Europe pursues sovereign space capabilities at international summit in Paris
Key figures from Europe's space sector and international partners met in Paris at a two-day summit with about 120 countries to pursue business deals and strategies for greater sovereignty in space. French president Emmanuel Macron and ESA director Josef Aschbacher urged investment to reduce dependence on U.S. services such as Starlink and U.S. launch capacity, citing disruptions after the 2022 Ukraine war and recent Middle East imaging limits by Planet Labs and Vantor. The EU plans Iris2 for secure connectivity by 2030, Ariane remains expendable and complex, Isar achieved a first commercial European launch, and leaders debated building more domestic launch and crewed flight capabilities.
Europe is accelerating plans for independent satellites and launch capacity
Context
In 2022 Russia's invasion of Ukraine exposed satellite reliance. More recently, U.S. imaging firms limited Middle East data. Europe now may increase investment and build more launch and satellite systems.
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