The space is extensive and green. Still almost without buildings, trees and people. In the grass, there are some cows and calves that, free, can roam without worry throughout the territory. On one side, a small region of higher elevation, more mountainous. On the other, the Atlantic Ocean on the south coast of the island of Santa Maria, in the Azores. Little by little, this natural sanctuary is being transformed to make way for the space port managed by Atlantic Spaceport Consortium (ASC), but the company responsible for the site guarantees that the environment will be preserved.
The license that allows the space launch center to operate was announced by the Portuguese Space Agency (AEP) in August this year. So far, only two atmospheric flights have been carried out – that is, those that do not reach Space – in 2024, explains Mara Pourré, Chief Safety Officer from ASC, to Express. The next step is scheduled for 2026, with suborbital flights, which surpass the Earth’s atmosphere, but do not yet have the capacity to enter orbit.
To do this, it will be necessary to promote major changes in the space, which currently has only a small track used for exercises carried out last year. The road leading to the future space port, currently precarious, will have to be improved, and the necessary infrastructure will be installed in the territory. Cows that can still roam freely on the lawn will need to find a new home.
“The kitties cannot be near the launcher, for safety reasons,” says Pourré. “But they have other pastures to be in”, guarantees the aerospace engineer. At the moment, the land is rented and, therefore, there is an agreement with the owner to keep the animals while release activities are not carried out. In the future, “they will be transferred to the other pasture, at least during the release operation”.
There are also other environmental concerns besides the animals that live in the territory. The spaceport is located on the south coast of the island of Santa Maria, a geographical position that is considered fundamental for operations, as there are fewer natural obstacles and few homes nearby. To preserve this space, however, some measures are necessary, which the Atlantic Spaceport Consortium guarantees it is taking.
Mara Pourré explains that each company interested in operating space flights at the location will need to undergo its own licensing. “We are concerned about trying to select projects that are environmentally friendly.” To do this, some criteria are analyzed, such as greenhouse gas emission levels and equipment that will fall into the sea during the flight.
“If we are talking about a suborbital flight carrying 250 kg of kerosene, we are talking about the equivalent of ten bus trips”, says Pourré. In comparison, the engineer says that the planes that land in Santa Maria use 23 tons of kerosene, meaning they are much more polluting. “THE [voo] space is not the monster we think it is.”
During the launch process, however, some parts of the rockets end up being thrown overboard. This, for the ASC representative, is also a concern for the company. Therefore, “most” of the launchers that aim to operate on the island of Santa Maria also want to have equipment that can be recovered in the water. “Commercially it also makes perfect sense,” says Pourré. “The company that is launching, if it can recover the launcher, the business will be much more profitable”.
Inês D’Ávlia, responsible for the areas of transport and space safety at AEP, also explains that reducing space debris is mandatory for everyone who wants to fly into space. “All operators, when applying for a license, must have a space debris mitigation plan”, he tells the Express. “This was added to the Space Law to try to guarantee not only terrestrial environmental sustainability, but also space sustainability”, he concludes.