Brussels – At the 17th European Space Conference in Brussels on January 28-29, Slovakia is poised to leverage advancements in space technologies alongside its EU partners. Michal Brichta, the director of the industrial section of the Slovak Space Office within the SARIO agency, shared these insights during the Slovak Space in Brussels 2.0 event, held prior to the conference at the Slovak Permanent Representation to the EU, as reported by TASR.
The European Commission is also participating in the conference, with notable attendees including EC Executive Vice President Henna Virkkunen, EU Chief Diplomat Kaja Kallas, and European Commissioners Andrius Kubilius, Kostas Kadis, and Ekaterina Zaharieva.
Brichta highlighted that, similar to five years ago, the objective of this event, organized by the Slovak Space Office in collaboration with the Slovak Permanent Representation to the EU, the Slovak Embassy in Belgium, SLORD, and the Trnava Self-Governing Region Representation to the EU, is to showcase the advancements of the Slovak space sector to Europeans.
“We aimed to illustrate the achievements of Slovak companies and researchers in recent years. The number of organizations involved in the space economy in Slovakia has significantly increased from 20 to 50 over the past five years,” Brichta noted.
He elaborated that this growth encompasses the development and production of satellite hardware, components for satellite units, remote Earth observation, and the application of satellite data across various sectors including critical infrastructure, agriculture, smart cities, and transportation. He stressed that space technologies are modernizing aspects of daily life, including maritime, aviation, and road transport, as well as sectors like meteorology, banking, and international trade.
Additionally, Brichta underscored the rising importance of space safety initiatives aimed at safeguarding technologies from space debris and solar activity.
The European Commission has indicated that EU benefits from the space economy could soon reach billions of euros. Brichta affirmed that Slovakia’s goal is to be part of the lucrative opportunities generated by space development, moving beyond mere usage of space technologies, which is a common trend among nations today.
“We aspire to be on the provider side, delivering solutions. To achieve this, we collaborate with Slovak companies to help them navigate this industry, identify their contributions, and leverage their competencies in the space economy. This includes firms in software, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering,” he explained. The Slovak Space Office assists these companies in accessing challenging value and supply chains and fostering the necessary international partnerships. (January 29)
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