Emmanuel Macron spoke under the French presidency of the Council of the European Union on February 16, in Toulouse, on the ” sovereignty of sovereignties, space “. A speech on the sidelines of the meeting of ministers of the Member States responsible for space on two projects revealed the day before by the European Union (UE), a satellite connectivity system and space traffic management.
The constellation of satellites made in Europe
This is one of the hobbies of Thierry Breton, European Commissioner responsible for space: a European constellation to respond to Starlink by Elon Musk, Kuiper by Jeff Bezos, OneWeb… The project he launched in December 2020 has unveiled its contours on February 15.
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High-speed Internet, everywhere and for everyone ??
Soon a reality with our new satellite #constellation:
?️ ultra-secure communications (#quantum encryption)
?️ North-South coverage for whole of Europe & #Africa
?️increased #resiliencein support of terrestrial networks pic.twitter.com/ATVvpLf3Rw
— Thierry Breton (@ThierryBreton) February 15, 2022
This constellation promises continuous access to secure satellite telecommunications services with the latest quantum communication technologies. It also offers companies and citizens on the continent, in Africa, or at the pole, modern, reliable and fast connections, including in dead zones.
For Emmanuel Macron, no doubt, “ Europe must take its part in the revolution of the constellations. It’s a matter of sovereignty and efficiency “. The French president hailed a ” an ambitious proposal » and revealed the launch of a call for tenders within the framework of France 2030 for two projects in this area, « one on in-orbit services and one on breakthrough constellation projects “.
The total cost of the service is estimated at €6 billion, borne by the EU, Member States, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the private sector. In addition to the arguments of sovereignty, technological advantages, for research and European geopolitics, the Commission expects with the development of this new infrastructure “a gross added value of between 17 and 24 billion euros, and would create jobs in the Union’s space industry”.
A GDPR of space traffic management?
The other big part of the day was space traffic management. This question is extremely topical: with the proliferation of low-cost launches, the proliferation of satellites in orbit, from 4,550 today to 20,000 within ten years, the accumulation of space debris, 34,000 more than 10cm, 900,000 between 1 and 10cm and security threats between satellites, congestion peaks.
Europe has had its system for tracking objects in orbit since 2016, the EU Space Surveillance and Trancking, which it wishes to strengthen technologically. The other aspiration is regulatory. The goal is to get out of a commercial or power logic to avoid making it a ” lawless zone “says Emmanuel Macron.
Source: EU SST
The future space regulatory framework, intended for the EU, can serve as a basis for international negotiation. The French president hopes that, like Europe’s action in digital, a reference to the GDPR, European regulations will inspire the rest of the world.
The EU’s place in space
These two proposals will be submitted to the European Parliament and the Member States in order to be integrated into the EU’s “strategic compass” in view of 2030. Emmanuel Macron took the opportunity to express himself more widely on the starry horizon of the continent.
The French president reaffirmed the need for a European preference for satellite launches, that is to say for Ariane 5, Vega and especially the future Ariane 6. A subject that has given rise to some tension between European countries partners.
Above all, Emmanuel Macron wanted Europe to “assume its part of the dream” in its vision of space. With a certain lyricism, the President of the Republic highlighted the place of fundamental research in the European space project in opposition to the private actors of “New Space”, ” for us Europeans, the viable space model is not that of exploitation, is not that of increasing the number of space tourism for thousands or even millions of dollars, any more than the only horizon is exploitation moon mining “. In fact, private and commercial European space initiatives are very strongly encouraged.
Finally, there are the main orientations: the future of the international space station, supposed to end its career in 2024, without stations to replace it, the return of the Moon, the arrival on Mars. China and the United States already have well-defined projects on these subjects, Europe still has to take a position. As Emmanuel Macron says, The space agenda is loaded “.