Elson Space España
aragon spain
Elson Space España based in Teruel, Spain was established in 2014 as an R&D entity to design, build and test fly solar-powered gliders capable of carrying powerful earth observation payloads.
Located at Teruel Airport (PLATA), Andy Elson’s vision that PLATA should become Europe’s leading Space and Stratoport, took a step forward in 2024 when Elson Space España’s new hangar opened, supported by €1.4M government investment. The ideal location at PLATA provides a unique combination of dedicated airspace, world-class aerospace facilities and optimal climatic conditions for year-round operations..
Elson Space España has significant on the ground experience of high altitude solar-powered gliders, R&D, logistics, training, development and testing. This includes a detailed knowledge and understanding of meteorology, especially with reference to the interaction between high-altitude weather, jet-streams and surface conditions.
In 2016 Elson Space España was the first company in Europe to be granted low level test flight permission and airspace in Spain.
Solaris-Suborbital Inc acquired Elson Space España as its R&D division in 2023.
MIRIAM ROYO NAVARRO, Managing Director & Operations Director, Elson Space España
Miriam Royo Navarro runs Elson Space España in northern Spain and undertakes research on associated sub systems. She is a Telecommunications Engineer specialising in electronic systems. As an undergraduate Miriam studied signal processing and communications systems, design and analysis of electronic circuits, computer programming, electronic instrumentation and computer vision.
Her Master’s degree at the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia was in Industrial Automation and Electronic Engineering, with a focus on optimal electronic systems, computer vision, electronic instrumentation and robotics. Internships included statistical analysis at the University, alongside electrical installation and automation projects.
In 2018 Miriam joined the Astrophysics Observatory of Javalambre (OAJ), working on the communications protocol to integrate the JPCam camera in a 2.5 m diameter telescope. JPCam is the second largest astronomical camera in the world, with more than 1,200 million pixels distributed in a mosaic of 14 scientific detectors that work in high vacuum conditions and at -110 degrees Celsius.
Miriam is certified to pilot RPAS and completed a course on UAV certification in Spain. She was a key engineering member of the Astigan HAPS design, build and flight test trials in the UK, Spain and the Simpson Desert, Australia.