An executive of one of the partners in the Sino-Portuguese STARlab laboratory project has said China is due to put into orbit in 2021 a Portuguese satellite called Infante, which is part of the project, Lusa reports.
The Portuguese news agency quotes Ricardo Mendes, the president of a Portuguese aerospace company, Tekever, as saying China will also develop some of the sensors Infante will carry.
Mr Mendes said the STARlab partnership would soon set up a research centre in the northern Portuguese city of Matosinhos.
He said the establishment of a STARlab laboratory in the central Portuguese city of Caldas da Rainha was awaiting settlement of the legal details.
Portugal and China will each invest €25 million (about US$27.9 million) in the STARlab project over five years, and the partnership will also ask for money from other sources in China, in Portugal and elsewhere in Europe, Lusa says.
