An Arte-missed opportunity for Cork space dish

As the world watches with bated breath, mankind’s first crewed lunar voyage in over half a century, we can’t help but feel a little left out here in Cork.

Right now, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen are making their way home from the earth’s moon, while Cork’s own National Space Centre (NSC) in Elfordstown, Midleton, watches on from the sidelines.

It is a frustrating vantage point for NSC CEO Rory Fitzpatrick who knows exactly how important a role Cork could play in the space game once the 32 metre satellite at the centre’s campus is brought back into use.

“Unfortunately, we’re not part of Artemis, sadly,” Mr Fitzpatrick told the Cork Independent.

“We have to refurbish the dish first,” he said.

Built in 1984 for £9 million, the dish was once a pinnacle of Irish telecommunications before being made redundant in 1997 by the arrival of transatlantic optical fibre cables. While the NSC has been slowly investing its own commercial profits into the site, the finish line remains two years away without a significant injection of capital.

Compounding the sense of frustration is the fact that the Goonhilly Earth Station in Cornwall, England, is actively supporting the Artemis mission.

“Goonhilly are using their one (dish) for supporting this mission,” Mr Fitzpatrick explained.

“The British government gave them a lot of support, whereas we really haven’t had any funding from Government.”

According to Mr Fitzpatrick, the cost to bring Cork’s dish back to life is approximately €3.5 million.

He said: “While that’s a bargain because it would cost €35 million to build a new one, they (the Irish Government) don’t have that kind of spare money.

“We’re going to have to do it commercially,” added Mr Fitzpatrick.

The frustration for Elfordstown isn't just about missing a single mission; it’s about a lack of national vision. Mr Fitzpatrick argues that while Enterprise Ireland does what it can, the state lacks a dedicated space agency or a cohesive strategy for infrastructure.

“We don’t have a national strategy for space," he said.

“They call it a national strategy for space, but really it’s a national strategy to support space effort rather than actually having an Irish plan to do things in space.”

Despite the funding hurdles, Mr Fitzpatrick remains optimistic about the future of the Midleton site. He describes the emerging space ecosystem as one ready to “explode” in the next decade. If the funding is secured, either through commercial avenues or EU interest, the big dish in East Cork will eventually live again.

“This is exactly what the big dish should be doing,” he said.

“And it will end up being part of the moon communication systems.”

As we witness the crew of Artemis II venture further into space than any human in history, Mr Fitzpatrick is reminded of the “limitless opportunity” available to Cork’s tech and engineering sectors.

For now, the message being broadcast from Midleton is clear – Cork has the hardware and the heart to become a major player in the space game, we just need a little propulsion to get there.