Spanish Space Agency

The Spanish Space Agency (AEE) is a state agency endowed with its own public legal personality, assets and treasury and with functional and managerial autonomy.

The ESA is attached to the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities and the Ministry of Defence, within the scope of the exercise of their respective competences, with the necessary coordination with the departments and bodies with functions and competences affected.

The PREPA will comply with the provisions of Law 17/2022, of 5 September, amending Law 14/2011, of 1 June, on Science, Technology and Innovation, Law 40/2015, of 1 October and its Statute, as well as the other rules of general and special administrative law that apply to it.

Object and purposes

The specific objective of the ESA is the use of space for the benefit, knowledge and security of Spanish society, the establishment, promotion and coordination of all those activities and policies that allow research, technological and industrial development and innovation in the space field.

Therefore, the general purposes of the ESA are:

• The promotion, execution and development of research.
• Technological development and innovation in the field of space.
• National security and defense.
• Operations in the Outer Space.
• Satellite applications for the development of departmental competences, as well as the use of data provided by satellites, and the technological and economic impact of the industry associated with the design, construction, operation and maintenance of satellite systems.
• The empowerment of the national space industry.
• The state and international coordination of Spanish space policy, with full coordination with the European Space Agency (ESA) and with the space policies and programs developed within the European Union and the international organizations of which Spain is a member.

The specific purposes of the Agency are:

• Contribute to National Security and promote actions leading to guarantee the objectives of security and defense in relation to space marked by the National Security Strategy, the National Aerospace Security Strategy and the National Defense Directive.
• To promote, at European and international level, the excellence of Spanish science, innovation and technology related to space.
• Promote and dynamize the national space industrial sector.
• Defend the interests of national users and respond to the demands of public policies in international forums and decision groups in the space field.
• Strengthen the necessary coordination to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of the financial resources available for security, research, innovation, technology, development, industry and programs in the space field.
• To exercise national representation in the different international forums of the space field, giving coherence and supporting the interests of the different departments, without prejudice to the provisions of the second final provision of the Royal Decree.
• To contribute to the space policies of the international organizations of which Spain is a member.
• Promote and coordinate laboratories and technical establishments dedicated to technological development in the space sector that may be associated with the Agency.
• Promote research in the space field and ensure the publication of scientific works in the field.