From 3rd to 5th October 2023, the 2nd interregional meeting of Interreg Europe project MAE took part in Bodø and Andøy (Norway), hosted by the partner Nordland County Council.
Project partners had the opportunity to learn more about the national and regional strategy for boosting the aerospace sector with environmental and social sustainability concerns in mind.
After the opening session at the headquarters of the Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority in Bodø, partners moved north to Andøy, known as the “European aerospace island”. For over 60 years, Andøy has been at the forefront of the EU aerospace scene. Its privileged position, overlooking the sea and providing key access to polar and solar-synchronous orbits, make it the perfect space launch site in Europe.
Here, the MAE partners visited the company Andøya Space and the soon-to-be completed spaceport, a newly built launch facility that will provide services and opportunities for SMEs active in the New Space sector.
They could also participate in the launch and discussion of the “Strategic Framework Andøy”. This is an integrated, multilevel strategy co-developed by national, regional and local stakeholders, with the objective to build a robust ecosystem that can help Andøy, Nordland Region and the Country seize the opportunities offered by the New Space sector.
Resolvo participated in the study visits and moderated interregional discussion at the meeting, helping the consortium to fine-tune ongoing project activities related to mapping local aerospace ecosystems, and to shape upcoming ones dealing with dialogue with SMEs and exchange of Good Practices.
Next stop for MAE will be in Forlì (Italy) in spring 2024.
