Czech Republic Looks To Establish a National Space Agency

Czech Deputy Prime Minister, Pavel Bělobrádek, presented the plans made by the government, related to the initiative, the aim of which would be to create a national space agency. The new organ is expected to support the local space industry within the framework of the domestic technology development projects and increased Czech presence in the international space initiatives. According to the declarations made by Prague, the new agency is going to become a strong partner of NASA and ESA. Currently, the local space affairs are being managed by the Czech Space Office which is a non-profit entity. The Office has been active since 2003, under jurisdiction of the Ministry of Transport.

The information related to the plan of forming the Czech Space Agency was publicized shortly after  Bělobrádek’s recent visit to the United States of America. The representative of the Czech government visited the United States leading an economic mission, along with a national team of entrepreneurs. Deputy Prime Minister Bělobrádek, whose main responsibilities include coordination of research and development efforts in the Czech Republic, has also visited the NASA John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Czech Republic remains one of 22 ESA member states. The agreement concerning the inclusion of Czech Republic among the ESA member states has been signed in July 2008. In 2016, Prague will make a contribution to ESA’s budget in an amount of EUR 15.6 million. The allocated sum is going to constitute 0.4% of the general budget of the Agency. For the sake of comparison, we may note that Poland is going to make a contribution of EUR 29.9 million to the ESA’s budget.