Summary

Europe is expanding investment in rockets, satellite communications and spacecraft to reduce its reliance on US space infrastructure. New launch companies and the planned 348-satellite IRIS2 network are central to the effort.

Europe is accelerating efforts to build more independent space capabilities, combining public investment, commercial rockets and a planned satellite-internet network. The effort is intended to reduce reliance on US launch providers and space infrastructure as cooperation across the Atlantic becomes less certain.

At the International Space Summit in Paris on 10 September, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen called for joint investment in space, linking the region’s security on Earth to its ability to protect and operate assets in orbit. France’s president Emmanuel Macron also argued that Europe should eventually be able to send its own crews into space.

Europe still depends on NASA and companies such as SpaceX for some astronaut and satellite launches. Its commercial space sector also attracts a much smaller share of global investment: of the US$13.5 billion invested in space companies last year, 12% went to European companies, compared with 68% for US organisations.

Contents

Launch capability is the first test

Independent access to orbit is a central part of the strategy. Europe already operates the Ariane and Vega rocket families, which launch from the European spaceport in French Guiana, but it has not developed a private launch industry on the scale of the United States.

That is beginning to change. On 5 September, German company Isar Aerospace launched its Spectrum vehicle from Andøya in Norway. The launch was described as the first orbital rocket launch from European soil. Other European companies are working on reusable rockets and heavy-lift launchers, technologies that could make satellite deployment more frequent and flexible.

The emerging capability is not expected to match the launch industries of the United States or China in overall scale. Its strategic value is more focused: ensuring that Europe has enough of its own launch and orbital infrastructure for essential services.

A sovereign communications layer

The European Union is also developing IRIS2, a planned constellation of 348 satellites that is scheduled to begin launching in 2029. The network is intended to provide space-based internet connectivity for civilians, businesses, emergency services and military users.

IRIS2 would give Europe a communications system under European control rather than relying entirely on SpaceX’s Starlink network. That matters during emergencies and for government users, because satellite communications can connect locations where terrestrial networks are damaged, unavailable or difficult to build.

The project also shows that space independence is not limited to rockets. Launch vehicles, satellite networks and the ground systems needed to operate them form a connected infrastructure. Progress in one area is more useful when the others are available as well.

Investment is spreading across the sector

European governments and institutions are directing more money towards both civilian and defence-related space technology. Germany plans to invest €35 billion by 2030 in spy satellites, space planes and other military equipment.

Private companies are attracting larger rounds, too. On 8 September, Germany’s Exploration Company announced that it had secured $450 million to develop Nyx, a spacecraft designed to carry cargo and eventually humans. The funding was described as one of the largest amounts raised in European space history.

The initiatives involve the European Space Agency, the European Union, national governments and private companies. Their goals range from launching satellites and operating secure communications to developing human-spaceflight systems. Planned dates such as the 2029 start of IRIS2 launches and the eventual use of Nyx show a multi-year programme rather than an immediate replacement for existing US capabilities.

NASA has also said it will no longer supply an instrument for the European Space Agency’s Envision mission to Venus, which is scheduled to launch in 2031. That decision adds pressure for Europe to secure critical components and services independently, while also demonstrating the practical difficulty of building a complete sovereign space ecosystem.

Sources