Portuguese Space Authority ANACOM awards the first licence for the operation of a launch centre

ANACOM announced and made public the licence on 13 August 2025. In relation to this:

Subject matter and scope

• It refers to the Malbusca Launch Centre, located at 36º55'57''N, 25º04'12''W (WGS84) in the Island of Santa Maria, Azores.
• It is attributed to the Atlantic Space Consortium, Lda. (“ASC”) (more information about the ASC here);
• It only confers the right to carry out the operation of the launch centre, i.e. a licence for the management, administration or direction and operation of the launch centre, under the terms of paragraph f) of article 3 of Decree-Law no. 16/2019, of 22 January, in its current version on the Regime for Access and Exercise of Space Activities ("DLSA",  available in Portuguese here), not including in its scope the specific launch operations that may be carried out in the launch centre – these require separate licensing and evaluation

Validity

• The validity period of the licence begins on August 12, 2025 and is valid for 5 (five) years, ending on August 12, 2030
• It should be noted that, under the terms of article 10(3) of the DLSA, these licences may be granted for an initial maximum period of 15 (fifteen) years, without prejudice to their renewal

Legal Basis

• Awarded by ANACOM, the Portuguese Space Authority, under Article 9-A et seq. of the DLSA

Duties of the Licence Holder

ASC, as the licensee, has the following duties:

• Comply with all legal and regulatory provisions in force, as well as the conditions of the licence;
• Comply, in particular, with the obligations in terms of supervision and supervision provided for in article 23 of the DLSA, being obliged towards ANACOM to, among others, (i) allow and facilitate free access by technical staff to the facilities and their dependencies, as well as to their equipment and instrument, (ii) provide all the information and assistance necessary for the performance of their supervisory and inspection functions;
• To report in a timely manner and in a correct and truthful manner the occurrence of serious incidents and accidents, under the terms of article 20 of the DLSA;
• Have a record of all occurrences of its activity, namely incidents and the respective investigation, mitigation or correction measures.

This licence is awarded by ANACOM within the context of the Portugal Space 2030 Strategy, aiming to promote Portugal’s capabilities and potential as a European platform for return missions and access to space and leveraging the strategic geographic position of the Azores.

With the licensing of the Launch Centre, which has several competitive advantages such as low air and maritime traffic density and the ability to use launch trajectories that will eventually allow space objects to be placed in commercially attractive orbits, among others, Portugal takes a concrete step in the consolidation of space activities from the national territory, paving the way for the installation of more operational infrastructures in the Azores and for the development of new projects based in Portugal.

This licence results from the revision of the national legal framework, defined by the DLAE and updated in 2024 through Decree-Law No. 20/2024, of February 24. National legislation has created a specific regime for launch centres, allowing any entity – public or private – to request their installation and operation, provided that safety requirements are met, and national strategic interests are safeguarded.

Under the terms of the licence granted, ASC will have to:

• With regards to the Santa Maria Flight Information Region or the Lisbon Flight Information Region, promote, with the Portuguese National Civil Aviation Authority, the instruction of the request for analysis of the volume of the airspace to be allocated to the activities that may be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the launch centre operating licence in view of the necessary national coordination for the implementation of the airspace structure(s) and their consequent publication in the National Aeronautical Information System
• Under the terms of the prior approval granted by Order No. 8325/2025, of 18 July (available in Portuguese here), to enter into a protocol between the Portuguese Armed Forces, the National Aeronautical Authority, with the aim of ensuring the primacy of military operations in this geographical area over the commercial activities carried out

In addition, the licensing process for specific space operations that will be carried out at the launch centre is underway, and it is expected that the first operations, namely suborbital flights promoted by ASC, may take place as early as 2026.ASC already signed contracts for the first suborbital flights to occur on that date.

In parallel, work will continue to create the necessary infrastructures for the return of space missions, including the Space Rider, a reusable vehicle of the European Space Agency that will have its return site in the Azores (more information about this here and here).