Space research has its main objective and challenge to foster a cost-effective competitive and innovative space industry (including SMEs) and research community to develop and exploit space infrastructure to meet future Union policy and societal needs.
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Space research has its main objective and challenge to foster a cost-effective competitive and innovative space industry (including SMEs) and research community to develop and exploit space infrastructure to meet future Union policy and societal needs.
Building on the successes of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), Horizon 2020 will enable the European space research community to develop innovative space technologies and operational concepts "from idea to demonstration in space", and to use space data for scientific, public, or commercial purposes. This will anchor and structure space research and innovation at the European level and address key aspects identified in the Commission Communication “EU Space Industrial Policy: Releasing the Potential for Growth in the Space Sector”.
Actions will be carried out in conjunction with research activities of the Member States and European Space Agency (ESA), aiming at building up complementarity among different actors. For this purpose an enhanced coordination between the different actors is envisaged.
The Commission proposal for Horizon 2020 sets the following motto for EU Space R&D for 2014 to 2020 ‘Prepare for the increasing role of space in the future and reap the benefits of space now’.
The work programme has been structured to address these challenges by:
Infosheets contain edited content on aspects related to this programme. They are reviewed at least yearly.
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The Miricle project, ‘Mine Risk Clearance for Europe’, obtained funding under the European Defence Industrial Development programme call ‘Underwater control contributing to resilience at sea’. The main objective of the project was to achieve a European and sovereign capacity in future mine warfare and create a path for the next generation ‘made in Europe’ countermeasure solutions. In order to realise this objective, Miricle addressed various stages: studies, design, prototyping and testing. These stages inter alia included the successful testing of an XL Unmanned Underwater Vehicle, a protototyped mine disposal system and multiple innovative systems to detect buried mines. Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), was one of the five Belgian partners in the consortium. Within the project, VLIZ was able to forward its research on the acoustic imaging of the seabed to spatially map and visualize buried structures and objects - in this case buried mines - in the highest possible detail. VLIZ also led the work on ‘Port and Offshore Testing’, building on the expertise of the institute in the field of marine operations and technology.