Jakub Kapus

The next 50 years will be different. The space sector is changing rapidly. NewSpace is rising, and OldSpace is evolving. ESA must find its role in this new world and I have no doubt it will. ESA will remain a driving force in space exploration for decades to come.

Happy 50th birthday, ESA! 🎉

My professional life has been deeply connected with ESA, and I’m grateful to be part of this ecosystem - one that brings together the brightest engineers, visionary thinkers, and some of the boldest projects pushing the boundaries of human knowledge.

Since last year, I’ve also had the honor of advising ESA’s Director General as a member of the NewSpace Advisory Group.

Meanwhile, my path took a different direction. I founded company Spacemanic and became an ESA BIC incubatee in 2019. Since then, Spacemanic and our incredible team have been involved in several ESA projects in Czech republic, most notably the project CORVUS under the ESA PIONEER programme.

I still remember how proud I felt when the first ESA delegation visited Slovakia, and I had the privilege to host them. Today, Slovakia is an associate member of ESA and, hopefully, will become a full member by the end of the decade.

That moment was pivotal for me. I decided to return home and, together with my colleagues, founded the Slovak Organisation for Space Activities (SOSA). We worked tirelessly for years to help Slovakia enter the ESA PECS program. Something that finally happened in 2015.

I remember closely following the Czech Republic’s accession to @esa.int as a full member in 2008. At that time, I looked back at my home country, Slovakia, which hadn’t even started the process of joining.

Today, we conducted tests and upgrades at the Spacemanic ground station in Jablonec. Here’s how we captured the signal from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter orbiting the Moon.

Starship was supposed to be a gateway to a new era for humanity, a step toward becoming a multiplanetary species. Instead, Elon Musk is pulling us back into the darkest chapters of our past.

Tonight, Superheavy and Starship are set to launch on their 8th integrated test flight. I must admit, for the first time, I won’t be watching. After Elon Musk’s recent actions and his outrageous statements over just the past two days, I simply cannot take joy in any success of his company.

Nechceli sme pomáhať Ukrajine brániť Európu? Nakoniec budeme musieť Rusov odrážať na našom území. Slovensko sa možno ako pohotový kolaborant odovzdá bez boja.
Smutok, beznádej a bezmocnosť tvárou v tvár horde hlúpych a zbabelých ľudí.

Akýkoľvek „mier“, ktorý Ukrajine vezme časť územia alebo agresorovi poskytne akékoľvek ústupky, povedie v krátkodobom horizonte k ešte väčšej vojne, ktorá zasiahne nás všetkých. Ostatne, o paralelách s 30. rokmi 20. storočia hovorí každý príčetný komentátor.

To dalo Putinovi priestor vybudovať vojnovú ekonomiku a čakať na vhodnú situáciu a obrat – ako ten, ktorý práve nastal v Spojených štátoch – a ktorý ho opäť dostane na koňa. Európa a svet sa len ďalej pozerá, ako rusi vraždia nevinných ľudí na ich vlastnom území.

Ukrajina však dostala len tradičné floskule o „hlbokom znepokojení“ a spojenci sa len veľmi pomaly a váhavo rozhodovali, či a akú pomoc sú ochotní poskytnúť.

V tento deň pred troma rokmi, keď sa začala vojna, som dúfal a spolu s niektorými ďalšími ľuďmi volal po rýchlej a jasnej reakcii – masívnej vojenskej pomoci Ukrajine, prípadne aj po zapojení EÚ a NATO do jej obrany, aby sme Rusku dali veľmi jasne najavo, kde je hranica.

This image of the California wildfires was captured on Jan 11, 18:53:56 UTC by the pink Veronika nanosatellite, designed, built & operated by Spacemanic.

Planned & downloaded via our ground station in Jablonec, Slovakia.

Even small satellites can do big things! 🚀

I have a feeling it will be worth tuning in to Veronika satellite transmissions these days 🎅 #CubeSat #AMSAT

Brno at Night.