
- Category: Members News
- 2025-01-22
Space Y released its position paper “Satellite-based services for a competitive, autonomous, safe and resilient Europe”.
The paper is the result of a series of meetings among the members of Space Y to reflect on the main challenges hindering the full development of the European space downstream industry and including a set of proposed measures to overcome them.
In this position paper Space Y offers an input to the general debate about the future of the European space downstream sector from the distinctive perspective of the European industrial players. The paper addresses European policy makers with the aim of providing feedback useful to shape the next Multi-Annual Financial Framework of the Union.
We consider that the current political context requires immediate targeted actions to safeguard the strategic autonomy and competitiveness of Europe with respect to critical sectors relying on space technologies, such as energy, telecommunications, aviation, and defence, to name but a few.
To this end, a coherent industrial strategy is needed for the European downstream space sector, to ensure Europe’s autonomy throughout the space value-adding chain, from launchers to receivers and chipsets.
We ask that such strategy is supported by a consistent budget, reflecting the important investments made by Europe in its Space Programme and allowing these to produce tangible benefits for the European citizens, through the creation of jobs and economic opportunities and the provision of enhanced public services.
The paper lists the challenges identified by the European space downstream industry, SMEs in particular, to compete on the global market, and explains how a weak European space downstream industry entails risks in sectors that are crucial for Europe’ safety, autonomy and economic resilience.
We provide inputs to overcome the challenges identified and propose actions to foster user uptake and promote European excellence and know-how.
We stress the need for a cooperative approach to conceive and implement an industrial strategy for the European downstream industry and propose measures to foster European excellence throughout the value chain and in all sectors to which space can provide an added-value.
Europe must strengthen its position in the global space economy and create the conditions to shape a European way to compete in a highly innovative and dynamic sector. This cannot be achieved without federating the interests of all the parties involved and without involving them in the developments occurring throughout the whole value chain, from the design of space infrastructure upstream to the development and uptake of equipment, products and services downstream.
The members of Space Y are prepared to contribute in any way it can in stablishing an industrial strategy for European downstream space sector that will strengthen Europe’s autonomy, safety and resilience in the next decades.
Access the position paper