London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Aug 02, 2025

Europe's space sector seeks to boost commercialisation

Europe's space sector seeks to boost commercialisation

As Europe's space leaders meet virtually in Brussels at the new European Space Forum, Euronews explores how the sector is making a big push to become more business-minded.

“Supporting startups is a huge priority” for the European Space Agency (ESA), according to its Director General Josef Aschbacher, as the agency seeks to compete in an increasingly crowded and dynamic sector where Europe has been accused of lagging behind.

Speaking to Euronews, Aschbacher explained how ESA has created a new directorate for commercialisation, industrial policy and procurement, headed by space strategy specialist Géraldine Naja.

The goal is to make Europe fertile ground for what is termed 'New Space' operators, a catch-all phrase for companies taking advantage of existing and emerging space technologies to build wholly commercial businesses.

For Aschbacher, there is no time to lose, as he sees the commercial space sector in the United States taking the lead in launch services, but also areas which are traditionally strong for Europe, such as Earth observation.

He says a priority for his tenure is to “encourage people to take more risks, be faster in implementing projects, and to help them both through faster action on the side of ESA”.

Although the move is welcomed by the space sector, Olivier Lemaitre, Secretary General of industry body ASD-Eurospace, warns that we're not going to see a 'European SpaceX' anytime soon.

Space budgets in Europe are fragmented across countries and six times smaller than in the US, he tells Euronews. "Some public powers forget this reality, thinking we can do as well as the USA with six times less money," he says.

The pro-business messages from ESA come as the European Commission's own space operation, called the European Union Agency for the Space Programme, begins to spread its wings.

The recently-created EUSPA is tasked with maximising the benefits of the European Commission-funded space projects such as the Galileo navigation system, the Copernicus earth observation network, and the EGNOS positioning and navigation tool.

These two organisations, ESA, and EUSPA, both say they are focused on encouraging a 'globally competitive' European space sector. Which begs the question - do we actually really need both of them in parallel?

"It's a good question," replies Aschbacher, "But today they are working certainly in a very complex and complementary manner". He stresses that the role of ESA is to develop the technical side of new satellite technologies and launchers, while the European Commission has the political clout to get big projects like Galileo off the ground.

What remains an open question however, is whether Europe, with ESA and EUSPA, can create the kind of innovative and flexible environment that can foster the emergence of major new commercial players.

What's the future for Coperncius?


Another key topic of debate at the European Space Forum will be the future of Copernicus. Established in 2014, 'Copernicus provides Europe with a continuous, independent and reliable access to satellite Earth Observation data and information.

Simonetta Cheli, soon to become director of Earth Observation at ESA, sings the praises of this constellation of satellites, telling Euronews: "We have eight satellites working flawlessly, we have 400,000 users registered and 250 terabytes of data are downloaded every day."

However she admits that the programme is facing funding difficulties as a result of “high level political considerations” related to Brexit (the UK is an active ESA member, but no longer in the EU), with a €750 million shortfall in funding that she is confident will be overcome soon. Lemaitre from ASD-Eurospace also believes that the financing issue can be overcome. "We need to see goodwill on both sides and if we give each other enough time then it could move forwards," he says.

A Copernicus image shows lava flowing from a volcano on La Palma in September this year


Looking ahead, Cheli explains that the Copernicus programme will be focused on issues such as Arctic monitoring and CO2 emissions observations, both crucial in a post-COP26 political environment.

However private companies are competing with Copernicus in high-resolution Earth imaging, and Cheli says that current thinking inside ESA suggests that finding ways to integrate these commercial initiatives into the Copernicus systems in a mutually-beneficial way is one of the favoured ways forward.

Lemaitre again flags a tendency to over-spin the business potential of Copernicus, which he says was initially designed to offer high quality data to public bodies and scientific institutions.

He believes there is strong economic potential in the Earth observation field, but that barriers exist to access the data and there is a need for powerful AI and high performance computing technologies to take best advantage of the information gathered by the Copernicus Sentinel satellite fleet.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Finalizes Broad Tariff Increases on Global Trade Partners
J.K. Rowling Limits Public Engagements Citing Safety Fears
JD.com Launches €2.2 Billion Bid for German Electronics Retailer Ceconomy
Azerbaijan Proceeds with Plan to Legalise Casinos on Artificial Islands
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
×