The President of the Government defended that the Santa Maria Geodetic and Space Station of the Atlantic RAEGE Network, opened today, confirms that the Azores raise the visibility of the country due to their geographical position.

Vasco Cordeiro spoke at the opening of the station that belongs to the Atlantic Network of Geodynamic and Space Stations (RAEGE). The installation of this station on Santa Maria was the result of a protocol that was signed in 2009 between the Government of the Azores and the Spanish Ministry of Development, through the Spanish National Geographic Institute. It represented a regional investment of nearly 2.1 million Euros.

"If, in the specific case of the RAEGE station, this goal was achieved with the will and financial resources of the Azorean Government, this is not a cause for concern," stressed the President of the Government. According to him, it is a concern "the fact that it demonstrates the inability of the State in seizing the potential of the geographic location of the Azores for the projection of Portugal in a wide range of areas."

In his speech, Vasco Cordeiro considered that the situation is visible in the field of space technologies, but also in the case of the "Sea and the immense potential that the geographic location of the Azores brings to Portugal. The process to expand the Portuguese continental shelf is the most tangible example of this contribution."

According to Vasco Cordeiro, the station opened today will serve several purposes. In this regard, the President of the Government stressed the importance and usefulness of the data that will be collected for a more accurate knowledge on seismic studies as well as on the fields of georeferencing, navigation, monitoring and warning of natural hazards, space industry and civil protection, among others.

"This importance is one of the reasons why the Regional Government made this commitment and will continue to do so in order to the project the Region in these fields," the President of the Government said, reminding that the station of the RAEGE network is part of a series of infrastructures located in the Region.

The Azores already have a Satellite Tracking Station of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Galileo Sensation Station (GSS), both on Santa Maria. Moreover, the Region also hosts the ARM project - Climate Research Facility and has an IS42 Infrasound Station on the island of Graciosa.

In 2017, the second RAEGE station is expected to be installed on the island of Flores.
According to the President of the Government, the new station opened on Santa Maria is an opportunity, depending on the realisation of its potential for exploration in the Azores, or through the Azores, by scientists for the benefit of all those who will benefit from the knowledge generated by this station.
 
Vasco Cordeiro also assured that the Regional Government is available and interested in maintaining and reinforcing the existing partnership with the National Geographic Institute of Spain.

This station is included in a network of four fundamental geodetic stations: one located in Span and already in operation, the Santa Maria station, opened today, the Canaries station in early construction and the Flores station, whose construction is expected to 2017.

This network of station two in Spain and two in the Azores - involved an overall investment of about 25 million Euros.