Croatia is not a member of the European Space Agency.
We live in an era where space agencies do not compete with each other anymore nor do they hide their findings from the public. The emphasis is on cooperation and mutual exchange of information, both between agencies and with the private companies and enthusiasts. If you want to open a business that would deal with the development of space technologies, all the patents and information you might need are readily available. However, if you want to take advantage of these great benefits, you will need to do that in some other country. Croatia is, in fact, one of a few member states of the European Union which is not a member of the European Space Agency (ESA), reports netokracija.com on July 21, 2016.
Do you think perhaps that the introduction of a space programme, even in a simplest possible form, would be a waste of money that we do not have in the first place? Are you wondering whether space exploration and related technologies are important at all for a country like Croatia? Let us look at the experiences of some other countries. It is estimated that the return on investment in space technology in the countries that have a defined strategy of space development currently stands at between eightfold and tenfold. Other economic, scientific and social benefits of such a programme are difficult to calculate, but they would definitely represent a positive development for Croatia.
However, if you believe that we are already late and that we have no place among the countries that are already veterans in the development of space technologies, you are wrong. Serious space programmes have been launched recently even in countries that you would have never thought of as having space programme potential. These countries are now far ahead of Croatia. Perhaps the most interesting example is Nigeria. Their GDP is 84 percent lower than Croatia’s, electricity consumption is 97 percent lower, availability of drinking water is 35 percent smaller, and 70 percent of Nigerians live below the poverty level. However, the Nigerian government has seen a space programme as an opportunity for their country’s accelerated development.
According to the available information, satellites that Nigeria has launched into the Earth’s orbit have justified the investment a long time ago. Nigeria uses satellite resources to improve its own agricultural and communications programmes, and rents them to other countries thus generating additional revenues.
