EU SPACE for emergency management: SUNSHINE Conducts Second and Final Simulation Exercise in Brussels, Testing EU Space Data and Services Across a Full Crisis Cycle
On 6 and 7 October 2026, the EU-funded SUNSHINE project conducted its second and final Simulation Exercise (SIMEX) in Brussels. The exercise gathered civil protection professionals from across the EU to practice using EU Space Programme data and services under crisis conditions. It marked the final capacity building activity of the project, which has reached more than 300 emergency professionals over the past 2 years.
The first SIMEX, held in March 2026, tested two separate crisis scenarios on wildfires and floods. This second edition took a different approach: a table-top walk-through exercise built around one continuous scenario, which follows a single disaster across the full crisis management cycle, from preparedness to emergency response and then recovery activities.
One scenario, from preparedness to recovery
Participants acted as the national crisis cell of a fictional EU Member State. They worked in mixed groups, bringing together civil protection professionals trained in earlier SUNSHINE seminars, colleagues new to the project, and European Commission staff.
At each stage of the evolving disaster scenario, participants had to select the right EU Space data and service and explain how to access it and leverage it. This EU-level cross-cutting simulation exercise was designed to cover all components of the EU Space Programme. The services in play included the Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS), Galileo Emergency Warning Satellite Service (EWSS), Galileo Open Service Navigation Message Authentication (OSNMA), GOVSATCOM, and Space Situational Awareness (SSA).
The final step of the SUNSHINE capacity building programme
This SIMEX closes a programme which started in Tallinn, Estonia, in November 2025. Through four training seminars, three technical webinars, and two simulation exercises, the SUNSHINE project supported more than 300 emergency professionals understand how EU Space data and services support disaster management.
“From Tallinn to Brussels, we have watched civil protection professionals move from discovering EU Space data and services to using them under pressure. This final SIMEX showed how far they have come: following a single disaster from preparedness to recovery, participants knew which service to turn to at each stage and how to access it. On behalf of the SUNSHINE consortium, I warmly thank every participant, as well as the host organisations which welcomed us across Europe.”
Charly Faradji, SUNSHINE Project Manager at Telespazio France
The results of the project remain available after the exercise. All SUNSHINE training materials will be accessible and downloadable free of charge from the project page on the Union Civil Protection Knowledge Network (UCPKN) platform, and civil protection organisations will be able to reuse them to train their own teams. Furthermoe, trained participants will continue to act as SUNSHINE Ambassadors, serving as national and organisational focal points for the uptake of EU Space Programme data and services.
“This exercise allowed participants to better understand how and when to activate EU Space services in times of crisis. It was also a great opportunity to make them better aware of the potential of space services in general, and to have them discover new, yet less-known threats to the use of space services, such as space weather or malicious attacks. I hope that this knowledge will keep spreading across Europe’s civil protection community, helping to improve our preparedness.”
Eric Guyader, Project Officer at European Commission’s Directorate General for Defence Industry and Space (DG DEFIS)
The European Commission further acknowledged the contribution of the SUNSHINE project consortium, comprising Telespazio France, ALSO Space, CNES, Edelweiss Resilience, EENA, FDC, IABG and UNISTRA-SERTIT, whose combined expertise ensured the scientific rigour and operational relevance of the training.
Useful Resources:
- SUNSHINE project page on the DG ECHO’s UCPKN platform: https://civil-protection-knowledge-network.europa.eu/projects/sunshine
- EU Space Observer article on SUNSHINE : https://www.copernicus.eu/en/news/news/observer-space-civil-protection-how-sunshine-supports-disaster-resilience-europe
Background Information
In response to a European Parliament request which was further confirmed by the EU Member States at the Council of the European Union, SUNSHINE is an EU-funded project which aims to strengthen disaster resilience across Europe by facilitating the uptake of EU Space Programme data and services within civil protection frameworks. It is coordinated by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space (DG DEFIS), in strong coordination with the European Commission’s Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO).
The SUNSHINE project directly supports the objectives of the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) by promoting the uptake of EU Space data and services to strengthen disaster resilience and improve civil protection operations. Through trainings, technical assistance, exercises, and recommendations, SUNSHINE will improve the understanding of the EU Space services, and will help UCPM stakeholders and civil protection authorities across Member States exploit the full potential of these space-based capacities.