Pff12 2002

1
Special issue on Portuguese activities
Vol.12, No.2
July 2002
Portugal’s
ParticipationinESA
At the most recent ESA Ministerial Council meeting in
Edinburgh (UK) in November 2001,Portugal was
participating for the first time as a full Member State.
There it reconfirmed its subscription to the Agency’s
Navigation andTelecommunications Programmes, and
also subscribed to a new initiative,namely the Aurora
Programme.
Article 7 of the‘Agreement between the European Space
Agency and the Government of the Portuguese Republic
concerning the Accession of Portugal to the Convention
of the European Space Agency and RelatedTerms and
Conditions’,a period of six years should follow for the
implementation of the transitional measures.These
measures foresee the adaptation of Portugal’s industry
to the Agency’s requirements and the maximisation of
the mutual benefits for Portuguese industries,
institutions and universities involved in space and
related activities in all ESA Member States.To implement
these measures,a joint ESA - PortugalTask Force was set
up to make proposals and recommendations to ESA’s
Director General.ThisTask Force is composed of
representatives nominated by ESA’s Director General
and by the Government of Portugal.
The Institute of Scientific andTechnological International
Cooperation (ICCTI),within the Ministry of Science and
Higher Education,is serving as the focal point for
coordinating the participation of the Portuguese
scientific community and Portuguese companies in the
ESA Programmes.Optional ESA Programmes are
supported by the Ministry of PublicWorks and Ministry
of Economy directly or through the National Authority for
Communications,among others.
ICCTI,Ministry of Science and Higher
Education,Lisbon
Résumé
Lors du plus récent Conseil ministériel de l’ESA à
Edimbourg (GB) en Novembre 2001,le Portugal
participait pour la première fois en tant qu’État
membre.À ce moment,il confirme sa souscription
aux programmes de navigation et de
télécommunications de l’Agence,et souscrit
également au nouveau programme Aurora.
Following the signature of an Agreement between
ESA and Portugal’s Ministry of Science and
Technology and Ministry of Social Equipment in
1997,Portugal started to participate in ESA activities
through three ARTES Programme elements: General
Studies (Element 1),Telecommunications (Element
5) and Navigation (EGNOS and GNSS2 – Element 9).
Portugal subsequently became a full ESA Member
State in November 2000.
In the meantime,in December 1999,a‘White Book for
Space Sciences andTechnologies’had been published
and submitted for public discussion.ThisWhite Book
identified four main strategic areas for Portugal’s
involvement in space activities:space as a support
to knowledge of the Universe,to navigation,to
communication and to Earth observation.
Portuguese space policy is strongly influenced both by
the fact that Portugal is a Member of the European
Union and by its recent accession to the international
space arena through joining the European Space
Agency.The adoption of the Resolution on the
European Space Strategy by both the European
Union’s Research Council and ESA’s Council,on
16 November 2000,was a major step forward in
terms of European space policy,embracing all of the
national goals and where Portugal too finds the key
elements of its own policy in the space field reflected.

Preparing for the Future,July 2002,Vol.12,No.2
2
J.M. Rebordão
Portuguese Delegate,ESA Industrial Policy
Committee (IPC)
Résumé
La survie à long terme des compagnies portugaises
dans le marché relié à l’ESA dépend de leur expertise
reconnue dans un certain nombre de technologies
générales et de domaines techniques pouvant être
utilisé pour générer produits,systèmes et services
d’intérêt au plus grand nombre et types de missions
et applications possible,également pour les
programmes scientifiques (obligatoire) et ceux
d’applications (optionnel),tel que ARTES,Galileo
et Aurora.
The long-term survivability of Portuguese companies
in the ESA-related marketplace depends on their
recognised expertise in a number of general
technologies and technical domains that can be used
to generate recurrent products,systems and services
of interest to the widest possible number and types
of missions and applications,from both scientific
(mandatory) and application (optional) programmes,
such as ARTES,Galileo and Aurora.At the same time,
the expertise acquired,developed and consolidated in
the context of ESA’s technological programmes must
be coherent with the overall business strategy of each
company,including space activities but not limited
to space.
At the end of the transitional period of Portugal’s
accession to ESA,in November 2006,Portuguese
companies will compete openly with other European
companies for ESA and Eumetsat business;contracts
and/or subcontracts will be awarded if they can
provide higher technical value for a lower price.Given
the late entry of Portugal into the space business,
its companies should give higher priority to
technological niches in areas where ESA has
identified needs not yet met by other European
companies and institutes.Several such technical
domains where developments are deemed necessary
by ESA in the medium- to long-term fulfil the
desiderata of the transition period granted to
Portugal under the terms of the Portugal – ESA
Agreement.
For Portuguese companies,the following generic-
technology areas seem particularly relevant:
- overall space-systems aspects such as system-
level functional architecture (space/ground trade-
offs) and autonomy,system engineering,
development and verification methods and tools,
standardisation of system interfaces and data-
exchange formats/protocols
- platform or satellite bus technologies such as
mechanical design,data handling,TT&C and AOCS
- payload-related techniques and technologies that
are non-mission-specific,including common
instrumentation technologies and supporting
functions such as data handling,but also common
technologies for electromagnetics,microwaves
and optics
- ground-segment operations such as mission
control,automation of control functions,and
ground station systems and networking
- basic technologies and disciplines that contribute
to several more application-oriented
technologies/ products,such as space system
software (i.e.ground and on-board) and
information technology.
Portuguese companies and institutes were therefore
asked to identify product groups and technological
R&D requirements fitting with their interests and
capabilities,and to suggest specific activities
complying with ESA’s stated needs.Such proposed
activities may then find their way into Portugal’s
national activities during the next revision of its
technological programmes,or give rise to activities
endorsed by the Portuguese – ESATask Force.The
activities covered by theTask Force will include
contracts with Portuguese firms and institutions
involving,when needed,entities from other ESA
Member States that will be instrumental in increasing
the activities’technical value and widening their
scope,thereby creating learning opportunities not
otherwise available.
Companies have been invited to identify activities
that,for example:prepare for focused industrial
participation in the ground segments of future
scientific missions,can be linked to running frame
contracts with key partners,help in developing a
number of information systems related to ocean
monitoring and navigation,support product
development or software certification,integrate
Portuguese infrastructures into ESA networks,etc.
In parallel,as candidates for potential government
support,companies were also invited to identify their
needs in terms of transfer of technology,support of
space specialists under contract,national pilot
projects to demonstrate or consolidate products or
services,training (individualised,formal,organised at
group level),contract R&D or specialised engineering
developments,quality,certification (S4S,…),support
to marketing initiatives,presentations to European
companies,participation in the ESA harmonisation
initiatives,etc.
The above reflects,in general terms,the consensus
reached among Portugal’s industrial companies
regarding the transition period,the business
objectives of the most active industrial players,and
the relationships that they have already established
both with ESA and with other European firms.
Participation of
Portuguese
Companies in ESA

D.Ribeiro
AEPOR Project,Portugal
Résumé
Le programme de transfert de technologie de l’ESA
est un outil puissant pour aider à regrouper une
grande variété d’entités représentant plusieurs
intérêts portugais et divers secteurs d’activité.
Parcontre,pour obtenir un support financier
considérable des secteurs publics et privés,tout
investissement relié à l’espace envisagé au Portugal
doit être relié aux besoins immédiats et à long
terme de la société portugaise.
The ESATechnologyTransfer Programme is a powerful
tool for helping to bring together a wide variety of
entities representing numerous Portuguese interests
and areas of activity.However,all space-related
investments being contemplated in Portugal must
be properly matched with Portuguese society’s
immediate and longer-term needs in order to obtain
substantial financial support from both the private
and public sectors.
The first few articles in this special issue of PFF
about Portugal are linked in one way or another with
a space-awareness initiative known as the‘Alma da
Agua’project,which involves the launch of a
commemorative sounding rocket carrying a unique
payload.Water samples from the eight countries in the
World that use the Portuguese language will be mixed
in reduced gravity using several transferable space
technologies that will be made more visible by the
international public exposure of the event.
3
SpaceTechnology
TransferActivitiesin
Portugal
There will be an important role for the telecommuni-
cations and information industry,which is where most
Portuguese private high-tech investment is currently
concentrated.However,there are also other areas
where potential developments can lead to viable
products.While continuing to focus on some key
areas that were identified in 2000,it is desirable keep
all other options ‘alive’,thereby ensuring a strong
enough level of 'biodiversity' in the industrial and
technological options available.
The Portuguese governmental space-policy as
conceived by the former Portuguese Minister of
Science andTechnology was to have our space
activities reinforce the main priority of developing
Portugal's participation in the Information Society,
not just by upgrading and increasing the national
computer-industry infrastructure,but also by
developing innovative content in the Portuguese
language.
However,it is vital to guarantee the sustained long-
term support of a minimum level of activities in all
relevant space-activity fields.In order to achieve that
goal,a Portuguese Space Agency – Agencia Espacial
Portuguesa, Sociedade Anonima (AEPOR SA) - is
being set up.A wide network of low cost‘enabling
infrastructures' accessible to the shareholders will be
established as its backbone.These infrastructures will
include a future multipurpose hangar with at least 30
cubicles and other ground-based systems,a dedicated
computer network,a modified bus that will house a
'mobile mission control centre’,and an airborne
laboratory that will also be used to transport and
support small payloads,astronomy and remote
sensing.The first step is already underway with a
permanent ESA Logistics Support Office being
proposed in a hangar at Cascais Airfield.
Initially,AEPOR will focus on providing various
logistical support and information services to supply
the training that is so crucial to the development of a
minimum level of sustained national space activities in
all areas.This effort will reflect the quality of
Portuguese science and the still untapped possibilities
of greater indigenous technological and industrial
development.

4
NewMeasurement
Techniquesforthe
PortugueseFood
Industry M.Graça
Companhia Espacial Portuguesa Lda,Portugal
Résumé
L'industrie alimentaire portugaise effectue un grand
effort de modernisation.Une des améliorations
aportées au travers du niveau technique de la
premiére experience portugaise privee en
apesanteur a eté non seulement le development
d’une nouvelle norme de mesure pour des
echatillions très réduits dans le système de controle
de qualité national,mais aussi la sensibilisation de
tout le secteur de l'industrie alimentaire pour
l'utilisation de la microgravité comme un outil
supplémentaire dans la quete de nouvelles
améliorations pour les geo produits.
The Portuguese Microgravity
Emulsion Experiment (PMEE)
The PMEE was launched on the Space Shuttle (STS-
95) in October 1998 as part of the Commercial ITA
Biomedical Experiments (CIBX-1) payload,and
allowed the development of new measurement
techniques for the Portuguese Food industry.
Four experiments were conducted,addressing:
Emulsion Stability,Microbiological Behaviour,
Oxidation Levels,and Migration of Packaging
Material.Three small LMAs (Liquid Mixing
Apparatuses),each with a volume of 5 ml,were
partially filled with margarine samples.Three ground
controls were also analysed.
As far as the emulsion-stability experiments are
concerned,the observations seem to suggest that
stabilisation of crystals or re-crystallisation occurred
due to flight conditions,but further research is
needed.In the microbiological behaviour
experiments,Aspergillus Niger cultures were grown
on the margarine samples and no differences in
growth were observed compared with the controls.
A special protocol of sample preparation and
inoculation was established.As for the oxidation level,
the standard protocols NP 904 and NP 1819 were
validated through a ring test between industry
laboratories and the Laboratório de Análises do
Instituto SuperiorTécnico.There was no apparent
change in the pattern of oxidation.To evaluate if there
were modifications in the rate of migration of
packaging material,a polyethylene PET plastic
filament was inserted on the margarine sample.Due
to the small size of the sample,a specific protocol was
developed for the analysis.No modification in the
migration process was detected.The full report is
available at www.fiovde.pt.

Follow-up to the PMEE
One possible goal for the Portuguese food Industry
would be to supply European International Space
Station (ISS) crew members with customised
packages designed to be useful in meeting very tight
nutritional standards.The ability to aggregate
crumbs in reduced gravity could be measured,for
instance.To achieve this,various physiological data
must be gathered,through dedicated studies.Various
food samples could be tested using systems such as
the Globular Cooking Facility (GCF) being developed
by researchers at the University of Stuttgart,and
which was flown on the 29th ESA Parabolic Flight
Campaign.The GCF is able to sterilise,stew,bake or
fry the food.Development of various hardware items
could be envisaged,relying on ESA funding or other
funding approaches.
Biosensors for food safety
There are several customised biosensors that can
be developed for Portuguese factories involved in
the food industry.The need to understand the
requirements for the different production lines,the
analysis of samples,the familiarisation with existing
procedures,the selection of existing sensor
equipment and the calibration for the particular
needs of the factory chosen all represent excellent
training opportunities,thereby developing part of
the background needed to participate in future
research into space life-support systems or space
suits.Should there be the need to develop totally
new biosensors or ground-based equipment,there
will be further opportunities to create new small
niche products.New ways to detect the presence of
micro-organisms have been considered.Some of
the initial costs of developing prototypes for
experimental apparatuses can be covered by the
construction of educational demonstration models
that can be included in future science and technology
awareness programmes.
Nutrition awareness
Successful awareness and promotion campaigns
can focus on the education of the general public
regarding the appropriate intake of nutrients.
Improving our nutritional habits requires the ability
to strongly motivate the general public using
everyday items.That can be accomplished with
well-publicised special events involving the intake
of customised products by crew members,thereby
taking advantage of the public’s natural curiosity.
Food for harsh environments
Various Portuguese food industries can benefit from
this kind of nutritional awareness,which can then be
expanded to cover systematically various other harsh
environments such as deserts,marine activities,the
medical profession,fire fighters,the aeronautical
professions,military users,and humanitarian/relief
workers,among others.In the specific case of
margarine,its ability to provide a lot of quickly
assimilated energy,while blending easily with or
aggregating crumbs from other foodstuffs,can be an
asset for its broader application.In the business plan
to commercialise these enhanced products,the larger
market represented by all of these areas is significant.
Commemorative food
samples
A number of food samples have already been pre-
selected to be added to the "Alma da Agua" payload.
These small samples will be placed in space-qualified
vials with the LMA configuration used previously on
sounding-rocket flights.A number of different wines
and other liquids used in food preparation will be
flown.Their chemical composition will be analysed
to determine their stability vis-a-vis the environment
encountered on the sounding-rocket flight.After they
are analysed,a small fraction will be used in the
confection of traditional dishes of all the eight
countries that use the Portuguese language.
Conclusion
The largest European industry,the food industry,
can continue to find new ways to get involved in the
transference of technology,either by incorporating
spin-offs,such as new measuring techniques,or by
contributing with spin-ins,such as various specific
measurement techniques not previously tested in
reduced gravity that can be evaluated using parabolic
flights.
5
Portuguese samples
being loaded into the
C-RIM that flew in
the mid-deck locker
of STS-95

F.Melo
Faculdade de Motricidade Humana,Portugal
G.Silva
CNPA Lda,Portugal
Résumé
Puisqu’une des conditions pour que l’industrie
alimentaire puisse investir dans la recherche et le
développement reliés au secteur spatial,est la
question liée à la qualité de la nutrition,un
programme structurant pour les sciences de la vie,
notamment la physiologie dans le secteur spatial est
proposé.La mesure,et surtout le traitement
informatique des données relatives que les nouvelles
conditions physico-chimiques observées dans
l’apesanteur peuvent créer sera le point de départ
pour viabiliser le développement de charges utiles
autonomes sur ISS liées aux questions posées par les
développements de la biotechnologie.
Introduction
Before Portugal can contribute with fully fledged
research into medical issues using parabolic flights,it
is important that sufficient people are trained and
the basic ground-based research conducted.This will
provide the basis for the development of a healthy
physiological research programme.The Portuguese
space-technology market has expressed a definite
interest in both nutritional research and software
development.
Defining bed rest
Bed-rest experiments on healthy subjects usually
take place over the course of several days or weeks.
During this time,subjects are normally not allowed
to get out of bed except for very short periods and
therefore,for all practical purposes,remain supine.
Many bed-rest experiments in which the simulation
of weightlessness is of prime importance are
performed with the subject tilted to –3º to –10º
(known as‘head-down tilted bed rest’,or HDT).
Changes during bed rest and HDT are usually
compared with results obtained while the subjects
are ambulatory or in a supine position in the hours
before and after bed rest and HDT.According to
P.Bie,M.H.Bestle and L.B.Johansen,seated or supine
time control experiments have been performed only
rarely.Therefore,this may become an area in which some
of our effort will be invested.
6
Biomedical
Software
Developmentfrom
Bed-RestStudies
Dinner for one of the volunteers in the recent
ESA/CNES/NASDA 90-day bed-rest study

Enabling interdisciplinary
access to physiological data
PossiblefuturePortugueseparticipationinmedical
researchassociatedwithspaceflightcouldinvolveseveral
medicalspecialistswhoarealreadyconductingworld-
classresearch.Duetotheconsiderablecostsoffinancing
amissionforaPortugueseastronaut,thebuild-upof
capabilitiesmustratherbeconductedthrough
participationintheon-goingresearchofcrewmembers
fromothercountries.Prioritiesvaryovertimeanditis
currentlydifficulttopredict themostviableareafora
fruitfulfutureparticipationwherethePortuguese
contributioncanyieldasignificantadvantage.Therefore,
toavoidtheprematurediscountingofanypotentially
viableR&DareaforPortugueseparticipation,bed-rest
studieshavebeenselectedasarelativelyneutral
departurepointforallofthedisciplinesinvolved.
Standardizationofdatabaseswouldbeagoodfirststep.
Cardiovascular research
After bed-rest deconditioning,heart rate increases
and cardiac output decreases during cardiovascular
stress.The change towards a more sedentary lifestyle
in Portugal in recent years has been leading to
deconditioning of the cardiovascular system in a
considerable part of the population.There are several
groups in Portugal that have expressed interest in
performing research projects in this area using
microgravity as an additional parameter.Some joint
research work with Poland has already taken place.
This is an important issue in terms of potential public
support for this research,as cardiovascular diseases
are becoming increasingly common in Portugal.
Food intake during
simulated weightlessness
After long exposure to bed rest,there are
physiological changes that mimic the changes
induced by reduced gravity conditions,including
modifications in the amount of calcium possibly
leading to osteoporosis.The correlation between
the impact of reduced mechanical loadings on the
vertebrate skeleton and the nutritional regime
being followed needs to be further examined.
Functional balance tests
after simulated weight-
lessness
A wide variety of functional tests can be performed
to evaluate the effect that certain nutritional
approaches can have in counteracting the negative
side-effects ofbedrest.Human-balanceresearchis
averyinterdisciplinaryactivity.Thevestibular,
proprioceptive,andvisualsensorysystemsarelikethe
threelegsofatripodstructurewiththecentralnervous
systemlinkingallofthem.Thereare60knowndifferent
diseasesthataffecthumanbalance.
Dynamic Computerized Posturography is a spin-off
from space research being used by CNPA Lda together
with FMH (Human Motricity University) in Portugal
since 1997.Initially,it was planned to study very
small balance disturbances after space flight.It is a
force plate that allows analysis of the trajectory of
the centre of gravity of the subject being measured,
providing data that can be used in various computer
models.More information can be found at
www.onbalance.com and www.bionic.es.
Broadening telemedicine
Much of the software developed that has direct
medical applications,such as a system developed in
Portugal to improve the delivery of anaesthetics by
monitoring muscle activity,can be improved and
modified in order to streamline its use in various
telemedicine applications.A wide variety of
biomedical data related to human performance after
simulated weightlessness will be evaluated.
Telemedicine demonstrations will be included to
promote awareness.
7
The Dynamic Computerised Posturography
system
Conclusion
In order to train significant numbers of people in
the life-sciences area,useful data must be generated
regularly.Due to its comparatively low cost,a
comprehensive national bed-rest research
programme is being planned.There is interest in
selecting at least 50 relatively healthy people to
be continuously tracked and measured.There are
currently many bedridden patients in Portuguese
hospitals and there is therefore a lot of potential
public support for this initiative.

D.Ribeiro
AEPOR Project,Portugal
R.Clar
Art Technologies,France
Résumé
Le projet‘Alma de Agua’est conçu pour pouvoir
fournir le‘fil conducteur’entre une variété de projets
qui sont essentiels pour faire démarrer en douceur
les quatre sous-programmes de l’Agence Spatiale
Portugaise.Ces quatre programmes structurants
consistent en premier lieu dans le développement
d’un réseau d’infrastructures au sol,d’un réseau
d’ordinateurs,puis il y aura le bus avec le centre de
contrôle et coordination mobile,et finalement la
construction et l’adaptation de l’avion laboratoire.
Puisqu’il faudra du temps pour développer ces
moyens,une version très simplifiée des quatre
infrastructures sera disponible pendant le lancement
de la fusée sonde qui aura lieu avant 2005.
A long terme on envisage de créer les conditions
pour le développement d’une constellation de 8
nanosatellites destinés à être opérés par l’ensemble
des pays qui utilisent la langue Portugaise.
Introduction
‘Alma da Agua’,or‘Soul of theWater’in English,is an
interdisciplinary space-art project that seeks to involve
various institutions within seven countries historically
linked to Portugal:Angola,Brazil,CapeVerde,Guiné-
Bissau,Mozambique,SãoTomé e Príncipe,and East
Timor.The project addresses the possibility of greater
technical unification and deeper collaboration
between Portuguese-speaking countries and
celebrates their common bond of language,thus
helping to create greater awareness in order to
facilitate the launch of future collaborative efforts.
Numerous water samples are presently being collected
from all eight countries.The project’s cultural and
educational goals are currently being defined in
greater detail,but the various ceremonies will
contribute to a greater global awareness of the role
that European space technology can have in water
management,from flood control (using early-warning
systems) to environmental control of water resources
(using a network of low-cost sensors).
The payload as a showcase
for transferable space
technologies
Although many Portuguese-speaking countries
have very limited potential for using all of the
transferable space technologies directly,there is
nevertheless some interest in broadening the market
to seven new countries outside Europe.Each of ESA’s 15
Member States has been invited to supply components
or some kind of technical support,and some have
already done so.
The current pre-selection of equipment and support-
service providers for the first‘Alma da Agua’payload
foresees overall technical support being supplied by
Dutch Space of the Netherlands,the batteries will come
from Surrey SatelliteTechnology Ltd.of the United
Kingdom,the video system will come from OIP Sensor
Systems of Belgium,and part of the payload computer
system may come from Saab-Ericsson of Sweden.
Scientific support for fluid-physics water data analysis
may come from Spain.There are many other small
subsystems involved,such as a custom carrying case
and various items of ground-support equipment.
8
‘AlmadaAgua’:
ASpace-Awareness
Initiative

Annual sounding-rocket
launches
In order to fulfil the training objectives,the
refurbished and modified Alma da Agua payload
must be launched at least once a year.Several of its
systems such as the video,the power,the computer,
the GPS and so on will need to be reused,and will
have to be integrated with that goal in mind.There
is great interest in developing small payloads of an
interdisciplinary nature,and unsolicited proposals
are welcome.
We conceived this particular project and payload so
that it can become a precursor of a future family of
small low-cost national payloads,to be used for
education,research and development,and
commercial activities.
Technical aspects
In its current design (Fig.1),the payload will weigh
approximately 10 kg and is expected to be about
30 cm in diameter.It will have a lower section with
eight water bladders all linked to the mixing chamber
located in the centre of this lower section.The
bladders will hold the water samples from each of the
eight participating countries.Valves will inject the
water samples into the mixing chamber,where they
will coalesce rather like the liquid bridges in drop-
tower experiments.A mirror mounted on top at
45 deg to the support plate where the batteries and
camera are mounted will allow video pictures to be
downlinked in real time.A light box installed in the
bottom of the payload will provide the necessary
illumination.
This same basic configuration can be used for other
sounding-rocket payloads by replacing the eight
water reservoirs with totally different instruments,for
instance to focus electromagnetic or acoustic energy
onto samples in the central chamber.
Creating training
opportunities
There are several technical issues that can provide the
training opportunities needed to create a Portuguese
team that will work with sounding-rocket payloads in
the future :
º Launch preparation (filling of the water
bladders will take place in Portugal)
º Mechanical aspects (exact diameter,type of
joints,etc.)
º Centre-of-gravity requirements
º Static-g and vibration load
º Antennas available,choice of matching ground
station
º Recovery-module tests (parachute,float,buoy
with transponder,etc.)
º Tracking and telemetry / video reception
(frequency,link budgets)
º Payload recovery procedures (helicopter from the
Brazilian navy)
º Recovery procedures (Sagres school ship from
the Portuguese navy to observe the re-entry).
Parabolic flights of the payload are being considered,
in order to fine-tune the creation of the floating
sphere of mixed water resulting from the coalescence
of the eight samples such that it is clearly visible and
can be measured in great detail.To maximise the
technological return from the flight,a customized
set of accelerometers must be installed.An improved
GPS on board will allow this sub-orbital flight to yield
data that can be useful for future improvements
to recovery procedures from the Atlantic Ocean.
Miniaturised cosmic-ray detectors should also
be tested.
Proposed launch date
Currently we are aiming at June 2003 as the earliest
possible launch date for‘Alma da Agua’.The
diplomatic coordination efforts needed in order to
have eight countries in very different stages of
development come together in a joint international
project are also serving as a training exercise for some
of the future staff of the Portuguese Space Agency.
Conclusion
The low-cost,multi-purpose payload to be launched
before 2005 will be the first payload belonging to the
Portuguese Space Agency.It will be a showcase for
transferable European space technologies,there will
be a globalTV broadcast,and a wide variety of
accompanying artistic events will serve to promote
awareness in the Portuguese language.Such annual
sounding-rocket launches will also provide badly
needed training opportunities,with payloads that
are neither too costly,nor too complex.The long-term
goal is the development of a space-cooperation
agreement between the eight Portuguese-speaking
countries,to be signed in Lisbon in 2005.The joint
operation of a future cluster of eight nano-satellites is
also a possible outcome of this precursor effort.
9
Figure 1.The‘Alma da Agua’sounding-rocket
payload has a modular structure.Beyond
supporting future microgravity experiments,
it is also being redesigned to become a
precursor for a possible European
standardised low-cost‘service module’able
to carry and deploy clusters of eight nano-
satellites,supporting the retransmission of
their telemetry

E.Rosa
Instituto Superior Técnico,Portugal
Résumé
LavalorisationduchêneintéresselePortugalleplus
grandproducteurmondial.Onadéveloppétouteune
variétéd’applicationsduchêneycomprispour
l’insonorisationdessous-marins,etl’utilisationdans
l’espaceextérieurenestlasuitenaturelle.Les
nouveauxtraitementschimiquesetmécaniques
nécessairespourpouvoirutiliserlechêne,d’abord
danslachargeutilepourfuséesonde“AlmadaAgua”,
etplustardsurdespetitespalettesexposésauvide
surISS,ouvrirontlavoieàlacréationdenouveaux
produitsplusévoluésincorporantduchêneouses
dérivés.
Introduction
The use of various cork components in the‘Alma
da Agua’sounding-rocket payload will allow
characterisation of the material’s behaviour in
terms of its ability to dampen vibrations and its
effectiveness for thermal insulation.This
characterisation will be an extension of work already
underway in which several properties of cork are
being studied.The technology transfer in this case
will be a spin-in from materials research into new
aerospace applications on sub-orbital payloads.
Although there are more advanced synthetic
materials,the low cost of cork may make it
interesting for commercial microgravity payloads.
Properties of cork
Cork is a cellular solid.Its low modulus and low
thermal conductivity are a direct result of its low
relative density (about 0.1) and the geometry of the
solid cell walls.The cells in cork are prismatic with,on
average,six lateral faces,being roughly 40 µm high
and 25 µm across.Thus even the finest cork-dust
particles contain 20 to 50 cells.Cork has the attractive
properties of low density,high resilience,high
thermal resistance,chemical stability,low
permeability,and fire resistance.The chemistry of
cork is fairly well known:it contains about 30 wt.%
suberin,30 wt.% lignin,20 wt.% holocellulose
(cellulose and hemicellulose) and 4 wt.% ash.The rest
is usually termed‘extractables’and includes such
substances as waxes and tannins,which are removed
by solvent extraction (using water,alcohol or
chloroform).
Consolidated cork dust
Cork dust was consolidated without additives by
heating under pressure.Four engineering properties
of the compacted cork were measured:density,
modulus,strength and fracture toughness.The
thermal conductivity and the absorption of water
by the compacted cork were also measured.These
properties depend on the consolidation conditions
and on the origin of the cork dust,but not on
particle size.The samples obtained were compared
with those of other common materials to identify
possible uses.
10
VibrationDamping
andThermal
Insulationusing
Cork

The ability of the cork-dust particles to bond to each
other is remarkable.The bonding effect may be due
to the tannins,which are an important cork
constituent,but it is not impossible that the hemi-
celluloses and waxes also play a role.Experiments
showed that a mixture of cork dust with ceramic
powders can be consolidated under the conditions
used for the cork dust alone.Three grades of cork dust
with average particle sizes of 100 µm,1 mm and
3 mm were studied.
Consolidated cork powder can be painted,machined,
cut with a saw and does not fracture when
penetrated by a 5 mm diameter nail.Cork dust is a
by-product produced during the various phases of
industrial cork processing.Its commercial value is
insignificant and it is usually burned.
The ability of cork to bond to itself when heated,
which is used to obtain the black cork agglomerates,
has been known since 1892,but had not,until
recently,been used to consolidate cork dust.The
agglomerate is used for thermal and acoustic
insulation and as a shock absorber.Black cork is
isotropic because of the random orientation of the
individual anisotropic cork granules;it is a
‘polycrystal’of cork.
Vibration damping
Cork’s considerable loss coefficient (0.1 – 0.3) gives it
a high coefficient of friction and the ability to damp
vibrations and absorb sound.As part of ongoing
studies,three kinds of compression were considered,
the loss coefficient was measured,and high
frequencies were studied.All compression curves
of heat-treated cork still show the same three
deformation regimes (bending,buckling and crushing
of cell walls) that are observed in untreated cork.It
has been used as a shock absorber for many years.
Boiling causes cork to soften and also reduces its
elastic anisotropy.These and other observed changes
in the stress-strain curves during compression can be
explained in terms of the structural changes.
Thermal insulation
Cork is light,chemically inert and fire resistant.Its low
density (120 - 230 kg/m3) makes it a good thermal
insulator.When cork is heated in air at temperatures
in the range 100 – 300 ºC,it swells and its mass
decreases.Mass decreases of about 30% occur on
heating to 300 ºC.This mass loss is due to thermal
degradation of the cell-wall material,leading to
outgassing products which diffuse to free surfaces.
It is observed that the lenticular channels swell,while
the originally corrugated cell walls become straight.
These structural changes,together with the chemical
alteration of the cell-wall material,explain the
observed effects on mechanical properties.After
identical heat treatments,the radial direction is
always more compression-resistant than the other
two directions,which show nearly identical strengths.
Little difference was found between heating in air
and heating in vacuum.
There is presently considerable interest in developing
new materials incorporating cork for thermal-
insulation applications.
Future developments
The behaviour of cork under conditions of extreme
cold is of great interest not only for space
applications,but also as a low-cost insulation
material for weather stations in remote areas.
A chemical and mechanical treatment initially
developed to avoid wine seepage and microbiological
contamination can perhaps be applied for aerospace
applications of Portuguese cork.Advanced insulation
of several types of buildings and low-cost earthquake
protection systems can be envisaged.Possible studies
of the viability of the use of specialized cork
agglomerates for low-cost thermal protection during
reentry are interesting.The production of Material
Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for space-rated cork
composites,together with flight certification once
they have been shown to work as expected,will
contribute to expanding the use of cork.
11
Conclusions
Cork is a low-cost material with several useful
properties.An appropriate and well-thought-out
space application may open the way for the
development of several sophisticated composites
that will enable the construction of improved
electrical appliances and other machines that
will be more competitive in the global marketplace.

J.Carreira
Critical Software SA,Coimbra,Portugal
Résumé
Critical Software SA est une jeune PME portugaise
visant sur les technologies et solutions de logiciel
innovatrices et fiables.Elle planifie,conceptualise et
développe des solutions personnalisées pour les
secteurs de télécommunication,de Défense,
d’aérospatiale et de l’Industrie.La compagnie a
démontré une expertise solide en processing –
fiabilité,tolérance d’erreur,mise en place de réseau,
et haut rendement – qui a été exploitée dans des
technologies innovatrices pour le marché global.
Critical Software SA is a young Portuguese SME
company focusing on innovative and reliable
software technologies and solutions.It plans,designs
and develops customized software solutions for the
Telecom,Aerospace,Defence,and Industry sectors.
The company has established a strong expertise in
dependability,fault tolerance,networking,and high-
performance processing that has been leveraged into
innovative technologies for the global marketplace.
Critical Software was founded in 1998 by a team of
computer and software engineers and post-Doctoral
students from the University of Coimbra working in
specialised areas.Today the company has a workforce
of 60 engineers dedicated to consulting,engineering,
and new-product development.In 1999 the company
established a US subsidiary with offices in San José,
California.
The company is strategically organised into three
Engineering Divisions that collaborate very closely in
multi-disciplinary projects:Telecom & Networking,
Aerospace & Defense,and Enterprise Solutions.In
addition,R&D is undertaken and highly specialised
services are offered by the Dependability/RAMS and
High-Performance Computing Divisions.These units,
which are focused on knowledge-intensive areas,
have brought to market technologies such as
Xception™ andWMPI™,which have a growing
customer base worldwide.
Xception™ is a framework for advanced software
verification and validation.The Xception concept is to
'crash-test' software by injecting artificial faults that
emulate real hardware and software failures.This
technique is used to validate mission-critical systems,
which need exceptional verification and validation.
Space is a harsh environment and it is widely known
that electronic equipment and ultimately software
are subject to electromagnetic interference and
cosmic radiation,which cause errors to occur.To
prevent equipment from failing in space,and to
ensure that fault-tolerant mechanisms are working
properly,thorough ground tests simulating the
conditions to be endured in space are absolutely
essential.This is one of Xception’s roles for software
systems.
WMPI™ is a clustering middleware for developing
portable,parallel applications that run on low-cost
clusters of standard computers to solve performance-
hungry problems.
Critical Software’s activities in the space sector
started in 1999 when it was contracted by NASA’s Jet
Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena to provide
verification and validation technologies for the REE
(Remote Exploration and Experimentation) project.
The technology that caught NASA’s attention was
Xception™.An additional step into space occurred in
2000 when Critical joined a consortium with other
Portuguese companies to develop software for the
ground segment of the EPS (European Polar System),
as subcontractors to Alcatel Space for a contract
awarded by Eumetsat.
12
Innovative
Softwarefrom
Portugal

How space technologies have been
“spun-off” to use here on Earth:
52 success stories about health,
safety, environment, lifestyles
and much more.
Everyday Uses for Space Technology
By P. Brisson and J. Rootes
128 pages/25 Euro
ESA Publications
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When Portugal became the fifteenth ESA Member
State in 2000,Critical Software was naturally
positioned and committed to work with the Agency.
The first approach was to search for opportunities in
the niches of dependability (RAMS) and high-
performance computing,areas in which the company
possesses considerable expertise and could provide
significant know-how.During the year,Critical joined
a consortium together with Astrium,DNV,Adelard,
and EADS,which won a software-dependability
contract for a "Certification Scheme for Software
within a Space System".This first ESA project the gave
the company a good opportunity to participate in the
basic definition of future certification schemes for
software in European space systems,whilst directly
drawing on experience from similar projects for other
clients.
In November 2001,Critical Software was awarded the
PREMFIRE contract,which was the first opportunity
to get involved in the ESA Earth Observation
programme.The main goal of this contract is to
implement a demonstration system for fire risk
assessment that can be easily used by the civil-
protection,fire-prevention or other services in
Portugal.PREMFIRE will extend the currently
operating RISE system by adding wireless palmtop
terminals providing real- or near-real-time data
exchanges with field staff.Traditional information
such as topography,fire-history and land-use data
will be integrated with meteorological conditions and
Earth-observation data from ERS,SPOT and Landsat.
Fire-risk maps will be generated and,in the case of an
emergency,the alarm will be raised automatically
with the appropriate local fire-protection units.
Other projects already in progress with ESA include
STADY for the "Applied Static and Dynamic
Verification of Critical Software",awarded through a
Special Opportunities for SMEs initiative,which will
include the migration of Xception to the ERC32
platform.Another contract was received for the
"Product Assurance for Pre-Developed Software"
project,for which Critical has teamed withTerma AB,
SynSpace AG,and SofwCare Ltd.
In terms of software process quality,an issue of
the utmost importance in the space sector and
increasingly important in other sectors also,the
company has also set an evolutionary path.In 2001,
Critical Software hosted a S4S (Spice for Space)
assessment (based on ISO 15504) sponsored by
ESA,and is currently implementing a process-
improvement plan to increase the level of maturity
of software life-cycle processes.In addition to the
ongoing activities with ESA in knowledge-intensive
areas such as RAMS,Critical also hopes to leverage its
13
experience and know-how in telecommunications,
networking,high-performance computing,and EAI
(middleware) into software-engineering activities
at the ground-segment level.The company is also
looking closely at further opportunities in the
Telecommunications,Earth Observation and
Navigation programme areas.

M.Roos-Serote
Astronomical Observatory,
University of Lisbon,Portugal
Résumé
Être État-membre de l’ESA pourrait se comparer à
celui d’un membre de club de golf – on y paie un
frais annuel afin d’avoir le droit de jouer sur le
parcours,mais pour jouer bien on doit satisfaire
deux critères :
º on doit avoir le bon équipement,et
º on doit avoir l’entraînement professionnel.
Donc,la question importante à résoudre est à savoir
si le Portugal a les joueurs nécessaires,entraînés
professionnellement et bien équipés,pour participer
aux activités scientifiques de l’ESA.
The equipment is important,but the latest clubs and
balls developed in the various countries quickly
become globally available to all players,at national
and international level.In order to win against the
competition,therefore,and avoid that membership of
the club only provides a privileged viewing point for
watching others play the game,you also have to
develop competitive skills and expertise.
ESA has many activities in many areas,one of
which is science,i.e.life sciences,earth sciences,
astrophysics,fundamental physics,etc.I will focus
on the science activities here,but the same story is
probably true for other areas (i.e.technology
development,etc.) to a greater or lesser extent.
The important question to be answered,then,is
whether Portugal has the well-equipped and
professionally trained players needed to participate in
ESA’s scientific activities.I believe the answer to this
question is a 'thin yes'.It is 'yes',because (some)
Portuguese scientists have already been working with
data from instruments on ESA (or ESA/NASA)
spacecraft,including the SOHO,ISO,Hubble Space
Telescope and Hipparcos observatories in space.It is
also 'yes' because other Portuguese scientists are
currently preparing to participate in future ESA
missions,such as Mars Express,Herschel,Planck and
GAIA.I see this as very positive.It is 'thin' because
there are not many scientists yet who are interested
and are willing to embark on space adventures.Also,
there seems to be no clear political policy (yet) to
stimulate the involvement of scientists in such
missions.
These are probably all facets of the newness of
Portugal’s membership of ESA.In order to get the
process running,it is vitally important to inform
Portuguese scientists about the ESA missions,about
the way ESA works,and about how they can
participate.Some small steps have already been
taken in this direction,I believe with some initial
success (still to be confirmed in the long run).
In June 2001,I organised a workshop at the Centre for
Astronomy and Astrophysics of the University of
Lisbon (CAAUL),based at the Lisbon Astronomical
Observatory (OAL).This workshop was focused on
generating a Portuguese reply to the second
Announcement of Opportunity (AO) for Mars-
Express/Beagle-2 for Interdisciplinary Scientists (IDS)
and Recognised Cooperative Laboratories (RCL - a
laboratory that wishes to develop competence in,in
this case,planetary research on Mars).Such an AO is,
needless to say,an ideal chance for a country such
as Portugal to get involved in an ESA mission.
14
DoesPortugalPlay
Golf?

The workshop attracted the participation of some 20
Portuguese scientists and students from various
centres and scientific interests,to whom Dr.R.Grard –
the ESA Project Scientist for BepiColombo - explained
the Mars Express and BepiColombo projects.It
eventually resulted in three proposals in the areas of
geophysics,atmosphere-surface interaction,and
exobiology.
The geophysics (laboratory from Coimbra) and
exobiology (laboratory from Lisbon) proposals are
from teams with no previous experience in planetary
data analysis.If selected and financed (by the
Portuguese government),they will obtain consulting
support from an IDS in the respective area.The
acquired know-how will prepare those laboratories
for participating in other future missions,and for
extending their teams.
A new workshop was organized in early March 2002
at the Lisbon Astronomical Observatory on a
somewhat larger scale.It focused on ESA’s Solar
System missions:Huygens,Mars-Express/Beagle-2,
BepiColombo,SMART-1 and Rosetta.
The process of informing our scientists about future
missions must also include students from the relevant
areas.They will be the young PhDs and postdocs who
will work on the incoming scientific data in the near
future and they are the ones who will play an
important role in defining and executing the science
missions of the more distant future.The earlier they
are aware of the potential that ESA offers and the
way in which it works,the better.
At this moment,several Portuguese students are
undergoingYoung GraduateTraining or have stagiaire
scholarships at the various ESA centres.ESA also
already has two young Portuguese staff members.
However,the message about the possibility of
obtaining training at ESA needs to reach more
students,and this is one of the concrete areas of
action to be addressed in the very near future.
To try to interest students in Solar System research,
Dr.João Fernandes from the University of Coimbra
and I have been organising a bi-annual week-long
Interdisciplinary Summer School on the Solar System
(EVISS in Portuguese).
At EVISS,a carefully selected number of students (21)
enjoy the teaching of several specialists in planetary
and solar research,and perform a small research
project with one of these scientists.They are also
introduced to ESA’s activities through a talk by Dr.
Marcello Coradini from the Agency’s Directorate of
Scientific Programmes.The formula seems to work,as
less than three years after the first event,from a total
of 42 students (two events),four are performing PhD
studies in planetary physics across Europe,three are
ESAYoung GraduateTrainees (YGTs),and one is
currently working with me.
The Portuguese Solar System team is small,but is
growing.At the time of writing,there are
approximately 10 scientists working in solar physics,
atmospheres,and atmospheric dynamics,and this
number could increase significantly when the PhD
students andYGTs mentioned above return to
Portugal.The Astrophysics team is larger (about 50),
and is also growing,but at a slower rate.There are
therefore quite some potential users for ESA’s
astronomy missions.
"How can Portugal build,train and equip these and
other teams to work under the ESA flag,and
guarantee them a healthy future ?"This is the
question that the Portuguese scientific community
and policy makers will have to address in the near
future,and make decisions about concrete actions to
be undertaken.
15
The answer must also take into account a very
important and urgent concern,and one that affects
the entire Portuguese academic world – namely jobs,
or rather the lack of them! Research is the driving
force of any self-respecting scientific institution and
ESA offers many exciting opportunities for cutting-
edge research in many different areas,in a highly
international environment.The challenge is therefore
to create a solid and stable job base for Portuguese
participation.
I believe that Portugal’s membership of ESA offers
huge potential not only for our scientists,but also for
our technologists – so let's roll up our sleeves and
let’s play some golf !

Introduction
Eddington is a proposed ESA scientific flexi-mission
(F2/F3 – small size),which addresses two major
scientific goals:to produce seismic data on stars
across the HR Diagram and to detect and characterize
extrasolar habitable planets.
The scientific goal for Eddington in terms of stellar
seismology is to produce the data necessary for a
detailed understanding of the interior structure of
stars and the physical processes that govern their
evolution.Seismology is a unique tool,which is able
to provide the empirical basis for developing the
theory of stellar evolution to the stage where it can
be applied with confidence to address some of the
major issues in modern astrophysics.
The detailed study of stars across the Hertzsprung-
Russell (HR) Diagram through asteroseismology –
i.e.the study of the resonant oscillation frequencies
of stars of different masses,ages and chemical
compositions – is the fundamental component for
understanding the evolution of structures of all scales
in the Universe (Fig.1).
16
M.J.P.F.G.Monteiro
Centre of Astrophysics,University of Porto,
Portugal
Résumé
Eddington est une petite mission scientifique
potentielle (F2/F3) qui adresse deux buts
scientifiques majeurs:l’un est de produire des
données sismiques d’étoiles sur le diagramme H-R;
l’autre est de déceler et caractériser les planètes
habitables extrasolaires.Le Portugal s’est impliqué
dans le projet Eddington,en début 2000,suite à une
collaboration de longue date entre le Centre
d’Astrophysique de l’Université de Porto (CAUP),le
Collège Queen Mary (Londres) et l’Institut danois de
Physique et Astronomie (Aarhus),sur la sismologie
stellaire.
Portuguese
Participationin
ESA’sEddington
Mission
Figure 1.The
Hertzsprung-Russell
(HR) diagram for
pulsating stars

The objective of the mission element on habitable
planets is the detection of terrestrial planets around
other stars,and in particular planets orbiting inside
the "habitable zone",and thus in principle able to
sustain life.The method consists of searching for
photometric dips caused by the transit of a planet in
front of its parent star.A large number of planets will
be found which will also provide unique data for the
study of the formation and evolution of planetary
systems around stars with different characteristics.
The Eddington mission proposal (Fig.2) was
submitted in reply to ESA’s Announcement of
Opportunity (AO),in early 2000,by I.W.Roxburgh
(Queen Mary College,London),J.Christensen-
Dalsgaard (Aarhus,Denmark) and F.Favata
(ESA/ESTEC).This proposal followed on from previous
efforts to pursue the possibility of using stellar
seismology from space to study and solve some of
the fundamental problems in stellar structure and
evolution.The mission will complement,and extend,
the scientific goals addressed by the smaller
exploratory space missions in preparation within
national programmes (France,Denmark or Canada).
Portugal became involved in the Eddington proposal,
in early 2000,as a result of the long-standing
collaboration (over more than 10 years) between the
Centre for Astrophysics of the University of Porto
(CAUP) with Queen Mary College (London) and the
Danish Institute for Physics and Astronomy (Aarhus),
on stellar seismology.From this initial contact,the
Porto team was incorporated into the proposed
plans for the Scientific Data Centre (SDC) for
Asteroseismology.Such a collaboration would build
on the existing strong scientific cooperation with
Aarhus (the institution proposed to host the SDC).It
was subsequently possible to secure the confirmation
from Portugal (given by ICCTI) of the national interest
in the participation of the Portuguese teams in such
a mission.
The mission proposal went through a feasibility study
and the preparation of the scientific case,culminating
in the submission of the Assessment Study Report in
July 2000.Later that year the report was evaluated by
the ESA Space Science Advisory Committee (SSAC),
which recommended Eddington’s inclusion in the
package of ESA scientific missions for the 2008-2013
time frame.Following that decision,in October 2001
the ESA Science Programme Committee (SPC)
unanimously endorsed the SSAC’s recommendations,
defining Eddington as a "reserve" mission in the ESA
schedule for 2008-2013.
The "First EddingtonWorkshop" took place in
Córdoba-Spain in June 2001.Also in 2001 there was
an Invitation toTender (ITT) for the study of the
telescope (May) and a Call for Letters of Interest for
scientific involvement in the Eddington study
activities (June).Two Portuguese teams have
integrated the proposal of a consortium to form the
"EddiSDC DefinitionWorking Group",aiming at
achieving full definition of the Eddington payload
and mission by the end of 2002. It will be followed
by a final evaluation by ESA in order to decide on
the mission’s implementation in the proposed time
frame.
17
Figure 2.
Artist’s impression of the
Eddington spacecraft
Conclusion
The Portuguese involvement in the planning,
preparation,definition and support of an ESA mission
(and Eddington in particular) has been mainly
possible due to the close and extensive collaboration
with the teams heading the initiative of proposing a
space project in this field.Such an involvement is a
challenge and has a strong and positive impact on
developing the capacity of the Portuguese research
community and institutions to take full advantage of
the opportunities (present and future) provided by
Portugal’s participation in ESA.
To understand the inner workings of ESA and to know
what is the most effective way to contribute to the
success of the ESA activities,requires a strong scientific
capacity on the part of the teams in Portugal and the
existence of effective connections with other major
groups in Europe. But above all,Portugal must
reinforce the experience of the researchers by
supporting an active involvement of the community
in the preparation of the major missions of the ESA
programme.Such participation requires support
from funding agencies in Portugal and an open
management of the projects by ESA.
At this point CAUP is still working on the stimulating
possibility of contributing to the understanding of the
inner workings of stars,through asteroseismology,
by using a unique and powerful tool provided by a
space mission dedicated to stellar seismology.With
Eddington,or a similar mission,we will work towards
the success of an ESA scientific programme which
will contribute to putting the European research
community at the forefront of stellar astrophysics.
For further information see:
Http://astro.esa.int/SA-general/Projects/Eddington/
Http://www.astro.up.pt/

M.C.Espirito Santo & M.Pimenta
Laboratory for Instrumentation and Particle
Physics (LIP),Portugal
Résumé
L’expérience EUSO a été proposée à l’ESA en janvier
2000 et sélectionnée quelques mois plus tard pour
une étude d’adaptation sur la Station spatiale
internationale (ISS).C’est une mission innovatrice
qui nous permettra d’explorer la queue de haute
énergie du spectre de rayon cosmique,adressant les
questions fondamentales de particule physique et
astrophysique.L’étude d’un an a débuté en mars
2002 pour établir la faisabilité du projet,de la
conception d’instrument détaillé aux installations et
opérations à bord de l’ISS.Le Laboratoire pour
instrumentation et physique de particule (LIP) du
Portugal est membre du consortium EUSO.
Introduction
The Extreme Universe Space Observatory (EUSO) was
proposed to ESA in January 2000 and selected a few
months later for an accommodation study on the
International Space Station (ISS).It is an innovative
mission that will allow us to explore the high-energy
tail of the cosmic-ray spectrum,addressing
fundamental questions in particle physics and
astrophysics.A one-year study has started in March
2002 to establish the feasibility of the project,
addressing aspects ranging from the detailed
instrument design to its installation and operation
on the ISS.Portugal’s Laboratory for Instrumentation
and Particle Physics (LIP) is a member of the EUSO
consortium.
18
DetectingVery-
High-Energy
CosmicRayswith
EUSO
Figure 1.The EUSO operating principle

The main goal of the proposed EUSO experiment is to
detect Extreme Energy Cosmic Rays (EECR) and
neutrinos,indicative of unknown particle production
and acceleration mechanisms in the Universe.When
a high-energy cosmic particle enters the Earth’s
atmosphere,a shower of billions of relativistic
particles is produced.The interaction of this particle
shower with our atmosphere produces ultraviolet
(UV) fluorescent light.EUSO,to be installed as an
external payload on the ESA Columbus module of the
ISS,will look down on the Earth’s atmosphere,
detecting the faint ultraviolet traces produced by the
EECRs (Fig.1).About one thousand such events are
expected annually.The observation of meteors and
other atmospheric phenomena producing UV light
are other scientific objectives of the EUSO mission.
Ultra-high-energy
cosmic rays
The energy spectrum of cosmic rays extends over many
orders of magnitude,following an almost perfect
exponential power law.The expected fluxes decrease
steeply with energy.For energies of the order of 1 GeV
(equivalent to the proton mass),one particle per m2
per second is observed,while this number goes down
to one particle per km2
per year at 109
GeV.The
changes in the slope of the exponential spectrum
observed at energies of about 106
and 109
GeV
(known as the "knee" and "ankle",respectively) could
correspond to a change in the production mechanism
or to changes in the primary elemental composition.
The existence of extreme-energy cosmic rays
(E > 3x1010
GeV) has already been proven by several
experiments,but they still constitute a puzzle.The
EECRs interact with the 2.7 K universal background
radiation,losing energy in the process (Greisen-
Zatsepin-Kuzmin effect).This constrains the mean free
path of high-energy protons and nucleons to 50-100
Mpc,a short distance in cosmological terms,posing
severe questions about the nature of the sources and
their distribution in the Universe.With only about
30 events logged over the last 30 years,no conclusions
can be drawn.
The EUSO telescope
TheEUSOinstrument(Fig. 2)consistsofawide-angle
opticalsystem(Fresnellenses)concentratingtheUV
lightontoalargefocalsurfacemadeupofthousandsof
multipixelphotomultipliers.On-boardelectronicstake
careoftheoveralltriggeringanddata-taking
operations,uptoandincludingdataselectionand
transmission.TheEUSOdesigncriteriaarebasedonan
orbitalaltitudeofabout380km,afieldofviewof
±30°aroundthezenithangle,anareaontheground
correspondingtoapixelofabout1km2
,andanenergy
thresholdofabout3x1010
GeV.Operatinginspace
imposessevereconstraintsonthedesignofthe
instrument,whichhastobecompact,highlyefficient
andmodular,andmeetstrictpower-consumptionand
masslimitations.
Thetelescope’sdesignistheresponsibilityofthe
ScientificConsortium,whilstESA’sScienceandManned
SpaceFlightandMicrogravityDirectoratesare
responsibleforthepayload.EUSOisacollaborativeeffort
byresearchgroupsfromEurope,JapanandtheUSA.
Portugal’s contribution
In the EUSO study phase,LIP is responsible for the
coordination of the EUSO Science Operations and Data
Centre Subsystem (SODC).The SODC must generate
EUSO-specific commands,monitor the instrument’s
health and performance,and notify any relevant
scientific/ monitoring events.It will also be
responsible for the preliminary calibration of the
EUSO instrument,and for establishing,in coordination
with the EUSO Scientific Data Analysis Centre,the
EUSO archive,and for providing data to the users.The
main topics to be addressed in Phase-A are:telemetry
requirements evaluation;identification of the
operation requirements;and definition of the main
SODC components/functionalities (general
architecture).The operational SODC will eventually be
located in one of the participating European
countries,with Portugal being a potential host.
19
Figure 2.Schematic of the EUSO instrument
LIP is also participating in a programme of
experimental support activities,performing various
studies of critical EUSO parameters.In particular,the
determination of the UV light-diffusion coefficients at
the Earth’s surface (in different types of media) is the
subject of the ULTRA (LightTransmission and
Reflection in the Atmosphere) study.The ULTRA
detector is a hybrid system consisting of a UV optical
detector and an array of scintilators.The development
of the position determination and synchronisation
system is the responsibility of the Portuguese group,
which will also be taking part in simulation and
analysis software development and in education and
public outreach programmes.

M.Tiago
Printinova Lda,Portugal
Résume
Le développement du marché spatial au Portugal
a été fait très graduellement,d’abord au travers
d’activités de télécommunications,puis avec la
télédétection,maintenant avec plus d’intérêt par
des industries liées a la microéletronique . La
faiblesse du secteur privé reste un facteur qui freine
la croissance du secteur.Néanmoins on assiste à une
évolution favorable.Un élargissement des activités
spatiales au niveau de la microgravité,de la
construction de nanosatellites,et de toute une
varete‘de charges utiles offrira de possibilités
nouvelles pour renforcer et accélérer la croissance
de ce secteur.
Introduction
The aerospace sector,per se,is virtually non-existent
in Portugal,or at least that is still the very strong
perception of the Portuguese public.So far,most of
Portugal’s participation in the sector,particularly by
Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs),has
been in the information technology (IT) area.The
number of enterprises in Portugal falling into the
‘high technological intensity’category,such as
aerospace and defence,is lower than the European
average.In addition,the number of R&D centres
belonging to multinational companies is even lower.
Within such a context,Portuguese R&D investment
is still quite low,especially in terms of private
investment,where the desire for short-term profit
has severely limited development activities.
Current situation
Portuguese entities have the knowledge and
potential to be in the front line of research,but
frequently the means or opportunities have been
lacking.The approach has tended to be very passive
and/or reactive,and seldom pro-active.Three kinds
of situations are most frequent:
º Portuguese SMEs participating in the aerospace
industry as indirect suppliers,being
subcontracted for very specific and limited
development and without receiving due credit
(producing but not creating value).
º Portuguese SMEs,especially those working in IT,
tackling and winning in some market niches,
and with a bigger scale/capacity than the
Portuguese market can handle (with most of
their clients outside Portugal),as is the case for
Critical Software,Skysoft and several defence-
related companies.
º Portuguese Universities and R&D institutes
conducting up-to-date research,but often such
work or researchers are integrated into foreign
development efforts and are not perceived as
Portuguese.
20
CurrentStatusof
thePortuguese
SpaceMarket

Ongoing changes
In order for Portugal to reach the European level,
there is the need for a change in the economic
structure,giving greater weight to high-
technological-intensity economic activities.Despite
its fragility,the system has progressed in the last
years in the following ways:
º Increase in the number of companies
undertaking R&D activities,due to the existence
of national and international research
programmes.The impact of such programmes on
the innovation capacity of such enterprises can
only be assessed through further in-depth
studies.
º Strong growth in the IT sector,by as much as
20% in the last years,even though Portugal is
still below the European average.
º Higher weighting of the high- and medium-
technological-intensity sectors in the R&D
domain.
º Intensive investment in telecommunications
infrastructures.
º The re-training of those involved in R&D
activities.
º Trend towards increased added-value in products
and services.
º Production of electronic components with
greater technological complexity.
º Increased size of local technical research centres,
mainly within international enterprises settled in
Portugal.
º Growing internationalisation of R&D activities
within enterprises.
º Substantial increase in the number of enterprises
with quality and/or environmental certification.
Technology Transfer
organisations
Technology-transfer and innovation organisations,
such as PrintINOVA,can assist the companies and
technological centres in their aerospace-related activities.
PrintINOVA is a private Portuguese consultancy that
provides guidance and practical support to SMEs for
technological development from or towards aerospace.
A concrete frame for these activities is provided through
being a member the LOSTESC (Leveraging On Space
Technologies to Enhance SME Competitiveness) Project,
which is co-financed by ESA and the European
Commission.It is led byTechnofi (sgalant@symple.tm.fr)
in France and,includes Innova (Italy),YellowWindow
(Belgium),Asessoria Zabala (Spain) and Mind Consult
(Austria).
The support provided can take several forms:
º Knowledge of the constant and rapid tech-
nological evolution in the sector.
º Provision of strategic information about markets,
technologies and products.
º Guidance and contacts for integration and
cooperation with national or international
suppliers and developers.
º Conceiving funding opportunities for risk-
sharing.
º Providing training on innovation and technology
management.
º Proposing project opportunities for Portuguese
SMEs and centres at European level.
Future industrial
programmes
Research activities and some know-how exist in
Portugal in most classical aerospace areas,such as
project management and the design of aerospace
vehicles and various research areas,such as flight
dynamics and stability,propulsion,structures,control
and steering systems,avionics (including sensors,
telecommunications and processing) and other
onboard systems (electrical,pneumatic,hydraulic).
The main developments at this point are expected to
lie with IT and related activities.A market survey was
performed in 2000,aimed at developing a national
space industry.It was commissioned by Empordef
(Portuguese Defence Group),Efacec (Electrical
Industry) and AIP (Portuguese Industrial Association),
funded by PEDIP II (European Funds),and performed
by ColoradoTechnologies (North American IT
consulting company).Fourteen areas were suggested
as having the greatest probability of success,with
considerable and relatively fast financial returns on
investment.Of these,only five are currently being
21
pursued by the entities that ordered the study:
º Remote sensing
º Narrow-band communications
º Broad-band communications
º Multimedia
º Satellite navigation.
The main investment is expected to be in the
training of personnel,who are the common
denominator in all areas considered.In the field of
satellite remote detection,the study foresees the
creation of a centre of excellence in Portugal for such
applications as monitoring natural hazards,detecting
forest fires,and sea surveillance.Regarding
telecommunications,multimedia and satellite
broadband services,the main target market will be
telecommunications service suppliers,who make use
of the infrastructure to provide such services as
broadband Internet access,interactive television or
video-on-demand.Satellite broadband technology
also has many other fields of application,for military
use,hazard prevention,in developing technologies
such as telemedicine,and for distance working and
distance learning.In terms of narrow-band
communications products and services,the main
markets will be in environmental monitoring,
facilities and property surveillance or tracking
systems.As regards satellite navigation,the
development of a centre of excellence in Portugal is
under study,with practical applications such as
aeronautical and shipping traffic control foreseen.
Conclusions
Since becoming full member of ESA,Portugal is
slowly beginning to accelerate the rate of change in
the nature of its aerospace market.At this point,it is
basically a quantitative change,but the potential for
a deeper and more qualitative evolution is clearly
present.At this point,there are more opportunities
available than interested entities with ongoing
projects,but this should hopefully change in
the coming years.

Agência de Inovação SA (AdI)
Lisbon,Portugal
Résume
Agencia de Inovação,SA (Adl),une agence
gouvernementale sous les auspices du Ministère de
la Science etTechnologie du Portugal,est
essentiellement dédiée à la promotion d’innovations
basées sur la technologie.Elle agit en tant que
courtier et facilite l’interaction entre les secteurs de
recherche et développement et le secteur
commercial portugais.Travaillant au travers un
réseau de services administratifs,de centres
technologiques,d’associations d’affaires et d’autres
entités scientifiques et technologiques situés au
Portugal,Adl poursuit également une politique de
promotion de coopération internationale.Comme
tel,Adl agit en tant que lien entre agences similaires
et organismes internationaux en recherche et
développement de l’Union Européenne,l’Asie et
l’Amérique Latine.
Introduction
Agência de Inovação,SA (AdI),a state-owned agency
under the auspices of Portugal’s Ministry of Science
and Higher Education,is essentially dedicated to the
promotion of innovation based on technology.It acts
as a broker and facilitator between the research and
development sector and the Portuguese business
sector.Working within a network of administrative
departments,technological centres,business
associations and other scientific and technological
entities located in Portugal,AdI also pursues a policy
of promoting international co-operation.As such,it
acts as a link between the European Union,Asia and
Latin America for similar agencies and international
R&D organisations.
Innovation
AdI provides financial and technical support through
various incentive schemes to applied-research
projects in order to promote technological innovation.
These schemes mainly finance market-oriented
R&D projects undertaken by consortia and are
instrumental in promoting co-operation between
companies and R&D institutions and in facilitating
the transfer of know-how.AdI relies on its network
of national and international experts to assess and
monitor the various projects.
Training
AdI also provides incentives for researcher mobility by
co-financing the hiring by companies of staff with
doctorates and masters degrees.In order to foster
advanced skills tailored to the needs of Portuguese
industry,AdI fosters the creation of Masters Degree
courses promoted by the business sector.The Agency
has also signed protocols enabling recent university
graduates to receive advanced on-the-job training at
major international scientific organisations such as
the European Particle Physics Laboratory (CERN),the
European Space Agency (ESA),the European Southern
Observatory (ESO) and the European Synchrotron
Radiation Facility (ESRF).Opportunities for training
are advertised in the media and on the AdI web site.
Information
By participating in various international networks
such as the Innovation Centres,Eureka and Iberoeka,
AdI is able to maintain a systematic overview of the
results being obtained in R&D projects and to look
for opportunities for the marketing of innovative
technologies.Its membership of these networks
enables AdI to channel the supply and demand for
technology between Portuguese and foreign
companies and institutions. The holding of periodic
Brokerage Events allows AdI to provide information
on the supply and demand for technology,so that
meetings may be arranged and experiences shared
between the various partners interested in
technological innovation.This information is made
available on the Internet,at meetings with selected
technological themes,at InnovationWorkshops and
in the magazine "InovaçãoTecnológica".
22
Promoting
Technology-Based
Innovation

Internationalisation
AdI manages Portugal’s participation in the Eureka
Initiative.This initiative provides opportunities for
technological cooperation between companies,
technological centres,research institutes and
universities from the member countries,as well as
those from non-European countries under certain
circumstances.
AdI also organises technology shows,specialised
workshops and the ongoing exchange of information
via the networks,such as:the Eureka (meets) Asia
event in Macao every other year,organised jointly
with CPTTM (Macao Productivity andTechnology
Transfer Centre) and CSTEC (China Science and
Technology Exchange Centre),to promote contacts
and the exchange of know-how,mainly with China
and the other Asian countries in general.
The Iberoeka programme,created under CYTED
(the Ibero-American Science andTechnology for
Development Programme),focuses on intensifying
technological co-operation between Ibero-American
companies and institutions.AdI is the focal point for
Portuguese participation in Iberoeka.
In addition to the scientific benefits,Portugal’s
participation in major international scientific
organisations also gives companies the opportunity
to supply technologically advanced goods and
services,and opens a path both for the transfer of
technology and the education and training of young
engineers.
AdI functions as an Industrial Liaison Office with the
European Particles Physics Laboratory (CERN) and the
European Southern Observatory (ESO),assisting
Portuguese industry in its relations with those
international bodies and in the supply of goods and
services,and facilitating the transfer of technology
developed by both organisations to Portuguese
companies
23
NewsFlashNewsFlash
Space Technology
Management and
Innovation Workshop
Lisbon,Portugal,Spring 2003
The ESATechnology Programmes Department
organises workshops on a regular basis dedicated to
space-technology issues.Recent workshops have
covered European space strategy (Seville,2000) and
targeted ESA innovation activities (Copenhagen,
2001).The next workshop will be organised in Lisbon,
Portugal,and will address space-technology
management issues,ranging from R&D management
to application case studies.
The workshop will consist of both invited and
contributed papers.Topics of interest will be,
but are not limited to:
º Management of the innovation process
Get More from Space SMEs
A new way of protecting machinery against
vibrations and a system for tracking down bugs in
software are two innovations from space SMEs
(Small and Medium-sized Enterprises),which are
now finding their way into other industrial
applications, thanks to LOSTESC - a scheme to help
SMEs in the space industry adapt their technology to
other markets.
The space business is glamorous,but risky.The
industry is dominated by a handful of large
companies,but numerous small and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs) also contribute to the European
space effort by supplying specialised products and
services.What happens with these small companies
when there is a lull in space activity? A solution is to
get into other market segments,in order to make a
new business with the technology and expertise
gained in contributing to space projects.
The LOSTESC (Leveraging on SpaceTechnologies to
Enhance SME Competitiveness) programme is co-
funded by the European Space Agency,the European
Commission (EC) and a consortium of six innovation
consultancy companies in Austria,Belgium,France,
Italy,Portugal and Spain.It aims at promoting the
technological skills of space-based,innovative
European SMEs and helping them create new
business opportunities at a European level.
The programme was initiated in late 2000 and is now
well under way:21 technologies,which were audited
among a pre-selection of about 100,participated in
the proposals.At the end of the Fifth Research
Framework Programme,10 technologies are or will be
funded by the EC to help SMEs get into new business
areas.Eight new technologies should be submitted for
EC support to the first Draft Call of the Sixth Research
Framework Programme.
º Disruptive versus sustaining innovation
º Selection of R&D portfolios
º Evaluation of R&D outcomes.
In addition,the following case studies will be
addressed:
º Galileo System:from technology development
to application
º Satellite Platforms:towards a 30 year-lifetime
platform family
º Onboard Instruments:technology
requirements,user and supplier viewpoints
º Additional cases from non-space areas.
The first officialWorkshop Announcement and
Call for Papers will be issued in October 2002,
and the Final Programme in March 2003.
For additional information please contact the
Organisers Udo.Becker@esa.int or
Marco.Guglielmi@esa.int, or the
Workshop Secretariat at confburo@esa.int.

24
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Contents Portugal’s participation in ESA
Participation of Portuguese Companies in ESA
SpaceTechnologyTransfer Activities in Portugal
New MeasurementTechniques for the
Portuguese Food Industry
Biomedical Software Development from Bed-Rest
Studies
‘Alma da Agua’: A Space-Awareness Initiative
Vibration Damping andThermal Insulation using Cork
Innovative Software from Portugal
Does Portugal Play Golf?
Portuguese Participation in ESA’s Eddington Mission
DetectingVery-High-Energy Cosmic Rays with EUSO
Current Status of the Portuguese Space Market
PromotingTechnology-Based Innovation
Portugal as seen from ESA’s Envisat spacecraft
Published by
ESA Publications Division
ESTEC,PO Box 299
2200 AG Noordwijk
The Netherlands
Editor
Bruce Battrick
Layout & Prepress
Leigh Edwards
Technical Coordinator and Point of Contact
Pierre Brisson
IMT/TP,ESTEC
PO Box 299
2200 AG Noordwijk,The Netherlands
Copyright
© European Space Agency (ESA),2002
Available on www:
http://esapub.esrin.esa.it/pff/pff.htm

Pff12 2002

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