Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, during her visit to the Hisdesat Satellite Control Center
The SpainSat NG I satellite was put into orbit in January 2025. This event allows us to showcase Spain's great potential as a provider of talent, effort and commitment at the service of technological progress and industrial growth, without forgetting security, in a complicated environment.
During her visit to the Hisdesat Satellite Control Center in Hoyo de Manzanares, the Minister for Defence, Margarita Robles, expressed her delight and also "our recognition for a job well done, for the commitment to skilled employment and innovation, offering opportunities to young people and allowing Spain to be valued as the great country it is".
"From this satellite, a special and secure communications service is offered, not only to the Armed Forces but also to NATO countries, making Spain the fifth country to offer this important element to the members of the alliance," said Margarita Robles, who reiterated that "investing in the future, progress and science is also investing in defence and committing to peace".
All this without forgetting the importance of the impact on the national economy of this type of project. More than 45% of the parts, components and studies required for this satellite are of Spanish origin. This percentage will exceed 65% in the Paz 2 programme, the next Earth observation satellite also operated by Hisdesat.
The control center in Hoyo de Manzanares was inaugurated at the end of 2024 and is considered the most advanced in Europe. Its planning, design and construction, on land ceded by The Ministry of Defence, have been carried out under the parameters of efficiency, sustainability and respect for the environment.
The main building, with a floor area of 4,362 square metres, is distributed over a two-storey rectangular plan and fulfils a double objective: to reduce the visual impact in a natural environment and, to guarantee security and privacy.
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