The President of the Government considered the submission of proposals by 14 international consortia for the development, installation and operation of a space port on Santa Maria Island, following the international consultation process that ended in October, as an "excellent indicator" of the merits of the regional strategy.
 
"This is good news and an excellent indicator of the merit of the strategy pursued by the Regional Government with the committed support of the National Government regarding this matter," said Vasco Cordeiro on Terceira Island.
 
Speaking to journalists, the President of the Government pointed out that the number of expressions of interest and their diversity are "a particularly relevant aspect that confirms the success of the strategy pursued by the Regional Government to take the next step in this area of relevance for our development, starting from a series of infrastructures installed on Santa Maria."
 
"However, we should not be deluded, since there are other interests that have to be taken into account in this process, which are particularly relevant for the Government," said Vasco Cordeiro.
 
"As we have said from the very beginning, we have the interest of developing this area, for what this means in terms of wealth creation and creation of qualified employment in the Region. Nevertheless, we have other components under analysis, such as safety and the environmental issues. All this will be duly considered, and we believe that it is possible to achieve a good balance between all these interests, stated the President of the Government.
 
This consultation took place in the first phase of the Atlantic Satellite Launching Program (ATLANTIC ISLP). It was carried out by the National Government, through the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), and the Azorean Government, through the Azores Mission for Space (EMA - Space). It involved the technical support of the European Space Agency (ESA).
 
The interest was shown by consortia from Spain, Germany, Italy, Portugal, France, the Netherlands, Russia and the United States, which intend to operate throughout the value chain associated with the new generation of small satellite launch services to Space.