport, but because of its access to the

Atlantic Ocean and closeness to the equator,

it makes perfect sense. The space agency is

also strongly considering launching a

constellation of satellites so that it can

keep a watchful eye on the maritime

activity in the Atlantic Ocean.

This constellation would be less focused

on providing citizens of the world with

internet and is more about protecting the

countries of the world that have a sea border.

With this constellation, Portugal will have an

advantage when it comes to clamping down

on coastal crimes such as illegal fishing,

maritime piracy and ocean pollution. There

isn’t any definitive plans for this fleet of

space-based security satellites, but the agency

has stated that it wants to be a real authority

over the Atlantic region.

7 Project Kuiper

works towards a

global internet

Amazon plans to

launch a satellite mega-

constellation that will

provide internet to tens

of millions of people

around the globe. This

audacious project,

nicknamed Project

Kuiper, is aiming to put

3,236 satellites into three

set of orbits at altitudes

of 590, 610 and 630

kilometres (367, 379 and

391 miles).

The company’s AWS

Ground Station unit

will have 12 facilities

scattered over the

world, which is vital

for the ground-to-space

communications. The

mega-constellation

will be able to gift its

low-latency, high-speed

broadbandconnectivity

topeoplebetweenthe

latitudesof 56 degrees

northand 56 degrees

south,restrictedbythe

orbitsofthethousands

ofsatellites.Therehasn’t

beenatimelinestatedfor

thisprojectotherthan

thatit’slong-term.

TheUnitedArabEmirates(UAE)hasshownincreasinginterestin

theworldofspaceexploration,withitcreatingitsownspaceagency

in2014.Thecountryhasstatedthatitisopentotheintroduction

ofVirginGalacticoperations,andisalsoplanningitsownmissions

tospace.RecentlytheUAEsawitsfirstastronautemergewhen

HazzaAlMansourivisitedtheInternationalSpaceStation(ISS)in

September2019.

Nowthecountryisplanningtoassembleitsownastronautcorps,

traininga selectednumberofpeoplefroma staggeringnumberof

applicants.TheEmiratispaceagencyannounceditsplansforan

astronautcorpsin 2017 andrecentlyannouncedthattherehave

beenmorethan4,000applicants.Theagesoftheapplicantsrange

from 17 to67,andovera thirdofthemwerewomen.Thisshows

promisingsignsforthecountryasitlookstobuilda sustainable

programmethathasa constantstringofEmiratisinspace,

contributingtoscientificresearchandfuturemissions.

9 A fleet of United Arab

Emirates astronauts

Right:

Portugal is a

large coastal

country

bordering

Spain and the

Atlantic Ocean

Right:Hazza

AlMansouri

becamethe

firstEmirati

astronautin

September

2019 aspart

ofthe

Soyuz MS-15/12

mission

Left: Internet
access has
recently
become
a global
n e c e s s it y,
as opposed
to more of a
© Getty privilege © NASA

© NASA

Portugal is

looking to stamp

itself into the space

industry with its recently

announced ‘Portugal

Space 2030’.