Plus: Space companies criticize the EU Space Act
This week, SpaceNews reporters are covering the latest news on the European space sector at the SmallSat Europe conference in Amsterdam.
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By Emma Gatti A senior German military official said Europe needs a coordinated approach to military space operations and proposed the creation of a European Space Component Command hosted by Germany and open to allied participation.
Maj. Gen. Wolfgang Ohl, speaking Tuesday at the SmallSat Europe conference in Amsterdam, said Germany has proposed the idea of a European Space Component Command.
“Right now, everybody is doing their own thing,” Ohl said. “ And there is nobody — not even NATO — coordinating efforts to ensure that three countries are not developing the same capabilities.”
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Speaking at SmallSat Europe, panelists said they did not oppose regulation itself or the idea behind a common European framework. However, the words most frequently used to describe the first and second drafts of the EU Space Act were “monopoly,” “slow,” “rigid” and “micromanaging.”
European nations are adopting a mix of sovereign, bilateral, federated and dual-use commercial technologies to enhance military readiness. Still, it can be difficult to determine which capabilties should be owned and operated nationally and when it’s preferable to pool resources to establish multinational space systems. |
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At most major European space summits, the sovereignty debate has long been overshadowed by talk of launchers, constellations and the symbolism of a national presence. On the sidelines, however, the conversations were often more textured; stretching beyond questions of access and prestige and increasingly toward those of data, domain awareness, resilience, continuity and even countermeasures in an increasingly contested orbital environment.
Open Cosmos, based in the United Kingdom, is facing a 2028 deadline to field an ambitious broadband constellation for Europe.
SpinLaunch CEO Massimiliano “Massi” Ladovaz paints an ambitious picture of a rapidly shifting space industry driven as much by geopolitics and sovereignty as by engineering innovation. |
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