SPACE.com -- European Space Agency Alert for Promising Spinoffs

Small European businesses have often demonstrated their capability to perform research leading to outstanding technological innovations. As support, the ESA grants these companies access to its laboratories (like this one) and test facilities.

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	European Space Agency Alert for Promising Spinoffs By The European Space Agency posted: 07:08 am ET 10 April 2001

Spin-offs from space and aeronautics LOSTESC Programme attracts interest

A program co-funded by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Union (EU) has identified nearly 50 technological innovations from small players in the space and aeronautical sector that show promise for adapting to wider markets.

The LOSTESC program -- the acronym stands for Leveraging on Space Technologies To Enhance SME (Small/Medium-Sized Enterprise) Competitiveness -- has attracted unprecedented interest in European industry.

Between December and March, open awareness meetings took place in five nations -- Portugal, Spain, France, Italy and Austria -- to inform local national industry of the LOSTESC opportunity. In Belgium, the sixth initial target country, meetings were arranged directly with companies of interest.

By late March, the LOSTESC consortium -- made up of six consulting companies, one in each target country -- had identified some 45 potential projects. These prospects were then narrowed into a preliminary list of 23 "very promising" proposals and an auxiliary list of 18 projects at the construction-proposal meeting held March 30 in Nice.

Though some countries had submitted their final selections on time, a significant number of proposals arrived late in the game, leading the consortium to take an additional month to finalize the list. The deadline was March 28.

One of the major steps in the selection process was an assessment, performed by the LOSTESC consortium, of whether a given company actually has the resources to lead or participate in the proposed research and technology development project. Based on this evaluation, the consortium will decide whether the project should proceed.

The consortium will now assist the European Space Agency in further developing the proposals selected in Nice for submission to the EU for funding under the CRAFT program by Sept. 19.

Meanwhile, the project's initial success has led other European countries to request invitations to participate. The consortium will also evaluate the projects already received from these countries.