Malta is sending a space balloon into the stratosphere in mid-August this year. This was announced by the director of the Institute for Space Science and Astronomy at the University of Malta, Prof. Kristian Zarb Adami.

The Space Balloon is picked up from either Malta International Airport or from Gozo heliport started. During the event at the Archaeological Museum in Valletta, the institute received a grant of 75.000 euros for a number of projects, including the latter.

Professor Zarb Adami stated that the space race has begun and Malta does not want to be left out. After extensive consultation with all stakeholders in this sector, the government will also launch an updated space strategy by the end of this year.

The Minister for Research, Innovation and Coordination of the Post-Covid-19 Strategy, Owen Bonnici, also spoke to the press gathered at the museum in Valletta. Minister Bonnici focused his speech on a central fund set up to support locally based space companies. He added that the government wanted to tap into the ever-growing satellite business and had worked diligently to give the Malta Space Taskforce, chaired by Omar Cutajar, a detailed brief.

Interestingly, there was a lot of hype in July 2017 about a British company called Orbital Access that wanted to set up a space company in the Mediterranean archipelago. The company was considering a variety of options, including a Boeing 747 in Luqa to launch commercial satellites. Although not much has been heard about the Prestwick-based company in the past four years, Minister Bonnici reiterated that the Space Taskforce would look at all possible ways to ensure this and similar projects bear fruit.

This post was written by: Chris Cauchi