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PERUN I – First Croatian Satellite

The first A3 project is construction, assembly and launching Croatian CubeSat 2U satellite with camera as the main payload. It was named after Perun, the god of thunder and lightning (the thunderbolt), the supreme deity in the pantheon of Slavic Gods, according to Slavic mythology. We took Perun as the name because the symbol of the God Perun is similar to our logo of the project.

PERUN project will be realized by a large number of young engineers and scientists led by experienced staff at universities and scientific institutions through project reviews and advice. Such engineers and scientists will not only learn the theory of space engineering but will get a welth of hands-on experience. Students who gain knowledge in aerospace often use it in other high technologies – biomedicine, mechanical engineering, software engineering…

The main misson is to take pictures from the Space at height of 550km. Taken images will be used for educational purposes and data will be avaliable for all institutions, universities and schools to learn how to use them. Also from this we want to initiate the first Croatian Space program.

Invest in our crowdfunding

Take part in the project by donating and that together we can reach the Space. Looking down from there on Earth you can say “I did it!”. Any small amount is welcome and shall make that vision come true. On our part we have highly skilled engineers and very enthusiastic young people and on your part means of acquiring technology that we still have to master. We call it science/technology and investemnet sinergy.

The Croatian satellite

To watch Croatia from Space one needs camera, source of energy, remote communication and very importantly control of camera orientation. It looks simple but all these is test of Croatian knowhow in high tech for the Space environment. Yes, and perservirance of young people to learn about what lies ahead in their lives, Space era. This project shall make us the member of the World Space Club.

Sponsors: Algebra d.o.o., Geolux d.o.o., Ruđer Bošković Institute, Digital Talents d.o.o., IJEX GmbH, Scam marine d.o.o., Internal d.o.o., ATIR d.o.o.

For more information visit Perun I webpage.

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A3 welcomes a new member – Institute Oikon from Zagreb

Oikon Ltd. – Institute of Applied Ecology has developed in last 21 years into a leading licensed and accredited consulting company / research institute in the field of applied ecology in Croatia and the region.

Oikon’s specialties are nature and environment protection, natural resource management, landscape ecology, industrial ecology, environmental modeling, renewable energy, sustainable mobility, project management, remote sensing and geographic information systems.

“I am very pleased that Oikon has joined our association. I am convinced that with their hard work and experience they will be able to contribute creatively to A3’s activities,” said our president Slobodan Danko Bosanac.

Dalibor Hatić, director of Oikon, agrees with him by adding: “It is with great excitement and joy that we have joined the Adriatic Aerospace Association in their efforts to achieve the set goals of expanding human presence in space. In our work we will concentrate on topics related to life sciences and geoinformatics, as well as the meaningful use of collected data to improve the life on Earth. For the past 21 years, we have focused on protecting nature and the environment, as well as the responsible and sustainable management of natural resources on, for now still the only and for the mankind perfect spaceship – our planet Earth! We hope that the man-built structures that will eventually move in space will, with our help, be as close as possible to our natural environment. ”

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How can small countries find their role in space activities

This document is the result of the panel discussion on the topic “Small Countries in Space Era”, motivated by the rapidly evolving development in Space exploration, utilization of the benefits from it for the well being of humanity, and future presence of humans out there. Small countries should also find their role in this endeavor but in competition with large conglomerates the question is HOW?

 Preamble
A stable and prosperous society needs to be inventive in science and technology, and to be globally competitive. Two factors that determine success are  highlyeducated members of the community and leadership in new ideas. For a small country, with a reasonably educated population, it is therefore of utmost importance to recognize global trends in the field of science and technology and to focus their development efforts in this direction. Research and development in Space activities offer opportunities to small countries to participate as an active member. This primarily requires defining development strategies in the field of aerospace high technology industries, basic science and development, as well as activities in the field of space medicine, space law and space tourism.

Recommendations
The essential feature of Space programs is that it is interdisciplinary and  that it falls under the responsibilities of several ministries. Therefore, the first step towards commencing a Space program is setting up a Space Agency funded by the ministries of Science, Transport, Economy (where technology is incorporated) and Defense. The National Space Agency should ideally cover all sectors of Space program, with experts in respective fields.  The next step after establishing the Space Agency is to draft and adopt the National Space Strategy that would entail two principal segments

  1. National Space Program (Research, Technology and Applications)
  2. International contacts: ESA, EU, bilateral cooperation

Both of these segments form the basis for accession to the membership of the European Space Agency. The Space Strategy should encompass the long term and short-term development objectives and define the areas of priority.

The path to become a full member of ESA is to first sign the Framework Programme and then to become a co-operating state and thereby join the PECS (Plan for European Cooperating States) programme. The PECS Charter, which lasts for five years, enables the country to develop its space industry with ESA’s support. The next step is then the Associate Membership of ESA and lastly, the Full Membership of ESA. The National Space Agency would represent the country in the ESA council and programme boards. It would also advise the government on levels of commitment in the optional programmes of ESA in line with the space strategy. To support the creation of space start-up companies it is advisable to set up an ESA Business Incubation Centre (ESA-BIC).

In parallel, there should be a national space programme to prepare industry and academia for the competitive environment of ESA and EC contracts and to enable fruitful bi-lateral collaborations.

As a member of the European Union, the country also should participate in the down-stream space programme of the EU, which is implemented by the European Commission. Examples are Satellite Navigation (EGNOS and Galileo), Earth Observation (Copernicus), Space Situational Awareness (SSA) and the GOVSATCOM Programme.  To utilize the Public Regulated Service of Galileo Ministries of Interior and Defence should set up a Competent PRS Authority (CPA).

Prof. Dr. Slobodan Danko Bosanac
President
Adriatic Aerospace Association

The signatories to the document are:
Petr Bares, President, Czech Space Alliance
Prof. Dr. Sc. Slobodan Danko Bosanac, President, Adriatic Aerospace Association
Mag. Dr. Andreas Geisler, Appointed Head of the FFG Aeronautics and Space Agency.
Prof. Dr. Tomaž Rodič, Director, Slovenian Centre for Space Sciences and Technologies
Prof. Dr. Carsten Scharlemann, Head of Deparment, Aerospace Engineering, University of Applied Sciences Wiener Neustadt
Prof. Heinz Stoewer, Founder of Space Associates GmbH
Dr. Sc. Hrvoje Zorc, Adriatic Aerospace Association
Mag.iur. Anja Nakarada Pečujlić, Serbian Case for Space

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Adria Space Conference 2019

We are pleased to announce the 1st Adria Space Conference 2019 that is going to be held in Zagreb, Croatia on October 4th 2019.

Adria Space Conference 2019

Regional Cooperation on SpaceTechnology

Organizer:
Adriatic Aerospace Association (A3)
Ruđer Bošković Institute
University of Zadar

Sponsored by:
The Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts of the Republic of Croatia

Chair: Slobodan Bosanac Ph.D., President of the A3

Adriatic Aerospace Conference is the organizer of the first regional meeting devoted to collaboration in space technologies. The goal of the Conference is to stimulate and strengthen the regional cooperation in research and development of advanced technologies, mainly used in space activities. The profile of the Conference is one-day meeting, where all participants will briefly report on their current activities and future programs. This should give push for further common developments in the field of nano-satellite technologies like construction, functions, propulsion, communication, attitude control, and similar. It is intended that the conference acquires annual character as a gathering of participants in space research and development in SE Europe.

More information on web page of the Conference.

Organizing Committee:

S. Bosanac, Ph.D., Adriatic Aerospace Association
M.Ivanda, Ph.D., Ruđer Bošković Institute
I. Jakić, CEO, IJEX GmbH
D. Kočiš, Adriatic Aerospace Association, World Space Week Croatia
I. Ljubić, Ph.D., Ruđer Bošković Institute
G. Verbanec, Ph.D., University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science,
H. Zorc, Ph.D., Adriatic Aerospace Association
S. Petrović,
D. Ramljak, Ph.D., Senior Science and Innovation Expert The World Bank