Brussels hopes to be able to launch a global system of small satellites for six billion euros, which will give the Union full strategic autonomy in communication from 2028.
After almost a decade of fruitless deliberations, the European Commission now sees the time to come up with a big hit. By 2028, she wants to ensure that Europe can operate satellite-based telecommunications independently of third countries and the private corporations of Silicon Valley billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos: fast Internet that is securely encrypted using quantum technology and thanks to a network that spans the entire globe of hundreds of small satellites in different orbits.
The draft regulation presented on Tuesday describes the areas of application of this satellite project: surveillance operations, crisis management, including civil defense and humanitarian operations in natural or man-made disasters, and the linking and protection of key infrastructure. Under the proposed law, the EU will own all of the infrastructure needed to build and operate the new satellite system. “It is crucial for the security of the Union and its Member States and for the security and integrity of government services that, where possible, the components of the program are launched from the territories of the Member States,” the text reads.
Free from USA and Russia
In other words, cooperation with the USA or Russia is not to be expected here. However, the components of the network are not only to be shot into orbit from the Kourou space center in French Guiana. “Microstart systems” (“microlaunchers”) are intended to create the necessary flexibility.
The “Transport Layer” system of the United States Spaces Development Agency with its 300 to more than 500 satellites at an altitude of 750 to 1200 kilometers and “Sfera” of the Russian state agency Roscosmos with 640 satellites at an altitude of 870 kilometers are cited as models in the footnotes of the text of the regulation called.
tight frequencies
EU Commissioner for Internal Market, Services, Space and Defence, Thierry Breton, a former CEO of French high-tech companies and a space enthusiast who has written several science fiction novels himself, is the driving force behind this project. He brushed aside critical questions rather impatiently on Tuesday. Is it still physically possible to find sufficient frequencies for the new EU satellite network? “We know where to find these frequencies. That is not a problem for me. But to finalize that, we need to negotiate with the member states.”
And will the estimated six billion euros last until 2027, of which 2.4 billion euros are to come from the EU budget and the rest from the member states and private stakeholders? For comparison: The Galileo navigation system, which is based on two dozen satellites, cost more than 13 billion euros. “These are very small satellites, not mastodons like Galileo that weigh a ton or two,” Breton said. “It will be a completely different system than Galileo. We are confident that the amount will be enough.”