Wr. Neustadt, Austria, Apr 24th, 2023 – A dedicated EU Legislation for space activities should foster industrial competitiveness and promote agreed upon sustainability requirements in mission design. Space Security as a full-fledged strategic domain for EU affairs Propelled by heightening geopolitical tensions with Russia, the much-awaited EU Space Strategy for Security and Defence (SSSD) announced in a joint communication by the European Commission and EEAS High Representative Josef Borrell on March 10th laid the foundations to further integrate all aspects of Space Security at the center of EU affairs. This new set of strategic priorities builds on the 2022 Strategic Compass, recognizing the contested nature of outer space, the vulnerability of space assets, and the need for EU coordination to protect them in a rapidly evolving and contested environment. In this regard, SSSD is a significant EU policy milestone that introduces a unique opportunity for Member States to align politically on sensitive space issues and build stronger collaboration schemes for a common understanding of space threats, ranging from man-made threats such as space debris and anti-satellite technology (ASAT) to natural hazards such as space weather. In this context, the Commission announced that SSSD encompasses four pillars: Work towards considering an EU Space Law aimed for a common framework for Space Safety, Security and Sustainability; The establishment of an ‘Information Sharing and Analysis Centre (ISAC)’ together with EUSPA for awareness raising activities to ‘facilitate the exchange of best practices among commercial and relevant public entities on resilience measure for space capabilities’; Initiate preparatory work to guarantee long-term autonomous access to space for Member States; Focus on ‘the technological sovereignty of EU’ together with ESA and EDA, especially withregards to strategic dependencies and the industry supply chain. This position paper seeks to discuss the first pillar on the possibility of introducing EU space legislation for Member States aimed at improving the protection of space assets with resilience measures, information sharing and enhanced cooperation. Download position paper About the initiatives To read more about SSSD, click here: https://defence-industry-space.ec.europa.eu/eu-space-strategy-security-and-defence_en#:~:text=The%20Strategy%20acknowledges%20that%20space,as%20a%20global%20space%20power To read more about the proposed initiative introduced to the European Parliament, click here: https://spacewatch.global/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Towards-European-Legislation-for-Space-Activities-180222.pdf About ENPULSION With close to 200 thrusters in space, more than 300 thrusters delivered and almost 160 years of accumulated on-orbit operation, ENPULSION is the world’s leading manufacturer of electric propulsion systems for nano- and microsatellites. ENPULSION is supporting customers on 4 continents from its headquarters in Austria, as well offices in the US and France. Its products are based on the company’s proprietary Field-Emission Electric Propulsion (FEEP) technology, behind which are more than 30 years of research and development work in cooperation with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Research Facility FOTEC. In its own semi-automated production facility, ENPULSION manufactures the ENPULSION MICRO and the ENPULSION NANO Thruster families – the only compact, scalable, and modular electric propulsion systems worlwilde. The ENPULSION NANO Thruster became the first European electric propulsion thruster to fly on a constellation of satellites. The next generation thruster, the ENPULSION NEO, is currently under development and has successfully passed the ESA Preliminary Design Review in December 2022. ENPULSION is ISO 9001:2015 quality certifified for the development, testing, serial production, and distribution of space propulsion systems. Learn more about our thrusters
