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REVA

CVA cities

Community of Ariane Cities

The city - Madrid

Madrid, the Spanish capital city and seat of the country’s central institutions, with close to 3.3 million inhabitants, is Spain’s most populated city and the largest metropolis in Southern Europe. In addition, the vast urban sprawl that is Greater Madrid is home to over 6.5 million people, including 1.5 million who commute daily to the city centre.

On the national, European and Ibero-American scales, Madrid constitutes one of the leading centres of economic productivity, industrial development, academic and scientific services and research. In addition, the city boasts great cultural wealth and commitment to social responsibility.

In relation to the industrial activity that is the focus here, it must be highlighted that Madrid ranks second in Europe in the area of aerospace-related knowledge and industrial localization. Indeed, Madrid attracts over 90% of specialized human resources, of sector investment and research in Spain, since the mid-sixties last century, when a number of aeronautical disciplines started to be applied to space engineering. Midway through the following decade, Madrid was awarded their first development contract for the ARIANE space launch programme.

Over time, CASA’s Space Division became an independent company under the name EADS CASA ESPACIO (ECE), integrated into the European EADS group. New business opportunities arose, which led to a gradual expansion of its spectrum of activities, boosted by relevant new contracts for the MIRAS Radiometer, the PAZ Satellite and the INGENIO Satellite. Currently, the ECE is integrated into both the European EADS enterprise and its own Space Division ASTRIUM. A further Spanish ASTRIUM-owned company that specializes in space electronics operates in Madrid: CRISA.

ECE and CRISA together constitute the ASTRIUM ESPANA holding, with over 800 engineers and experts dedicated to space-related activities.

One of ECE’s most recent major activities is the launch and early orbit phase of the European Space Agency’s SMOS Satellite, dedicated to the scientific observation of the Earth. Said satellite is fitted with an instrument known as MIRAS, developed entirely by the ECE in association with most industrial space enterprises in Spain. This instrument is a radiometer that measures ocean salinity and ground humidity. The radiometer will be a key instrument for future Climate Change research activities.

Madrid is also home to the Spanish major training centre in the sector, the Madrid Polytechnic University’s Aeronautical Engineering School (ETSIA), a widely recognized centre hailed in Europe on the grounds of its high-quality graduate and postgraduate education services, excellent teaching and research teams.

To ensure that these efforts do not go unnoticed, the Madrid City Council’s Board decided that the city should join the CVA network in 2005. We are committed to raising awareness among Madrid’s citizens of the relevance of the space sector for Madrid’s economy, research and higher education sectors. Madrid also seeks to participate in the task of strengthening the space sector throughout Europe, by working in association with all the cities involved in the organization. Furthermore, Madrid highly values the efforts that focus on raising awareness among children and young adults of the importance of space, as well as of the contribution to their education and training in such a relevant sector for the future of Europe, a task in which REVA performs a key role.

Please visit the webpage  www.munimadrid.es for further information on the city and its activities.

Mr Ruiz-Gallardon Mayor of Madrid making a speech about Madrid becoming a member of CVA (in October 2005) during opening ceremony of Planetarium exhibition called "Landscapes of March" .

Madrid's planetarium, see activities on :
www.planetmad.es/folletoXXaniv.pdf
www.planetmad.es/programas/fuego.htlm


Other interesting space web site to visit :
www.concursoespacial.com