Ukraine will have the opportunity to grow and expand its space industry soon. That is only if the European Union (EU) accepts the country's membership application through a particular expedited procedure.
According to a verified Facebook post last month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed an application for Ukraine's membership in the European Union.
NPR said Zelenskyy requested the EU to enable Ukraine to enter the bloc immediately via a "new special mechanism" that he would not elaborate on.
How Ukraine Could Help ESA In Space Flights
Although Space.com said Ukraine has a long history of space infrastructure and technology dating back to the Soviet era, more than 30 Ukrainian space businesses have emerged in the previous decade.
The average age of Ukraine's top space industry leaders, on the other hand, is above 50 years old. As a result, the country is concentrating on training new space specialists.
When Ukraine signed the Association Agreement with the EU in 2014, it began the process of gradual EU integration.
The Association Agreement's stipulations were implemented, enhancing the commercial environment of the Ukrainian space industry. Young startups appeared on the scene as space entrepreneurship began to move toward the retail sector.
The Association Agreement was created to expand Ukrainian cooperation with the European Space Agency (ESA) and will last until 2022.
The head of Ukraine's State Space Agency, Volodymyr Taftay, is confident that Ukraine can join ESA. As a result, the State Space Agency revealed its plans to make Ukraine's entrance a reality this past autumn.
Ukraine is a signatory to the Artemis Accords, a NASA-led lunar exploration, and development effort receiving much attention from the European Space Agency.
Ukraine's participation in the program will allow it to assist in developing technology for the construction of a lunar settlement.
What Ukraine Could Offer to Space Industries Worldwide
Another Space.com report said Ukraine has long been a significant producer of launch vehicles, rocket engines, and space hardware.
Yuzhmash manufactures the first stage of the American Antares rocket and the Vega rocket's engines. The business will also construct the Cyclone-4M launch vehicle, operated from a Canadian spaceport.
Yuzhmash sent Firefly Aerospace a dimensional docking model of the first stage of the Beta rocket to the United States in August 2021.
SETS (Space Electric Thruster Systems), Promin Aerospace, Elliscope, Flight Control Propulsion, and Orbit Boy are among the new private space enterprises in Ukraine between 2015 and 2021.
These businesses are based in Dnipro, Ukraine's space capital. For refugees fleeing Russian assault in Eastern Ukraine, it has long been a central humanitarian hub. It is especially true now that Russia has launched a fresh invasion.
Many local space company employees are assisting in collecting aid for the populace and the Ukrainian army to aid in the defeat of the Russian aggressor.
If Ukraine joins the European Union, ESA will place orders with firms like Yuzhmash, the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, and private Ukrainian space companies.
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