Tanja Permozer, head of the Slovenian Space Office, believes Slovenia will now be part of the space elite.

Slovenia's reputation is growing and major players in the space industry are showing interest in cooperation, Permozer told the STA in an interview in December.

Full ESA membership comes after more than 15 years of efforts to join. The country became an ESA associate member in December 2016, and since then its space sector has experienced a major expansion.

The annual membership fee will now increase from the current EUR 500,000 to some EUR 2.8 million, but as a full member, Slovenia will be able to recover up to 45% of this amount through a special programme designed to support and integrate new members and strengthen their capabilities in the space sector.

Moreover, its geo-return rate, by which ESA measures the performance of a country, will remain high, Permozer said. It is above one, which is exceptional. "This means that we recover more than 100% of the funds invested."

The membership fee is not too high as "investing in space technology is not a cost, but an important investment", without which Slovenia would quickly fall behind in the global ranking of technologically advanced countries, she added.

Full membership gives the country voting rights, the possibility to participate in two key programmes and increased opportunities for development and international cooperation, Economy Ministry State Secretary Matevž Frangež said last month.

This milestone is a reward for the country's successful and rapid establishment of a promising and dynamic space sector, which includes more than 40 companies, research institutes and three universities.

Slovenia's space sector stands out in the international arena, especially in niche areas, and Slovenian companies are successful in Earth observation, technological solutions and human and robotic research.

The country's vision is to invest not only in the development of space technologies, but also in innovation that would benefit life on Earth.

Slovenia will mark its full accession with a ceremony at the Herman Potočnik Noordung Center of Space Technologies in Vitanje on 10 January.

On the same day there will be a Slovenia-ESA summit in the spa town of Rimske Toplice dedicated to the new opportunities the country's full membership brings.

Source: STA