European Space Agency mapped Czech Industry. In Lanškroun Feb 1st 2011
A seminar was held in Lanškroun, centre of the Czech passive electronic component industry, to familiarize 3 prominent ESA (European Space Agency) representatives with the product lines of 11 Czech businesses of which 6 are within Lanskroun or nearby Dolni Cermna. This seminar will give an opportunity for Czech „Space" components to be utilized in current projects.
ESA, who is now second only to NASA in the field of Space Research, is located in Paris with research and coordination facilities ESTEC (European Space Research & Technology Centre) in Noordwijk, Holland.
ESA representatives were:
Mr Mikko Nikulainen, Head of Materials and Component Technology Division
Mr Laurent Marchand, Head of Components Section
Mr Denis Lacombe, contact for passive component
AVX Czech Republic s.r.o, who are already qualified for Space technologies and EGGO Space s.r.o. were visited in the morning of February 1st. In the afternoon the visitors met town representatives as well as local and out of town passive electronic component and sensor companies in the hall of the local castle. Additionally representatives from 2 highly specialized departments of Brno University of Technology, the University of West Bohemia and Mr Ondřej Rohlík and Mr Petr Šmíd from the Ministry of Transport (yes, moving through Space is also a form of transport) attended the meeting. The Czech Space Alliance was represented by its President Mr Petr Bareš.
The Mayor of Lanškroun, Mrs Mgr. Stanislava Švarcová, greeted the visitors with an address in English and a member of the Town Council, Mgr. Martin Roller, familiarized guests with the town, its history and its present conditions in the same language. Company and University presentations followed in 5 minute sessions with priceless knowledge gained during 2 hours of spontaneous discussion in the anteroom of the castle hall.
The entire event was also attended by Mr Dr. Petr Beneš, Editor in Chief of the Sdělovací technika (Communication Technology) monthly magazine, and Mr Ing. Jan Prokš, PhD., Deputy Director of the Českomoravská elektrotechnická asociace (Czech and Moravian Electrical and Electronic Association - ČSA).
There are only 32 European qualified component vendors for space technolgies, including AVX Czech Republic s.r.o. of Lanškroun, and these can consider themselves part of the prestigous and exclusive Space supply „club". There are also opportunities for others as it is not right if only 30% of electronic components and sensors are sourced from European suppliers for the European Space programme with the balance being supplied globally and predominantly from the US.
As a result companies will look eagerly for ways to utilize their products in Space applications which will give added status as well as the bonus of collectively working under the patronage of the CSA, only time will tell how important this meeting was.
Written by: Jiří Kohout
Photographs by: Václav Šítek
Source: www.lanskrounsko.cz
Participants in the Meeting:
AVX Czech Republic s.r.o.
BVT Technologies, a.s.
EGGO SPACE s.r.o.
Elektronické součástky CZ, a.s.
EPCOS s.r.o.
Harlingen s.r.o.
HaS Lanškroun s.r.o.
LAAR, a.s.
LUX-IDent s.r.o.
SCHOTT Electronic Packaging Lanškroun s.r.o.
VISHAY ELECTRONIC spol. s.r.o.
Brno University of Technology (Czech Noise Research Lab)
Brno University of Technology (Sensor, Information and Communication Systems, SIX Centre)
University of West Bohemia in Plzeň
What is ESA
The European Space Agency (ESA) is an intergovernmental organization dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states. The Czech Republic became a full member in November 2005. Headquartered in Paris, with individual centers in the rest of Europe, ESA has a staff of more than 2,000 (including subcontractors and employees of individual state space agencies) with a current annual budget of about €3 billion
Its major spaceport is the Guiana Space Centre at Kourou, South American French Guayana , whose proximity to the equator allows easy reach of commercially important space orbits. Thanks to the reliable and powerful launch vehicle Ariane 4 ESA assumed an important position in the market of space operators currently strengthened by a new powerful launch vehicle Ariane 5. At the same time ESA has become the second most important player in the field of a space research after NASA. (With use of Wikipedia information).
Interesting links:
ESA Meeting in Lanškroun:
http://www.spacedepartment.cz/cs/wiki/Lanskroun_meeting
Czech Space Alliance web page:
http://www.czechspace.eu/
Czech Space Office web page:
www.czechspace.cz
Czech and Moravian Electrical and Electronic Association web page:
www.electroindustry.cz
