Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Europe's space sector seeks to boost commercialisation

Europe's space sector seeks to boost commercialisation

As Europe's space leaders meet virtually in Brussels at the new European Space Forum, Euronews explores how the sector is making a big push to become more business-minded.

“Supporting startups is a huge priority” for the European Space Agency (ESA), according to its Director General Josef Aschbacher, as the agency seeks to compete in an increasingly crowded and dynamic sector where Europe has been accused of lagging behind.

Speaking to Euronews, Aschbacher explained how ESA has created a new directorate for commercialisation, industrial policy and procurement, headed by space strategy specialist Géraldine Naja.

The goal is to make Europe fertile ground for what is termed 'New Space' operators, a catch-all phrase for companies taking advantage of existing and emerging space technologies to build wholly commercial businesses.

For Aschbacher, there is no time to lose, as he sees the commercial space sector in the United States taking the lead in launch services, but also areas which are traditionally strong for Europe, such as Earth observation.

He says a priority for his tenure is to “encourage people to take more risks, be faster in implementing projects, and to help them both through faster action on the side of ESA”.

Although the move is welcomed by the space sector, Olivier Lemaitre, Secretary General of industry body ASD-Eurospace, warns that we're not going to see a 'European SpaceX' anytime soon.

Space budgets in Europe are fragmented across countries and six times smaller than in the US, he tells Euronews. "Some public powers forget this reality, thinking we can do as well as the USA with six times less money," he says.

The pro-business messages from ESA come as the European Commission's own space operation, called the European Union Agency for the Space Programme, begins to spread its wings.

The recently-created EUSPA is tasked with maximising the benefits of the European Commission-funded space projects such as the Galileo navigation system, the Copernicus earth observation network, and the EGNOS positioning and navigation tool.

These two organisations, ESA, and EUSPA, both say they are focused on encouraging a 'globally competitive' European space sector. Which begs the question - do we actually really need both of them in parallel?

"It's a good question," replies Aschbacher, "But today they are working certainly in a very complex and complementary manner". He stresses that the role of ESA is to develop the technical side of new satellite technologies and launchers, while the European Commission has the political clout to get big projects like Galileo off the ground.

What remains an open question however, is whether Europe, with ESA and EUSPA, can create the kind of innovative and flexible environment that can foster the emergence of major new commercial players.

What's the future for Coperncius?


Another key topic of debate at the European Space Forum will be the future of Copernicus. Established in 2014, 'Copernicus provides Europe with a continuous, independent and reliable access to satellite Earth Observation data and information.

Simonetta Cheli, soon to become director of Earth Observation at ESA, sings the praises of this constellation of satellites, telling Euronews: "We have eight satellites working flawlessly, we have 400,000 users registered and 250 terabytes of data are downloaded every day."

However she admits that the programme is facing funding difficulties as a result of “high level political considerations” related to Brexit (the UK is an active ESA member, but no longer in the EU), with a €750 million shortfall in funding that she is confident will be overcome soon. Lemaitre from ASD-Eurospace also believes that the financing issue can be overcome. "We need to see goodwill on both sides and if we give each other enough time then it could move forwards," he says.

A Copernicus image shows lava flowing from a volcano on La Palma in September this year


Looking ahead, Cheli explains that the Copernicus programme will be focused on issues such as Arctic monitoring and CO2 emissions observations, both crucial in a post-COP26 political environment.

However private companies are competing with Copernicus in high-resolution Earth imaging, and Cheli says that current thinking inside ESA suggests that finding ways to integrate these commercial initiatives into the Copernicus systems in a mutually-beneficial way is one of the favoured ways forward.

Lemaitre again flags a tendency to over-spin the business potential of Copernicus, which he says was initially designed to offer high quality data to public bodies and scientific institutions.

He believes there is strong economic potential in the Earth observation field, but that barriers exist to access the data and there is a need for powerful AI and high performance computing technologies to take best advantage of the information gathered by the Copernicus Sentinel satellite fleet.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Germany Votes to Suspend Family Reunification for Asylum Seekers
Budapest Pride Parade Draws 200,000 Participants Amid Government Ban
Southern Europe Experiences Extreme Heat
Xiaomi's YU7 SUV Launch Garners Record Pre-Orders Amid Market Challenges
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's Lavish Wedding in Venice
Russia Launches Largest Air Assault on Ukraine Since Invasion
Massive Anti-Government Protests Erupt in Belgrade
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Hungary's Prime Minister Criticizes NATO's Role in Ukraine
EU TO HUNGARY: LET THEM PRIDE OR PREP FOR SHADE. ORBÁN TO EU: STAY IN YOUR LANE AND FIX YOUR OWN MESS.
Hungarian Scientist to Conduct 30 Research Experiments on the International Space Station
NATO Members Agree to 5% Defense Spending Target by 2035
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
International Astronaut Team Launched to Space Station
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
Oil Prices Set to Surge After US Strikes Iran
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
×