Hungary has joined the European Space Agency as a full member

Hungary has joined the European Space Agency (ESA) as a full member on Tuesday; as a result, scientific and technological development based on space activities can give an impetus to Hungarian space industry said the minister of state for consumer protection at the occasion of the ceremonial signing of the Accession Treaty in Budapest.

Full membership allows Hungarian companies to participate in industrial, educational and scientific programs of ESA so increasing the competitiveness of the Hungarian space sector said the politician.

ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain recalled the successes of more than twenty years of cooperation with Hungary, and emphasized that this partnership now will be raised to a much higher level creating a number of new jobs in the Hungarian space industry.

The ESA president stressed that each member states that joined the organization has one vote. Each member state can participate in the various programs to the extent it contributed to the particular project. The organization also guarantees that the share of contributions will be returned to member states through tenders.

The European Space Agency assessed the status of the Hungary’s space sector and the country’s scientific achievements in 2014 and found that currently 41 space industry-related businesses, universities and institutes involved in space research in Hungary. In the past ten years, Hungary as a ‘European cooperating state’ participated close to one hundred different ESA research projects.

The European Space Agency has 22 member states whose primary task include scientific research, targeted development of space technology, space-based infrastructure development, promotion of growth in the space industry, development and utilization of satellite navigation, telecommunications, and meteorology.

Source: http://hungarianambiance.com