Tres Cantos and Robledo de Chavela 'fight' to take over the Spanish Space Agency despite Pedro Sánchez's 'no'

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The words of the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, ruling out

as the headquarters of the

fell, a little over a month ago, like a bucket of cold water on

and

, the two Madrid municipalities that , prior to those statements, they had shown their interest in hosting this public body.

But even with the

served, and the doubt as to whether the leader of the central Executive referred in that demonstration to the capital or to the entire region, both locations continue to work on their respective

to take over

.

Their history and their importance within a sector

settled in the Community of Madrid like nowhere else in the country make them, say their main supporters, in winning horses for a place that they also compete for, at the moment -the candidacies are not yet closed- , Seville, León, Teruel, Cebreros (Ávila) and Puertollano (Ciudad Real).

Today,

that are in our country, and 70% of them are located in Tres Cantos.

That is the main asset with which this Madrid town plays, for whom the presence and strength of these large companies are key to hosting the Space Agency.

are based within the territorial limits of this young municipality

, who, from there, carry out work with worldwide repercussions: they provide space agencies, satellite operators and clients in the sector with from around the world, high-tech solutions, and design information, navigation, communication, security, science, exploration or climatology systems, among other applications, for space missions.

Precisely, the companies in the space sector were the ones that provided the final impetus for the Tricantine Government to run as a candidate, according to the mayor of the municipality,

(PP), who also sought the support of the Government of the Community of Madrid. , of the business associations and of all the political groups before taking that step forward.

«

.

For them, having such a powerful body nearby, with which to work side by side, is a necessary support to continue being a benchmark and to make them grow", says the mayor, who considers that if the Central Government really wants to promote a

like this [underway, within the 2021 National Security Strategy, there is also the Aerospace PERTE, which will mobilize more than 4,500 million euros until 2025 to promote science and innovation in the aerospace field]

distancing this

of companies from State agencies.

In its favor, Moreno assures, in addition to the communications and

, Tres Cantos has other "weight factors" that could influence to tip the balance in its favor.

The first, he says, that

, one of the requirements demanded by the central government to host PREPA.

In addition, assures the mayor, it has land for its construction, supra-municipal funds from the PIR to help build it and resources from the ESA BIC entrepreneurship program - the Business Incubation Center of the European Space Agency and the Community of Madrid that coordinates the Foundation madri+dy which aims to support entrepreneurship in the space sector.

FROM THE MOON TO MARS

The

with the space race is what Robledo de Chavela alleges to take over the

headquarters .

In this small municipality in the Sierra Oeste de Madrid, 63 km from the capital,

has been located since 1965 , one of the three that make up the International Deep Space Network.

From there, together with the almost identical stations of Goldstone (California, USA) and Canberra (Australia), all strategically chosen as they are located at a specific and key distance,

.

In fact, this town has witnessed some of the space milestones of recent decades.

," says the mayor, Fernando Casado (Citizens), in a conversation with GRAN MADRID.

"And two new antennas have been installed for the Artemis expedition, which will send the first woman to the Moon, and the one that is preparing for Mars by 2030," he adds to underline the importance of his municipality in space.

«

.

We have a space station with a past, present and future”, says Casado.

"That encouraged us to present the candidacy," he maintains before citing other aspects for which he considers Robledo the ideal place to host PREPA.

According to him, the town has in its favor that it meets some of the criteria included in the Royal Decree approved last March to house the physical headquarters of state agencies, which cites "

, improvement in the functioning of public services and unemployment levels or the

» as issues to assess.

"We are

and we meet more than enough of these requirements," testifies the mayor of Robledo, who, according to him, would also make the land available to the Spanish Space Agency to build the headquarters.

One of the GMV buildings in Tres Cantos.EM

In this municipality, it was precisely during the presentation of the Strategic Project for Aerospace Economic Recovery and Transformation (PERTE), where President Sánchez, in front of the mayor himself, assured that "the agency will be located outside the capital of Spain", alleging for it the

plan that is carrying out its Executive in the state organisms.

“It was not the time or the place.

We were cold »

, remembers the first mayor about that day.

“I only ask that the venue be chosen based on

.

That they choose the best », says Casado, that although he says he wants to assert his candidacy and « flee from controversies », he does not miss the opportunity to point out that he has received

from the Community of Madrid.

And it is that the regional government, with President Isabel Díaz Ayuso at the head, has publicly supported the candidacy of Tres Cantos to house the headquarters of PREPA, thus turning its back on this other municipality, according to him.

"The Community of Madrid has forgotten Robledo de Chavela," criticizes Casado.

As he points out, he also sent a letter to Ayuso, the Minister of Education, the Minister of Tourism -in addition to the President of the Government and the Minister of Science and Innovation- to present his candidacy, as the mayor of Tricantin did, without obtaining a response.

, he added in his criticism in the conversation with GRAN MADRID.

Despite this lack of support, the mayor of Robledo de Chavela does not give up on anything and will continue fighting for it, because

he says.

Both Tres Cantos and Robledo de Chavela would have options if the central government heard the opinion previously given by experts to this newspaper about the place where the Space Agency should be.

For them,

, not only because of the industrial hub it houses, but also because it is also the headquarters of the National Institute of Aerospace Technology (INTA) and also has good communications, something basic in a sector that moves frequently.

With this controversy on the table, the municipalities that want to opt to host the PREPA headquarters are now waiting for the central government to publish the

that they must meet to present the candidacy officially -until now they have only applied- .

Once they do, Tres Cantos and Robledo de Chavela will have to face each other in the offices with more or less strong cities and municipalities, such as

, one of the five main aeronautical

in Europe, behind Madrid.

Before the end of the summer, it could be known who has won the race to host this organization, which they already point out will bring

to the region in which it falls.

And early next year it is expected to start.

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