Space traffic management

Space matters can’t be left to a first mover syndrome

It’s getting crowded up there. Satellites and space junk are whizzing around our planet at tremendous speed. It has become a hazard to public and increasingly private operators in what has been called the ‘space race’ ever since Yuri Gagarin’s historic journey around the planet in 1961.

Space agency officials, diplomats, members of the European Parliament, lawyers and private sector space engineers and executives discussed the issue of space traffic management (STM) at a dinner hosted by Friend of Europe. The dinner debate was hosted as part of the Making Space Matter initiative that Friends of Europe is running in partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA).

A consensus quickly seemed to emerge among the participants that the situation is urgent and Europe has to up its game if it is to avoid being left behind by the United States and China, as well as the proliferation of private sector players, such as Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.

What’s at stake if we don’t act? “A lot – safety of space flight, investments, innovation, multilateral norm-making, peaceful international relations,” said one lawyer. The only existing legal framework for space is the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. “The treaty isn’t outdated but it doesn’t go far enough,” the lawyer commented.

“We need strong space policy at EU level, as well as globally, but we need to start next year, not in 2024 as the European Commission is thinking,” said one member of the European Parliament.

Related content:

• Making Space Matter Summit
• Europe’s role in space