The unstoppable Spanish Space Agency

It is a matter of a few days. It will be early, mid or late December at the latest. It is the approval by the Council of Ministers of the fourth National Security Strategy that Pedro Sánchez has pledged to publish in 2021. When it receives the go-ahead, almost 18 months will have passed since Moncloa announced that it would begin drafting it to replace Mariano Rajoy's, which has been in force since 2017.

The document that is about to see the light of day opens the door to the foundation of the Spanish Space Agency, the name given to it at the end of May by the defenestrated director of the Cabinet of the Presidency, Iván Redondo. Its creation represents the surrender of the PSOE-Unidas Podemos coalition government to the obvious and urgent need to set up a kind of one-stop shop, an organisation that would take on the definition of national space policy, strategy and plans, all of which have been non-existent until now.

Now that Iván Redondo has been politically decapitated, Moncloa is going to justify to the opposition the birth of the national Space Agency as a line of action or recommendation included in the National Security Strategy of December 2021, or else inserted in the new National Aerospace Security Strategy to be approved shortly afterwards. 

Whatever the case, it is a decision of the utmost importance. Spain has been left behind the large group of nations in Europe, Asia, Africa, America and even Oceania, which since 2000 have established their respective space agencies and elected a prestigious person to personify and represent them, a key decision that the Spanish government must also take.

The miniaturisation of technologies, the cheapening of transport to near-Earth orbit and beyond, sub-orbital flights and the increasing commercial presence of investors and companies in space have led a large number of countries to shape their own national legal frameworks. In parallel, many nations have defined their future strategy according to their interests in order to have their own unique voice in international fora. Spain has not done so, and COVID-19 is no excuse. All countries have suffered from the pandemic. 

In short, it is highly desirable to give shape to a body that unifies and coordinates the different competences that are spread among no less than five ministries. But that is not all. A legal framework must be set up to provide legal certainty for investment and to provide incentives for driving activities in order to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the market. And, of course, a National Space Policy must be defined to pave the way for concrete strategies and plans. Together, these are the three basic tools that the coalition government presided over by Pedro Sánchez must address without further delay.

All three initiatives are essential if Spain wants to stop being represented by third parties and has the ambition to play any kind of role in the huge new economic and security scenario that, step by step, is being built in low Earth orbit. Its impact on the prosperity of nations is incalculable, but it is of particular benefit to those countries that have the capabilities and want to have a say in the new global geostrategic and economic framework that is emerging by leaps and bounds. 

All of the above was made clear at the 1st Space Law Congress held a couple of days ago in Madrid, a forum for reflection and debate on the importance of regulating the space sector in Spain. Representatives from the academic, institutional and industrial spheres that make up the national space fabric are unanimous in demanding that the Government react to the economic-spatial revolution the world is going through, which is adding private actors to a field that was once limited to the States.

But this should be done "with a driving spirit" and not with nineteenth-century reminiscences that prioritise "hindering and sanctioning" aspects, points out Rafael Harillo, a lawyer from the Mas y Calvet law firm specialising in aerospace issues and vice-president of the Spanish Association of Aeronautics and Space Law (AEDAE), the main organiser of the Congress.

The Director General of the National Institute for Aerospace Technology (INTA), Lieutenant General José María Salom, has spoken at the Congress and expressed his views openly. With his extensive knowledge of Spain's global space capabilities, he deplored the fact that in order to survive we accept "the crumbs" left by other countries and called for an agency "to defend Spain's interests in all international forums". 

INTA is in favour of establishing an agency, which it considers "fundamental". It believes it should "build on existing organisations, including people from industry". The idea is not to create a kind of NASA, but rather a small management organisation "of around 70-80 people", with technical and administrative support from different bodies, General Salom proposes.

Unfortunately, it was not possible to hear the views of the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI), the Ministry of Science and Innovation institution that manages Spain's participation in the European Space Agency. Together with INTA, the CDTI is key to giving life and shape to the new agency. Several of its directors were invited to give their views, but declined to attend due to prior commitments. 

In terms of bilateral cooperation, Professor Ana Inés Gómez de Castro, Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics and principal investigator in Spain at the Russian ultraviolet space observatory WSO, is an example of the difficulties posed by the absence of a space agency. "Pushing the WSO project without having an agency at my side has meant great suffering, wear and tear for my team and for me, and a titanic and very inefficient management".

The president of TEDAE, Ricardo Martí Fluxá, as well as senior managers of the Aerospace Clusters of Madrid, the Basque Country (Hegan) and Aragon (AERA) have called for the implementation of a national organisation to guide the initiatives and activities of the business world, as is already happening in Portugal and even in Luxembourg, Turkey, Poland and Romania. Teruel airport is planning to build new facilities dedicated to the space sector, but the lack of a space law means that we are "less competitive compared to other countries", points out the president of AERA, Alejandro Ibrahim. 

Politicians have also expressed their views. They have been the spokespersons of the five majority parties in the Science and Innovation Committee of the Congress of Deputies. Or rather, not the five parties. The spokesperson of the Socialist Group, Javier Alfonso Cendón, who had confirmed his presence, finally excused himself and the spokesperson of Unidas Podemos did not even respond to the invitation. Those of the Popular Group (Elena Castillo), VOX (Manuel Mestre) and Ciudadanos (Juan Ignacio Lopez-Bas), confirmed their full support for the creation of a national Space Agency and to continue calling for its establishment.

The Space Law Congress has gathered the "unanimous opinion" of the whole group and a large part of the political parties. Spain must undertake "as soon as possible" the national regulation of the space sector and the establishment of an Agency, stresses Elisa González Ferreiro, president of the Spanish Association of Aeronautic and Space Law. Maintaining the current status quo with five ministries is not only a real delay. It is to be unaware of where things are going and to remain out of touch with reality. Unless one wants to be a peer of others, which is also an option.