Mexico must be a major player in the aerospace industry
MEXICO - The space sector is, by nature, highly collaborative, as demonstrated by the International Space Station. For this reason, Mexico must consolidate itself as a permanent player in this field, said Luis Lizcano, executive president of the Mexican Federation of the Aerospace Industry (FEMIA).
In an interview with A21, the business leader commented that the challenges generated by the aerospace industry are so great that they cannot be addressed only by one person, one company or one country in particular.
He stressed that the Mexican Federation of the Aerospace Industry (FEMIA) is looking for Mexico to be a permanent participant in this collaboration.
Lizcano commented that Mexico is present through the supply chain, as well as in research and development, talent generation, development of downstream applications (applications and services derived from the use of satellites), among others.
He mentioned that many of the problems on Earth have been solved by generating development in space issues and a clear example, he said, are the maps that are used to get to a certain point, when before the “Red Guide” was used.
Mexico, he said, in addition to being a manufacturer of aerospace parts, must be a developer of its own technology.
“We have to participate in manufacturing, but also participate in development, innovation, design and research, that is necessary, but also to be present in major missions,” said FEMIA's Executive President, who stated that the country has the potential and the human capacity to do so, but we just have to focus and coordinate it to have the necessary power to have a relevant participation in these missions.
He added that, in the case of Mexico, there is great potential in the development of downstream applications, in other words, to use the information generated by satellites - Upstream - to solve terrestrial issues, such as global positioning applications.
It is worth mentioning that upstream encompasses activities such as research, development, manufacturing and launching of satellites, rockets and other space vehicles, while downstream applications allow using this data to solve problems on Earth, such as global positioning applications.
