Echoing its country's marine patrimony, Portugal's Lusíada constellation, which will open "doors to a new generation of maritime communication services", neared completion with the July 7 launch of three more satellites, according to its developer LusoSpace.

The new satellites -- named for stellar Portuguese writers Florbela Espanca, Miguel Torga and Cesário Verde and carrying their poetry -- were launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as part of the Transporter-17 mission, which took off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, California, according to Recuperar Portugal.

LusoSpace already had sent four satellites of the Lusíada constellation into space on March 30 aboard the Falcon 9 rocket. These satellites also honored Portuguese writers – Luís Vaz de Camões, Agustina Bessa-Luís, Fernando António Nogueira Pessoa, and José Saramago – and joined PoSat-2, which had been launched by LusoSpace in January 2025, reported Público (July 7).

“With this launch, we go from five to eight satellites: it’s undoubtedly already a constellation. It’s the largest Portuguese constellation,” Ivo Yves Vieira, CEO of LusoSpace, the first space start-up in Portugal, and co-founder in 2002 of the Lisbon-based company, told Público. “And we are on our way to reaching 12 satellites,” he added, saying that the four satellites needed to complete the Lusíada constellation should be launched later this year or in early 2027.

Need for New Technology

"LusoSpace is proud to lead the way in next-generation maritime communications with the development of a satellite constellation powered by VDES (Very High-Frequency Data Exchange System) technology. This ambitious project of 12 satellites aims to transform maritime connectivity by offering higher bandwidth than current AIS (Automatic Identification System) applications, improved data integrity and a promising future for maritime communications and safety," according to LusoSpace's website.

Currently, many satellite constellations provide Automatic Identification System (AIS) coverage around the world. However, the AIS has suffered from a constant overload of communication, especially near large ports with higher ship density. Therefore, the international maritime community has planned to use the Very High-Frequency Data Exchange System (VDES).

This radio communication standard maintains the Automatic Identification System (AIS) functions while adding the capacity for larger data exchange.

Along with "greater bandwidth capacity", advantages include "greater data integrity; two-way communications between vessels and maritime authorities; ability to detect suspicious behavior, such as signal deactivation; support for emergency operations, including distress messages as well as search and rescue actions, and contribution to sustainability, with better monitoring of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing,” said LusoSpace, according to Público.

This infrastructure – which will initially offer a messaging service, still under development and expected to be operational by the end of 2027 – will become the "Waze of the ocean", as the company describes it, an information-sharing platform which will aid navigation and improve ocean safety by around the end of 2028. (Waze provides satellite navigation as well as information from users, such as accidents, traffic jams and speed traps, for travel on land.)

The Lusíada constellation will facilitate the sharing of information on adverse weather conditions, navigational obstacles, pollution spills or other risks, contributing to safer, more efficient and sustainable navigation, according to Recuperar Portugal.

New Space Portugal

Falling within the framework of the New Space Portugal Mobilizing Agenda, a large part of the constellation is financed by the European Union's Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), which accounts for 10 million euros, while the remaining 5 million euros come from bank loans, venture capital and self-financing, reported Público.

Founded in 2021, New Space Portugal is led by GEOSAT, one of two operators of very high-resolution satellites in Europe. It is a consortium of 41 organizations, including companies, universities and public entities, such as DS Telecom, the University of Beira Interior, the Portuguese Air Force and the Navy, according to its website. Its goal is designing, developing and launching earth observation satellites, positioning Portugal at the forefront of global markets. It is listed as a €417.03 million PRR project on the Portuguese State website, Mais Transparência.

Poetic Messages

The Falcon 9 launch was followed via live broadcasts by LusoSpace and guests at a Lisbon hotel, reported Público. Before departure, there were speeches by the families of the writers who had been honored with satellites names after them. Just as with the Camões, Agustina, Pessoa, and Saramago satellites, LusoSpace asked relatives to choose the phrases to be affixed to the spacecraft.

From Florbela Espanca, Chameca em Flor (1931):

Queria as estrelas mais alto,/ Quanto maior o espaço, mais criativo o Sol,/ Mais resplandecente a Lua, o maior mar,/ As ondas são mais profundas e bonitas.

I wanted the stars higher,/ The space wider, the sun more creative,/ The moon more radiant, the sea greater,/ The waves deeper and more beautiful.

From Miguel Torga, Flor Preservada (1958):

O céu é um mar azul onde os pássaros navegam;/ E as montanhas, suaves/ Ondulações/ Do grande berço materno do mundo.

The sky is a blue sea where birds sail;/ And the mountains, gentle/ Undulations/ Of the great maternal cradle of the world.

Finally, from Cesário Verde, O Sentimento de Ocidental (1880):

Singram soberbas naus que eu não verei jamais!

Superb ships sail that I will never see!

LusoSpace

LusoSpace launched PoSAT-2. Ivo Yves Vieira , CEO of LusoSpace, was part of the research and development team for PoSAT-1, the first Portuguese satellite, which was launched in 1993, reported Sábado (January 14, 2025).

PoSAT-2 was the first commercial satellite in Portugal, Ivo Yves Vieira told Sábado. There were three before, but they were experimental and used to test new technologies.

"This is the first one built and registered to create a business which, in itself, has symbolic weight. Secondly, it will allow Portugal to be placed on the radar of maritime communications and as a high-tech reference.

"We are the first global constellation of this communication system, and we expect this to increase business activity as well as research and development, expanding the value chain, not only in relation to the satellite but also in the operation of the service itself."

Portugal's Space Industry: Worth the Investment

Portugal has had three phases of space exploration, according to the LusoSpace's CEO:

"The first was PoSAT-1, our first step into space; the second was when Portugal joined the European Space Agency in 2000/2001, which allowed us to create a strong space presence. LusoSpace was founded the following year (with my friends Miguel Martins and Maximilien Coelho) and, now, we are taking the third step, establishing ourselves as a space nation.

"Portugal is beginning to join the club of countries with a space industry, and it's a market worth investing in."