The call for 21 training grants from the National Institute of Aerospace Technology (INTA), published on October 13, might seem like just another administrative formality. However, in Maspalomas—where the Canary Islands Space Center’s antennas overlook the Atlantic—the announcement takes on a strategic dimension: the consolidation of Spanish science and defense at the African end of the European Union.
INTA, a public agency attached to the Ministry of Defense, combines civil and military research under the logic of dual-use technology. Its new call, aimed at university and higher vocational training graduates, seeks to train young specialists in aeronautics, hydrodynamics, cybersecurity, and space observation. All of these are priority sectors under the Science and Innovation Law and under the European Horizon Europe and European Defense Fund (EDF) programs.
Since its founding in the 1960s, Maspalomas Station has participated in missions for NASA, the European Space Agency, and Spanish Earth observation projects linked to the Copernicus program. Today, the site combines its scientific legacy with a new strategic role within the Spanish state’s innovation and defense policy.
“What’s happening in Maspalomas reflects the new frontier of European science policy: how outermost territories can integrate tourism, science, and security into a single ecosystem,” notes a defense analyst in Brussels. “Spain is using its islands as an Atlantic innovation platform.”
The INTA scholarships, regulated by Order DEF/868/2019, are part of a sustained effort to attract young talent to technological disciplines linked to defense. They also offer recipients the opportunity to conduct internships or research in collaboration with universities and companies in the aerospace sector.
For southern Gran Canaria, the impact could be twofold: technological and social. Knowledge could also be a strategic industry.
In the legal background of the resolution—with references to the General Law on Subsidies and the State’s internal control mechanisms—a fundamental commitment is evident: to make the Atlantic periphery a center of scientific excellence within the European defense and innovation system.
If the strategy succeeds, Maspalomas could become a model for other outermost regions of Europe, where the space, climate, and security agendas converge under the same sky.