They also urged the government to increase budget allocations to €4 million in 2025 and to €5.5 million for 2026. A failure to do so would “disrupt Latvia’s international reputation” and lead to a “loss of historic investments in Latvian companies,” the NGOs said.
ESA has a system whereby contracts are dispersed to nations roughly proportionate to their contribution, which is a major incentive for smaller EU countries to be members of the space agency.
Latvia became an associate ESA member in 2020 and is currently at the bottom of the list of member states and cooperating nations, after having contributed just €500,000 (541,000) to ESA’s €7.7 billion ($8.3 billion) budget this year, according to funding data for 2024.
Latvia currently has around 50 organizations operating in the space sector and has some 70 ESA projects in its portfolio, according to the Economy Ministry. Latvian companies are largely focused on niche products and services, such as earth observation applications, scientific instruments, electronic components, and materials.
The country has also participated in global space missions, such as the Lunar Gateway and Hera planetary defense mission. (RT)
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Publish date : 2024-10-30 09:13:00
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