European Space Policy Institute (ESPI)

#𝗜𝗖𝗬𝗠𝗜: 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 | 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗯𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿 Last week, we invited a suite of experts to discuss the findings of ESPI's report, “Where Sensing Makes Sense” developed in cooperation with ESA Earth Observation. The panel brought together institutional, user and academic perspectives to discuss how Earth observation can be fully integrated across the policy cycle, exploring challenges and agreeing on forward actions based on the assessment provided by the report. Watch the full replay here: https://lnkd.in/dJSpFYa5

𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗻 German Space Agency at German Aerospace Center (DLR) hosted spring meetings of ESPI Advisory Council and General Assembly. Our role of Europe's think-tank for space requires us to stay ahead of the curve of what's to come, identify themes and issues for our future work. We appreciate lively and engaged reflection in both groups! Here are a few points which resonated for us over these past days: ✅ What European future is there in the post-ISS era? Can Europe actually secure its future? Space Exploration has a role to play beyond a programmatic ambition ✅ How to ensure that the European momentum for space is not wasted but implemented with speed, and intra-European cooperation leveraging the different frameworks available. ✅ European engagement with China needs credible analysis to shape future efforts - what factors are shaping respective approaches, what are the lessons learned from other industries we can apply to space. Thank you to our members https://lnkd.in/e7GBeppV and advisors https://lnkd.in/d88U9iJy for your continued support!

🚀 𝗦𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗘: 𝗿𝗲-𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲-𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗮 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀?   On 19 May 2026, European Space Agency - ESA and the Chinese Academy of Sciences launched their joint mission Solar wind-Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) on a Vega-C from Europe's spaceport in French Giuana.   SMILE is designed to study space weather and the magnetosphere, vital to understanding how space weather affects space- and earth-based operations, ranging from communications technology to transportation.   The mission is a significant milestone as it marks the first time in the history of Europe-China space cooperation that a mission was jointly designed, operated, and launched. It is also, for now, the only planned initiative at this level.   At a time of evolving European policy priorities, growing strategic competition, and rapid advances in China’s space programme, the mission raises broader questions about the future of Europe–China engagement in space.

𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲’𝘀 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝘂𝗻𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗺𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 The latest op-ed by ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher https://lnkd.in/dh3ZuBvJ illustrates a mounting call for Europe to scale up its ambition in human spaceflight and the race for the Moon. Similar messages have been raised publicly already several times this year, e.g. by European Commissioner Andrius Kubilius, German Minister of Research, Technology and Space Dorothee Bär or French Minister Delegate for Europe Benjamin Haddad. At a time when Europe is searching for its future role in a new world, our continent is called upon to implement forward-looking initiatives that bridge borders on its own. In our January paper https://lnkd.in/dXFcr3Uc, ESPI called for “Defining Europe’s own ambition, including at EU level in the geo-political race for the Moon, beyond the role of a junior partner to foreign initiatives” as one of the most time-critical challenges ahead. More than ever, Europe needs its own crewed spaceflight programme, supported at the highest political level, in key European capitals and at the EU Level. This is not about a new space programme but about a political programme for a new Europe, representing: ✅ a symbol of renewed confidence as a strong and trusted global partner, ✅ an expression of European values and binding force for Europe’s citizens, ✅ a source of inspiration for future generations.

𝗢𝗻 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲'𝘀 𝗮𝗺𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 (𝗶𝗻 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗵) Here's a weekend recommendation for our French-speaking audience - earlier this week our Director H. Ludwig Moeller joined BFM Business Tech & Co daily show hosted by Frédéric Simottel. In their debate, Ludwig underlined three central themes shaping Europe's future in and through space: 👉 An opportunity to define Europe’s own space exploration aspirations on a large scale, including at EU level. 👉 Digital space as one of the economic drivers of the future.   👉 Security and defence rationales (and resulting investments) playing increasingly prominent role in developing Europe's space capabilities. Available in both video and audio versions: ✅ Video: https://lnkd.in/dPETRXGw and https://lnkd.in/debpBnXy. ✅ Podcast: https://lnkd.in/dPH6mYx4

𝗔 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗰𝗼𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝗦𝗣𝗜 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗨𝗞 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 This year, we hosted Aldwin Chia and Darulfa Aziza Nuraini from the University of Cambridge, alongside Maximilian Schwaiger from UCL as visiting fellows. During their time in Vienna, they engaged with ESPI’s interdisciplinary research environment, contributing to ongoing work while deepening their expertise in space policy and governance. Visiting fellows play an important role in enriching ESPI’s activities—bringing fresh perspectives, engaging with our team of researchers, and connecting with a wider network across Europe’s space sector. We are proud to support the development of emerging talent and to foster meaningful international collaboration through initiatives like this. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/dguhPrCz

𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗿𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲𝘀 Yesterday, the European Commission brought together end users, industry, and researchers for a workshop on orbital data centres (ODC) in Brussels. Across the globe, ODCs are moving from concept to early experimentation. This workshop marks the beginning of an important conversation on the future of Europe’s digital infrastructure in space and the role Europe should play moving forward. ESPI Research Fellow Jermaine F. Gutierrez contributed to the session on global perspectives. Key takeaways from the discussion: 🛰️ The industrial ecosystem appears increasingly ready to address the technical challenges of ODCs 🛰️ Progress will require an incremental approach, building capability step by step 🛰️ A key challenge remains the identification of end users and sustainable demand The discussions also pointed to a broader need for direction. How will ODCs integrate with Europe’s cloud infrastructure and support long-term digital sovereignty? As the space economy evolves, early European engagement, grounded in both ambition and responsibility, will be essential.

🚀 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 We’re excited to launch the Space Venture dashboard — the digital extension of ESPI’s flagship report. Since 2019, Space Venture has provided a comprehensive, data-driven overview of global space investment dynamics. Now, you can explore the data yourself in a new intuitive, interactive format. The dashboard: ➡️ allows you to view specific values across regions, deal types, and other categories simultaneously without losing precision, ➡️ makes it possible to see amounts raised for specific category–country combinations, ➡️ gives a simple breakdown of investment sources, such as public vs. private.

🧑🚀 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝗦𝗔 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗨 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀? This question is central to our 𝘍𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘌𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, a recently published ESPI resource taking an in-depth look at space policy in Europe. Depending on the country, space policy is the responsibility of different ministries, ranging from economy, innovation, and science to defence, foreign affairs, or environment. Ministries of Defence have increasingly been taking on responsibilities related to space, ensuring that national security and defence capabilities fully benefit from space-based assets and technologies. 🛰️ 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻? While some states rely on dedicated space agencies for implementation, others have inter-ministerial bodies or specialised departments and committees. These institutions generally coordinate national space activities and space policy, including national space strategies, programme development, international representation, and budget management.

🛰️ 𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥 | 𝗘𝗦𝗔-𝗘𝗦𝗣𝗜 𝗪𝗘𝗕𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗥: 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 | 𝗧𝗢𝗗𝗔𝗬 Last chance to register for today’s webinar! Join our webinar with ESA Earth Observation today, 𝟭𝟭 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝟭𝟱:𝟯𝟬-𝟭𝟳:𝟬𝟬 𝗖𝗘𝗦𝗧, to discuss our report "𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘚𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘚𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦", showing how Earth observation can better serve Europe’s priorities. Following a presentation of the report, we will have a panel discussion under the theme “Earth Observation as a Policy Enabler”, with five speakers: 🗣️ Zinta Zommers, Lead for Climate Science, United Nations OCHA and Vice Chair of Working Group II, IPCC 🗣️ Greet Janssens-Maenhout, Deputy Director of the Sustainable Resources Directorate, Head of Land and Climate Unit, European Commission’s Joint Research Centre 🗣️ Massimo Tavoni, Director, RFF-CMCC European Institute on Economics and the Environment (EIEE) and Professor of climate economics, Politecnico di Milano 🗣️ Andrea Taramelli, Professor at Istituto Universitario di Studi Superiori, Pavia and Senior Scientist, Principal Investigator of The Remote Sensing Group; National Delegate to the Copernicus Committee 🗣️ Fani Kallianou de Jong, Space Economy Lead, Principal, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) For more information and to register ➡️ https://lnkd.in/d4Q3ziqu