Irish space tracking centre hopes to switch from drugs to junk

Ireland’s National Space Centre is planning a €80m technology investment — some of which will be aimed at monitoring space junk.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny was informed of the 10-year investment programme yesterday when he visited the centre on a hilly outcrop above the main Midleton-Fermoy road in Cork. He was there to view the country’s first earth observation ground station, which was built on site by Canadian company exactEarth.

The satellite tracking system is used to monitor the movement of vessels around the world’s seas and will be important in tracking illegal activity such as drugs shipments and people trafficking.