Denmark's space strategy takes flight

Denmark has launched a strategy for how space can contribute to Danish innovation, research and business.

• Read the Danish national space strategy (in English)

Denmark's development of the space area is already well underway. According to a new OECD-based report, the Danish space economy is significantly larger than previously thought and also widespread across the country.

Danish companies are among the best in the world for producing inexpensive small satellites that can be used for e.g. Arctic monitoring and increasing aircraft security. Such satellites are already being used in many important sectors such as agriculture and transport.

Denmark's first national space strategy outlines the framework for the space area in Denmark and will help companies, researchers and public authorities to uncover which area provide the most potential for them in the space field.

In connection with the Danish contribution to the European Space Agency, there have been Danish suppliers to scientific missions for many years. More and more Danish companies are developing equipment for the many users of satellite data, including those who use space data. Meanwhile, Danes can look forward to accessing enormous amounts of space-based data about Earth and more possibilities for precise navigation thanks to the large EU satellite Galileo and Copernicus programmes, which became operational in recent years. These opportunities should be utilised to achieve the full growth potential that space offers.

The strategy is the result of collaboration between the Ministry of Higher Education and Science, the Ministry of Energy, Utilities and Climate, the Ministry of Business and Growth, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Environment and Food, the Ministry of Transport and Building, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The strategy follows the adoption of Denmark's first law on space activities from 3 May 2016.

The Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation is coordinating the new Cross-ministerial Space Committee which, over the coming years, will coordinate the implementation of the strategy's 46 initiatives. The initiatives cover all areas from joint data gathering to expert advice to innovation support, and is focused on strengthening cooperation as a path to growth.

• Read the background report: The Danish Space Economy 2016 (in Danish)

#Dkrummet

For more information about the strategy please contact:

Peter Sloth, head of division in the Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation, tel: +45 72 31 82 90
Peter Mandix Sehestedt, special adviser in the Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation, tel:+45 72 31 82 02