Inside Europe's bid to compete in space

On Wednesday, about 120 delegates convened at the Grand Palais for the International Space Summit, organized by French President Emmanuel Macron. The summit aimed to find ways for Europe to compete in the space market currently dominated by the United States. President Macron emphasized Europe's need for innovation and investment to achieve independence in orbit.

Several major US space companies, including SpaceX and Blue Origin, opted not to attend the summit. The White House reportedly urged US companies to stay away, fearing it might be seen as endorsing European Union policy. The summit also saw thinner European attendance than hoped, with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni not in attendance.

The push for European space independence gained momentum following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This event exposed how dependent Ukraine was on Elon Musk's Starlink satellite service, and the potential risks of such dependence. As a result, the European Union proposed the EU Space Act, which US officials argue could disadvantage American firms.

Europe's answer to the US dominance in space is a sovereign constellation called IRIS². The project aims to provide the 27-nation bloc with secure communications independent of Starlink. However, the project has faced disagreements between Paris and Berlin, with Germany planning a separate secure network and being less willing to exclude SpaceX.

Satellite imaging is another area of concern for Europe. American satellite imaging firms Planet Labs and Vantor temporarily halted imagery of the Middle East conflict zone after the Iran war erupted, allegedly to prevent adversaries from using it against the US and its allies. This move has prompted European countries to seek their own imaging capabilities.

Europe's major rocket program, Ariane, is currently limited by its complexity and the use of multiple subcontractors across the continent. The most powerful version, Ariane 64, has launched 100 Amazon Leo satellites in orbit across three launches this year. However, the Ariane programme is unwieldy by design, costing more to fly than reusable rivals and resulting in fewer launches per year.

In a breakthrough, on September 5, the Munich-based startup Isar Aerospace successfully launched its Spectrum rocket from Andøya Spaceport in Arctic Norway. This marked the first time a commercial European company delivered satellites to orbit and the first orbital launch from continental Europe. Isar co-founder and CEO Daniel Metzler highlighted launch capability as the biggest bottleneck in the industry, stating that the company has raised around €870 million and is constructing a second launch complex in Nova Scotia, Canada.