Connected Magazine

Irish tech in the running for space race

Technological and structural changes have seen a space industry develop in Ireland. Jason Walsh asks what it needs in order to blast off

Elfordstown Earth Station, at the National Space Centre in Middleton, Co Cork. Picture: N Harte

Everyone knows that Ireland is a tech hub, home to the EU headquarters of the giants of the internet and enterprise software alike. It also has a significant domestic tech sector, with managed service providers of every stripe as well as a healthy start-up scene. Other high-tech industries have taken root here, too, notably pharmaceuticals and medical device manufacturing. What is less well known, however, is that Ireland is home to a nascent space technology ...