People can see the operation of the Galileo navigation satellite system or the EGNOS flight simulator at the European Union Space Program Agency (EUSPA) in Prague. The agency was open to the public on Friday and will be open again today.
A team of experts will answer visitors’ professional questions. The goal of the event is to present the activities of the agency and the EU space program, and a children’s program is also part of it. The executive director of the agency, Rodrigo da Costa, told reporters on Friday. The agency opens its doors every year in November, with the exception of a two-year break during the covid-19 pandemic. This year, the agency celebrates its 20th anniversary.
“The event is a unique opportunity to experience how the European Union’s space program affects our daily lives and to become part of space technology and its future,” said da Costa. According to him, EUSPA provides European navigation services, coordinates satellite communication in state administration in the GOVSATCOM program or participates in projects supporting innovation, security or sustainable growth in EU states.
EUSPA brings together, among other things, the management of the operation of EU space programs, including existing satellite and navigation projects such as Galileo, EGNOS or Copernicus. The agency is also in charge of overseeing space, so according to da Costa, it is responsible, for example, for preventing collisions in space.
Galileo is currently used by four billion people, according to da Costa. It is used in maritime, aviation, road and rail transport, it is also used by, for example, drone operators or farmers.
On Friday, the agency was open for visits to primary and secondary schools, expecting approximately 800 pupils to visit. Presentations for the public were scheduled at 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m., and will also be held on Saturday between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. There will also be a career corner where people can find out more about job opportunities at the agency.
EUSPA was established in 2004 as the European Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GSA) Supervisory Authority. In 2010, it was reorganized into the European Agency for Global Satellite Navigation Systems (also GSA), relocated from Brussels to Prague on September 6, 2012. According to website The EUSPA agency employs 211 people.
In the coming years, the agency should relocate to the Nová Palmovka building in Prague 8. The current headquarters in Holešovice is insufficient in capacity for the agency. In 2014, Prague 8 started to build the undelivered building on Palmovce, it was supposed to house the seat of the town hall and a shopping center. The work was interrupted a year later due to various disputes. In 2021, the building was taken over by the municipality, which subsequently considered placing the headquarters of the rescue service in it. In 2022, a future lease agreement was signed between the state, the capital city and EUSPA, according to which the agency is to move into the headquarters in 2026. will not comply with the handover of the building to the agency in 2026.
Source: www.tyden.cz
