Space: the new commercial frontier for Irish firms reaching for the stars

Ireland is a member of ESA, with the Government contributing €20m to the agency each year

Barry McCall

Irish companies are carving out a reputation for technical excellence and the development of innovative solutions in the rapidly growing $300bn (€254.1bn) global space technology market. At present, more than 70 of these companies are engaged in projects with the European Space Agency (ESA) on a diverse range of areas including structures, materials, microelectronics, photonics, telecommunications, radio systems and life sciences.

ESA is the primary gateway to this exacting but highly lucrative market for Irish firms, according to Enterprise Ireland programme manager Tony McDonald. "ESA is the only agency we have access to in Ireland that can qualify products for use in space," he says. "You can go anywhere with that verification. It's a very specific quality mark that gives a product credibility. It is recognised by NASA for its technology readiness level scale, so it allows Irish companies to sell their products there as well."