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On Monday the 11th and Tuesday the 12th of July, the course on “European Union Space Programmes: Galileo, Copernicus and SSA (Space, Situational Awareness)”, co-organised by the Polytechnic University of Madrid and Isdefe as part of the UPM’s 12th Summer Course Series, was held in Real Sitio de San Ildefonso (La Granja, Segovia).
Opening the course were Isdefe’s CEO, Mr. Francisco Quereda Rubio, and the Managing Director of CDTI, Francisco Marín Pérez, who delivered the opening remarks for the course.
The European Union is cognisant of the strategic importance of the space industry, and is an increasingly active participant in the use of space. As a result, the course covered Europe’s main space programmes, Galileo (satellite navigation system), Copernicus (Earth-observation system and special services) and SSA (Space Situational Awareness), concluding with a look at the European Union’s goal to enhance space research through its Horizon 2020 programme.
The course featured prominent speakers who are directly involved in developing programmes for the ESA, EUMESAT and HISDESAT, as well as officials from the Ministry of Defence and the CDTI. These included: Juan Carlos Cortés, Director of International Programmes at CDTI; Javier Ventura-Traveset, spokesman for the European Space Agency in Spain; Antonio de la Fuente, Head of Operations for SMOS and SWARM; Ardani Medina, Head of Operations at EUMETSAT; GianMaria Pinna, S3T Project Manager at the ESA; Lieutenant Colonel Jaime Sánchez Mayorga, Head of the Space Dept. at the Ministry of Defence’s Programme Management Office; and Captain Miguel Ángel Sánchez Cabeza, Head of the CIPET Programme at the Ministry of Defence’s Programme Management Office.
Finally, the Course Director, Mr. Vicente Ruiz Díaz-Araque, Director of the European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC), closed out the course and presented the certificates to the graduates.