Building Bridges with ESA: Geraldine Naja’s Inspiring Visit to Spacemanic

Yesterday (7th of November 2024) marked a special day for Spacemanic as we had the distinct honor of welcoming Geraldine Naja, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Director of Commercialisation, Industry, and Competitiveness, to our offices in Brno. Her visit, part of Czech Space Week, underscored ESA's commitment to the emerging New Space ecosystem, and we were thrilled to discuss how this initiative is paving the way for companies like ours to innovate and grow.

Our meeting covered a variety of topics central to the future of space. We spoke at length about the transformative potential of New Space, the ESA’s role in supporting emerging companies, and the work we’re doing at Spacemanic to expand the reach of affordable, agile satellite missions. A key highlight was sharing the advantages of CubeSats—compact, cost-effective satellite platforms that allow for quick mission deployment and reduced entry barriers to orbit. In the spirit of our vision for accessible space, Mrs. Naja received an in-depth tour of our labs, where we showcased the steps we take to design, build, and test these pioneering technologies.

We also took the opportunity to share some of Spacemanic’s upcoming projects and ambitions. Mrs. Naja showed keen interest in our future plans, including our aim to one day develop a lunar CubeSat. This project represents the next frontier for us, broadening the capabilities of CubeSats beyond Earth’s orbit and exploring the moon with the same commitment to efficiency and innovation.

A significant moment of the discussion was centered around ESA’s New Space Advisory Board, a platform established to steer New Space initiatives within Europe. We are proud to play a role in this board, collaborating with ESA and other industry leaders to shape policies and strategies that will fuel the New Space economy. Mrs. Naja’s enthusiasm for the Advisory Board resonated with our team and underscored the value of close cooperation between ESA and industry pioneers in creating a sustainable and competitive space industry.

This meeting was more than just an exchange of ideas; it was a validation of our vision at Spacemanic and a glimpse into the collaborative future we are building with ESA and the European space community. We are immensely grateful for the opportunity to host Mrs. Naja, and her inspiring visit has energized our team as we look forward to translating these discussions into tangible advancements.

Together, we’re pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in space, one CubeSat at a time. We remain committed to making space accessible and, as always, are excited to keep building the future of spaceflight—now with even greater support from our friends at ESA.