Country dossier · PRT

Portugal

Emerging space nation

A sourced snapshot of Portugal's posture in space — capability, institutions, orbital assets, law and people. Every figure carries its primary source; gaps are shown honestly, never filled with invented data.

Open Portugal in the interactive workspace →

Capability tier

Emerging space nation

Launches to orbit from its own territory: noLaunch sites on record: 1Nationals who have flown: 0

Source: ALL IN SPACE capability ladder · see methodology

Space agency

PT Space (Portuguese Space Agency)

National space agency · established 2019

Source: UNOOSA · Worldwide Space Agencies directory

Satellites (owner state)

3

Counted from the GCAT May 2026 snapshot. The interactive workspace shows a live CelesTrak figure, which uses different owner-attribution rules and will differ.

Source: GCAT · General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects (J. McDowell) · May 2026 snapshot

Ground stations

Space budget

$23M

Emerging spender · 2024

Source: OECD · GBARD by socio-economic objective

National strategy

Estratégia Portugal Espaço 2030 (2018)

Research, innovation and growth strategy targeting EUR 500 million annual turnover and 1,000 skilled jobs by 2030

Source: Published national space strategies and policies

International space law

InstrumentStatus
Outer Space Treaty 1967Ratified
Rescue Agreement 1968Ratified
Liability Convention 1972Ratified
Registration Convention 1975Ratified
Moon Agreement 1979Not a party
Artemis Accords 2020Signatory (2026-01-11)

Source: Status of international agreements relating to activities in outer space (1 January 2026)

Launch sites

  • Atlantic Spaceport (Santa Maria)Atlantic Spaceport Consortium / Portuguese Space Agency · Santa Maria Island, Azores · orbital planned

Source: National launch site roster · ALL IN SPACE compilation

Astronauts

No nationals have flown in space on record.

Milestones

  • 2019PT Space (Portuguese Space Agency) established

Notable missions and contributions

  • ESA member since 2000 — Portugal Space (est. 2019)
  • PoSAT-1 (1993) — first Portuguese satellite
  • Santa Maria Azores ESA tracking station
  • AIR Centre — Atlantic space/ocean data
  • Deimos Engenharia — EO for ESA missions
  • Copernicus downstream: maritime surveillance