There is Space for Europe

This year's World Space Week is a reminder of how we, humans, have always been fascinated by the outer space; especially here in Europe. From Ancient Greece through the Renaissance to today's European Space Agency (ESA), we've always been eager to know more and discover what's out there.

It's enough to look at the tremendous popularity of ESA's Rosetta (the space probe) and Philae whose expeditions were followed by millions around the world. And when we didn't have the knowledge, we imagined; from the early Zodiac to the vast science fiction pop culture. The mysteriousness of space has pushed scientists to explore and writers to dream.

But space is not just about explorations across galaxies or blockbuster films; it is also a European industry and quite a critical one.

It's what makes some of our most mundane activities possible; from drawing out cash out of an ATM, zapping between (satellite) TV channels, or using GPS navigation when driving. It is also a necessary component of more advanced technologies that are omnipresent in our lives (like interactive maps, shared car services, location-based technologies or even catching a Pokémon...).

In fact, more and more of your smartphone apps make use of geo-localisation, based on satellite signals. Given the exponential rate in which new digital services are entering our lives, it is fair to expect that our dependence on space-based services will only expand.

Space-based technologies do not only improve our lives; they sometimes save our lives.

This is true when they're used to provide emergency services, follow migration flows, and monitor security concerns. They are also essential for our measuring and understanding of global warming by observing changes in waterbodies, measuring sea and ocean levels or air temperatures, and identifying sources and sinks of CO2 around the planet. Here again, many of these measurements would not be possible if it weren't for satellite technology.

That is why the European Union has launched the Copernicus programme, the European system for monitoring the Earth. Fruit of cooperation with ESA and other international organisations, Copernicus is now the world's largest single earth observation programme with a huge potential for the market.

Space-based technologies are also crucial for protecting spacecrafts against space debris, so-called space weather with electromagnetic radiation threatening our communication or power networks. They are important to ensure secure communications between public authorities.

Closer, Faster, Better

As critical as they are in our lives, navigation technologies are still fairly limited. GPS for example has a 10m near accuracy. This could cause nothing more than nuisance if your navigation system miscalculated and made you miss a turn. But how would you feel if your plane had 10m uncertainty when landing? Of course that would not be safe. That is why there is need to improve the existing technologies. The European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), developed by the European Commission and ESA, focuses on augmenting geo-localisation to a much higher level of precision. In fact, students in Israel's Technion University recently used EGNOS to increase their geo-localisation precision from 10 to 1 meter.

Now imagine what kind of new innovative services would be made possible if we could have even more precise geo-localisation than we have today. This could accelerate our digital transformation, create new high-quality jobs, and improve our standards of living.

Being critical for our industry also means we need more control over it. The current Satellite Navigation systems belong to the U.S., Russia and China. Yet, given the size and growth of the satellite navigation market (expected to reach €250 million by 2022), and the dependence of the EU economy on its availability, the EU decided to build its own satellite navigation system, known as Galileo. This will ensure Europe's independence when it comes to navigation and localisation.

Galileo is not yet operational but it is developing fast. In fact, preparations are underway for the launch of an Arianne 5 rocket from French Guinea into space next month. This rocket will carry another four Galileo satellites into space so that initial services can start still this year.

source: ArianneSpace Instagram account.

Galileo will be interoperable with the American and Russian systems so it can make positioning much more accurate in most places on Earth, even in cities where skyscrapers often obscure signals or in northern Europe, currently not well covered by GPS.

Independent studies show that Galileo will deliver around €90 billion to the EU economy over the first 20 years of operations.

Space: Not the 'Final Frontier'

Yes, Europe's space industry is doing well, and yes it has a lot to be proud of; it already captures a third of the global market, employing some 230,000 professionals and with an annual value of approximately €50 billion.

Yet, our ambition does not end here, given the tremendous potential of Europe's space industry in creating more jobs, enabling more disruptive technologies and allowing more satellite-based services. To be perfectly honest, Europe's space industry is also facing new risks and growing competition from new players. 

That is why on 26 October, the Commission will put forward a Space Strategy for Europe. This is the first time, the EU will have a comprehensive space strategy, ensuring we have a clear shared vision for the years to come. It is the fruit of long discussions with numerous stakeholders and with our partner organisations, like ESA and with Member States' national space agencies with whom I recently met. 

The EU Space Strategy is our way to continue Europe's historic quest 'far and beyond'; far above the skies and beyond Europe's current space capacities.

It will ensure Europe's space industry can serve us humans, boost our economy, and protect our environment.