Magellan Orbital is a company founded by five Portuguese entities – CEiiA, Efacec, idD Portugal Defence, Omnidea and Tekever – with the purpose “to create a national integrator with the capacity to develop, produce and operate satellites and small satellite constellations“, in the words Ricardo Mendes, CEO of Tekever and one of the responsibles for the project.
The project was formally presented during the Portugal Air Sumit, an event that took place from the 21st to the 23rd of October, and will be a big step for the Portuguese space and defence sectors, contributing to:
- greater national autonomy in the provision of services in these fields;
- the evolution of the Portuguese industry, boosting the rise of several companies in the value chain;
- reinforce Portugal’s capability to be competitive internationally;
- the development of “New Space” in Portugal.
The Magellan Orbital’s technologies will be put to use in different sectors, such as logistics and territorial plannig, tourism, renewable energies, scientific and meteorological research, public security and defence agencies, the environment (including fire prevention), safeguarding marine life and resources and exploiting the Portuguese EEZ.
Magellan Orbital involves initial investments of more than 30 million euros, with the possibility of further financial reinforcements over time. In addition to the shareholders and founding entities, this project has the important support and cooperation of the Portugal Space Agency, the Air Center, the Ministry of National Defence and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education.
In an official statement, Marco Capitão Ferreira, President of idD Portugal Defence, highlights the importance of Magellan Orbital for the country’s defence and economy:
“Defence interests are fulfilled with this project to which we adhere with the expectation that it will mean a fundamental moment in the passage of our national capacity to a different level, in which we can export services, since it is about designing and operating a constellation. There is no reason why Portugal cannot, both in the economic and geo-political domains, constitute itself as a regionally important player in the Atlantic basin where there are dozens of countries in need in this area”, mentions Marco Capitão Ferreira.
It is also the objective of this company, which will be based in Ponte de Sor, to attract and retain young aerospace engineering talents: “We want Magellan to be the first option for all aerospace students, and to be the reason why many of our brilliant engineers, who now work outside Portugal, come back and stay”, explained a Tekever company source to Lusa.