What comes after two days of talking about the future of space?
At the close of ESPI’s 20th Annual Conference in Vienna, SpaceWatch.Global Publisher Torsten Kriening and Editor and field reporter Judith Delany reflect on the ideas, tensions and unanswered questions that emerged from this year’s gathering.
While the conference convened under the theme “Aspirations for a New Era”, Delany observed that many conversations instead seemed to revolve around collaboration versus fragmentation in the current one. Alongside optimism about Europe’s capabilities and ambitions came a more direct acknowledgement of geopolitical divisions and the growing importance of security.
Kriening asks another question: where are the action items? Conferences can generate ideas and dialogue, but how does the sector translate them into measurable progress?
Both agree on the continuing importance of Vienna as a centre for space policy and diplomacy, particularly at a time when channels of communication are under pressure. Dialogue remains essential, but the challenge now is turning that dialogue into action.
From European ambition and the search for life to diplomacy, security and humanity itself, Kriening and Delany close two days at ESPI by asking what should come next.
