#76 Ricardo Conde, Portugal Space

My guest this week is the President of Portugal Space, the Portuguese Space Agency, Ricardo Conde. Portugal Space was only recently formed, in 2019. Ricardo and I talk about that experience of founding a new national space agency and dive into some of their marquis projects, including in the remote sensing value chain and the Santa Maria Spaceport in the Azores Islands. We also talk about the space economy in general and how a country like Portugal can add specific value. A quick heads up: this episode was live recorded in Ricardo’s offices and there is some background noise from the AC, but it gets better over time. Enjoy!   Opportunities to learn more about space & the space economy: Check out the edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy Raphael is designing a new, live-taught course. Join the mailing list to get updates and early access: https://jfx8zhjodpz.typeform.com/to/t0VSuhVD Raphael's introductory book on the space economy recently came out in its Portuguese translation: https://www.amazon.com/Para-Cima-Economia-Espacial-Portuguese-ebook/dp/B09X5WV3WC/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1ROKTHNSCZCRI The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics. Support us at https://www.patreon.com/spacebusinesspodcast Follow the podcast on Twitter https://www.twitter.com/podcast_space   Timestamps 0:00 Intro 3:51 The origins of Portugal Space 17:29 Global navigation data friction and space debris 31:44 Portugal Space timeline 37:52 Open sourcing capability for space startups and space education 48:33 Building an ecosystem of space companies in Portugal 52:54 Space law and regulations in Portugal 57:45 International space companies 59:37 The potential successful outcome 01:02:25 PT Space is hiring! 01:05:00 Closing message