The Earth’s atmosphere is getting increasingly crowded, with 1 million pieces of debris larger than 1cm in orbit and 50 000 satellites expected to be launched in the next 10 years. The resulting congestion in space puts the security and resilience of EU and Member States space assets at risk: The likelihood of a satellite being severely damaged or destroyed in a collision is expected to increase dramatically if no action is taken.
Maintaining space as a resource for future generations is increasingly essential. The EU approach for Space Traffic Management (STM) therefore aims at keeping space operations safe, space orbits usable, and space accessible for decades to come while supporting and strengthening the competitiveness of the EU industry.
The Council of the EU, the European Parliament and the European Economic and Social Committee underlined the importance of and voiced their support for the EU STM approach in relevant Council Conclusions, EP Resolutions and EESC opinions.
The EU’s approach to maintaining a sustainable and safe space environment includes:
- assessing the requirements of civilian and military space operators for STM
- enhancing operational SST capabilities while engaging the EU industrial ecosystem
- proposing standards, guidelines, incentives, and legislation for a regulatory STM framework
- promoting the EU’s approach at international level and engaging strategic partners
The EU approach on Space Traffic Management (STM) proposed by the Commission and the High Representative therefore aims at keeping space operations safe, space orbits usable, and space accessible for decades to come while ensuring and further fostering the competitiveness of the EU space industry.
EU Space Surveillance and Tracking (EU SST) is the cornerstone of EU STM strategy. EU SST fosters innovation and supports European industrial capabilities for strategic autonomy. The EU Industry and Start-ups Forum on STM (EISF) unites stakeholders to define R&D priorities.
- Regulation (EU) 2021/696
- Joint Communication: An EU Approach for Space Traffic Management
- Fair and sustainable use of space (Council Conclusions of Swedish Presidency (2023)
- EU approach to space traffic management (Council Conclusions of French Presidency (2022)
- An EU approach for Space Traffic Management (European Parliament Resolution (2022)
