“강력한 파트너와 우주 비즈니스 사업을 하세요”
일본 우주 로봇 기업인 아이스페이스(ispace)는 2017년 2월 룩셈부르크에 사무실을 개소했다. 카일 아시에로(Kyle Acierno) 아이스페이스 전무이사는 “아이스페이스는 사업 개발과 운영을 확대할 유럽 기반을 찾고 있었습니다. 룩셈부르크의 스페이스 리소스 이니셔티브(Space Resource initiative)가 처음 시작되었을 때, 우리는 룩셈부르크 정부의 비전이 아이스페이스와 매우 비슷하다는 것을 알았습니다.”라고 룩셈부르크에서 사업을 시작하게 된 이유를 설명한다. 룩셈부르크의 법적 프레임워크에 대한 강력한 정치적 지지 및 사업 파트너와의 연결을 두 가지 장점으로 꼽았다.
Japanese space robotics company ispace opened an office in Luxembourg in February 2017. “We were looking for a European base to expand our business development and operations,” says Managing Director Kyle Acierno. “When the Space Resource initiative was launched, we saw that the vision of the Luxembourg government was very similar to our own.”
ispace develops small, lightweight landers and rovers that will be used to explore the surface of the Moon. SpaceX will be the launch provider for its maiden voyages to the Moon scheduled for 2020 and 2021. The Luxembourg office focuses on business development, R&D, payload development, engineering and integration. It will also be the centre for analysing data from the lunar missions. ispace collaborates with the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) to develop a miniaturised mass spectrometer that will explore elemental compositions of lunar ice and regolith. Luxembourg co-funds relevant activities through national R&D grants, research support and the programmes of the European Space Agency.
The Luxembourg government has stood by our side in what can sometimes be a very political environment.
“The support provided is certainly attractive,” says Mr Acierno, “but there are two other things that I think are even more important. Firstly, the legal framework for exploiting resources harvested in space – we will not claim such resources any time soon, but it shows the strong political support – and secondly, the fact that we are able to approach this business with a partner thanks to the relationships we have built up with the government. They have stood by our side in what can sometimes be a very political environment.”
ispace is currently setting up a “lunar yard” at its premises that will be used for perfecting the navigation and positioning of lunar vehicles. These facilities will also be open to other companies, Mr Acierno explains, adding: “We want to show the general public and the government that our presence in Luxembourg is a success story.”