Ireland's vision for space and startups

Space technologies have integrated seamlessly into our lives. They enable services that we rely on daily such as location services, satellite-based media services, and weather forecasting, to name a few. Historically, governments have been the early customers of space technology. However, recently there has been a paradigm shift with hundreds of startups popping up in the space technology industry, leading to a significant, growing private sector.

As more commercial operators, such as Boeing, Virgin, and SpaceX, join the space race with publicly-backed funds like the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA. Innovative Irish companies are tapping into the high-value space industry with technologies including avionics, electronics, propulsion subsystems, antennae, optoelectronics, structures, advanced materials, software data systems, data analytics, geoscience, and astrophysics.

A report from Enterprise Ireland shows the ESA placed contracts with a combined value of €11.5m with 28 Irish companies in 2020, with 13 companies securing first-time contracts. A further €1.5 million in ESA contracts have been with 10 Irish universities and research institutes involved in various strategic research activities. 

Irish companies from related technology sectors are engaged with the space sector to develop technologies with uses both in space and in other high-reliability sectors such as automotive and aerospace. Lios is one of many Irish companies developing its products for space applications. Our advanced smart acoustic material, SoundBounce, is used in the automotive, aerospace, construction, and home appliances sectors. 

The company's Co-founder, Rhona Togher, states, "There is a lot of overlap between technology used for space application which can be used elsewhere like in cars or planes. The strict requirements of the space sector, such as being able to operate in extreme temperatures or high vibration environments, put new technologies through a rigorous approval process that can be utilised across a wide variety of industries”.

Togher continues, "As part of our engagement with space sector customers and ESA, we have planned future development work to build on the anticipated success of this initial project. We look forward to working with ESA and our space partners to build SoundBounce into next-generation launch vehicles."

Lios is working with two major European space companies to help solve the noise and vibrations that are damaging launcher payloads with SoundBounce. These relationships led to its involvement in the 12-month Future Launchers Preparatory Programme with ESA.

Ireland has invested in space primarily through membership of the European Space Agency (ESA). In addition, they support advances across multiple sectors such as human medicine, communications, energy, marine, and environmental protection. Space technologies also support the work of our emergency services during times of crisis by providing real-time satellite images, telecommunications, and navigation services.

The ability of Irish space-active companies to exchange technologies between space and non-space sectors, where technology synergies exist, will be vital in developing a sustainable and agile industry.