Campus and Community

Nanosat Lab during AED DAYS 2024

During the 11th edition of AED DAYS 2024, the annual conference of AED Cluster Portugal, the Portuguese Aeronautics, Space and Defense ecosystem took center stage between May 7 and 9. The event brought together national and international players from these industries to explore topics ranging from technological innovations to sustainability issues.

The third day of the event was marked by visits to some of the national industries and research institutions. Around fifteen conference participants were at Técnico Oeiras, more specifically at IST – NanosatLab. This laboratory, renowned for promoting and encouraging technological progress in space-related sectors, offered a privileged view of university initiative projects with real potential for practical and industrial application, such as prototype satellites, macro meteorological controllers and the famous ISAT-1, the first Portuguese cubic satellite, developed by the ISTNanosat team at Técnico in Oeiras.

Raúl Lourenço, AED Cluster Portugal manager for Aeronautics, Space and Defense, highlighted the importance of this visit: “It’s the third day of AED DAYS 2024, where we try to bring together the main international and national players on the first day of the conference, where matters of interest to the ecosystem as a whole are discussed, with academic, technological, industrial and even sustainability issues. On the third day of the event we tried to bring these players to meet the laboratories, universities and national industry to promote this dialog and create synergies throughout the ecosystem.”

The visit to IST – NanosatLab represented a unique opportunity for AED DAYS 2024 participants to explore the work carried out between the faculty and industry, identifying possible areas of collaboration and joint opportunities. The projects on display highlighted not only the academic community’s potential for innovation, but also the industrial sector’s growing interest in incorporating these innovations into practical and applicable solutions.