The Czech Republic will have two separate space missions: AMBIC and QUVIK21/9/2023|Press releasesThe Czech ambitious missions have these names: AMBIC and QUVIK. The decision was made by the Committee at the Ministry of Transport, which controls the Framework Project for the implementation of the support provided by the European Space Agency (ESA) to space activities from the Czech Republic. It is within the framework of this project that Czech independent ambitious space missions are being prepared. "After securing the position of Czech businesses as reliable suppliers of equipment and subsystems for foreign space missions, the next logical step and effort of the Czech Republic is to build the capacity to develop and manufacture its own complex satellite systems and entire space missions. It is a more demanding and costly process compared to the projects implemented so far, but thanks to higher added value it has a higher return on investment," says transport minister Martin Kupka. Seven technically and scientifically advanced proposals show the potential and ambition of the Czech space industry and research institutes. "The cooperation with ESA and the possibility of using its expertise will help us to take full advantage of this potential and to create the capacity in the Czech Republic for the preparation, construction and operation of satellites weighing around 100 kilograms, which are in great demand today," the minister added. The Committee had already evaluated the mission concepts last year and recommended seven of them for the feasibility study phase. It has now selected one satellite mission focused on the needs of government users and one mission with excellent scientific potential. The selected missions will launch into space in five years, with a budget of around EUR 30 million each. The AMBIC mission of a consortium led by the Research Testing and Aviation Institute, a.s. (VZLU) is a technology demonstrator, through which a broad consortium of Czech companies will prove the ability to develop, manufacture, qualify, launch and operate their own satellites of modern design and higher class than the cubesat nanosatellites launched in recent years. These satellites will be able to operate alone or in constellation and will be primarily focused on Earth observation. They will thus be able to provide data for commercial use, government and defence purposes. The system will be useful for monitoring emergencies and disasters, infrastructure, illegal construction or logging, the health of trees along roads and railways, the use of agricultural land and green spaces in cities, landfills and other areas. The secondary function of the satellite will be encrypted communication for the needs of the state. The QUVIK mission is developed by a consortium led by VZLU, is a space telescope for observing the universe in the ultraviolet part of the spectrum, focusing on transient (short-lived) events resulting from collisions of neutron stars or black holes. To capture the most scientifically interesting data, instant reaction and pointing of the space telescope to the scene is essential. The satellite must therefore be equipped with an orientation control system that combines the requirements for high speed manoeuvres and high stability during observation. This feature is also highly valued on the commercial market and for defence industry applications. At times when these transient events are not observed by the telescope, because they occur sporadically in the universe, it can make observations of other objects of scientific interest. The targets of these observations can be selected in part by open competition from proposals from the global scientific community, as is the case with the Hubble or James Webb telescopes. "At the Ministry of Transport we have prepared a unique type of space projects in cooperation with the European Space Agency. We call them ambitious because they are more complex activities than those that have been implemented so far in the Czech Republic in the field of space activities. After a full day of discussions with ESA experts, the committee I chair today selected two of the seven proposals, but also praised the work on the others. During the preparation for this selection, Czech companies and institutions gained know-how that we had not have in the Czech Republic before. Thanks to the insight into the planning and preparation process of the entire complex mission, they will now better understand their foreign partners and customers and will be able to better respond to their needs, thus increasing their competitiveness," says Václav Kobera, Director of the Department of Space Activities and New Technologies of the Ministry of Transport. The Committee also recommended the backup mission SOVAproposed by a consortium led by OHB Czechspace, s.r.o. to study waves in the atmosphere. A more detailed understanding of their influence on atmospheric dynamics processes and the possibility of their subsequent input into atmospheric models could lead not only to more accurate weather forecasting, but also to a better understanding of current global climate change. Ondřej Rohlík, manager of the Framework Project, in which the Czech Republic is implementing the ambitious mission, emphasizes: "For the project selected, the European Space Agency gave a particularly positive assessment of the careful development of user, technical and scientific requirements, initial mission proposal and structure, risk management and risk handling. The Committee also evaluated the consistency of the proposed projects with the objectives of the National Space Plan, in particular the impact on the development of the Czech space ecosystem and the visibility of the Czech Republic in the world. Other valued aspects are the commercial applicability of the technologies that will be needed for these missions and the establishment of ground infrastructure for further space missions and the increased exploitation of the opportunities that space activities bring." "With the AMBIC mission, we will provide our own technical means for a range of applications to monitor the state and use of the territory in the Czech Republic and also to enhance its security, which is a desirable combination. By offering observation time on the unique QUVIK telescope, we will attract scientists from all over the world and thus significantly increase our prestige on the international stage," adds Ondřej Šváb, Head of the Space Activities Department at the Ministry of Transport.