The southern part of the island of Santa Maria, in the Malbusca area, was the location chosen for the launch of the first rocket. The team behind it is made up of students from the Instituto Superior Técnico and the first flight will take place in September.
The first test was scheduled for July, but a delay in the production of certain equipment postponed the first launch until the first week of September.
This new launch center will be the starting point for the first suborbital flights on Portuguese territory.
The facility has around 6,000 square meters, with a launch area, a vehicle maneuvering area, and space for all the containers with the material to be used.
A team of students from the University of Lisbon’s Instituto Superior Técnico built the rocket, which will reach an altitude of ten kilometers next month, explains Público newspaper.
This mission, which they have named Gama, will serve as the first test for the new space launch center.
The team of students from the Instituto Superior Público, RED (Rocket Experiment Division), normally takes part in a European competition to launch university rockets up to three kilometers high.
The test that has now been postponed aims to make a launch of 10 kilometers, a challenge for the Instituto Superior Técnico team.


However, it is hoped that by 2025 it will be possible to carry out suborbital launches, flights which are usually used to test aircraft for future orbital flights and which reach an altitude of over 100 km.
The new launch center is now waiting for the licenses to be issued that will allow it to carry out space activities, explained Bruno Carvalho, head of ASC, a consortium between consultancy firm Ilex Space and aeronautical and aerospace construction company Optimal (both Portuguese).
The ASC consortium plans to make two suborbital launches, with two different manufacturers, in 2025

.in Diário dos Açores – Osvaldo Cabral, director

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