The Luxembourg Space Agency turns one

The Luxembourg Space Agency (LSA) is celebrating its first year in business with the launch of a greatly enhanced web presence. The new website incorporates the Luxembourg Space Directory and provides a new home for the Spaceresources.lu initiative.

Exciting times

The Luxembourg Space Agency has spent an exciting first year, encouraging the Grand Duchy's burgeoning commercial space industry to new heights of achievement.

While nurturing the talent of future space explorers and entrepreneurs at home, the LSA has also worked hard to promote Luxembourg and its commercial space industry on a global stage.

This inclusive approach has led to increased international collaboration as well as the successful launch of the Interdisciplinary Space Master. In terms of space-related research and development, Luxembourg hosts today almost 80 research projects, conducted at the University of Luxembourg and the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST).

Luxembourg has also been the center stage for international events such as NewSpace Europe and Asteroid Day, while the LSA represented Luxembourg at multiple space forums and fairs in the UAE, USA, Korea, Japan, Belgium, France and Israel.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy, Etienne Schneider congratulated the LSA, saying, "One year after the launch of LSA, its overall result is highly positive. So far, the agency's first mission to accelerate the emergence of innovation-driven businesses in Luxembourg has been fully accomplished. For the future, we keep focused on offering a platform in Europe for commercial space development, and supporting a sustainable ecosystem for the space industry."

Enhanced web presence

The site's expanded content also includes interviews with leading the lights of Luxembourg’s space sector, and listings for high tech industry events.

Marc Serres, LSA CEO commented that, "The Agency's new web site provides a comprehensive reference point for anyone interested in Luxembourg's rapidly developing space sector. For potential investors, entrepreneurs, students and researchers, our new site provides a window onto the rapidly expanding space-industry ecosystem in Luxembourg."

The new website is a natural extension of the LSA's mission - to aid the development of Luxembourg's space industry by fostering new and existing companies, encouraging the development key skills and expertise and promoting the sector internationally.

The Agency is a 'one stop shop' for everything space-related in Luxembourg. Implementing the national economic development strategy, it manages the national space research and development programs, leads the SpaceResources.lu initiative and represents the Grand Duchy within the ESA and space-related programs of the EU and UN.

Coming soon

The LSA's new web site also provides a handy calendar of upcoming space-related events, and the next couple of months are looking particularly busy.

We kick things off in high gear, with Space Resources Week, Luxembourg, 7 to 11 October. This will include the Mining Space Summit, as well as a professional course and workshop on the exploration and utilisation of space resources.

On 10 October at 7 pm, the LSA will organise at Kinepolis Kirchberg a Space Talk about the future of space exploration and space resources with leading professionals from Europe and beyond. The Space Talk will be followed by a free screening of the movie 'Apollo 11' (2019) offered by SES. Speakers will include: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy, Etienne Schneider, Matthias Maurer, ESA Astronaut, David Parker, ESA, Director of Human and Robotic Exploration, Gerald Sanders, NASA, Lead for In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) System Capability Leadership Team & Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate (HEOMD), Bertrand Baratte, Air Liquide, Director of Space Business Unit, Dr. Angel Abbud-Madrid, Colorado School of Mines, Center for Space Resources, Julien-Alexandre Lamamy, ispace Europe, Managing Director and VP of Europe R&D and Marc Serres, Luxembourg Space Agency, CEO.

Furthermore, the LSA will have a stand at the International Astronautical Congress in Washington, USA, 21 to 25 October. All this will be a good warm-up for the LSA's own New Space Europe conference, 13 to 14 November. This event is themed around the concept of Driving Momentum, exploring ways to stimulate growth throughout the new space economy.

In November, the LSA will take part with a stand at Space Tech Expo Europe in Bremen, Germany, 19 to 21 November. This is the major European event for space-related manufacturing, design, test and engineering services.

Towards the end of the year, the Ministers of the member states of the European Space Agency will meet in Seville, Spain, where Luxembourg and other member states will decide on future strategies and which projects to fund.

Press release by the Ministry of the Economy