https://spacewatch.global/features/ AN INDEPENDENT PERSPECTIVE ON SPACE Fri, 19 Jun 2026 10:49:50 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 https://spacewatch.global/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/SpaceWatchGlobal-Sign-90x90.png https://spacewatch.global/features/ 32 32 https://spacewatch.global/2026/06/spacewatchgl-opinion-space-for-all-or-space-for-those-already-there/ Fri, 19 Jun 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=75041
Written by Judith Delany
ICAAD’s new policy brief on equity in space governance raises a question COPUOS can no longer avoid: who gets to shape the rules of the next space age?]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/06/spacewatchgl-opinion-can-30-people-and-the-vienna-spirit-carry-the-future-of-space/ Thu, 18 Jun 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=74979
Written by Judith Delany
As satellites multiply, geopolitical tensions rise, and space governance grows more complex, COPUOS and UNOOSA face mounting pressure to keep international cooperation alive.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/06/spacewatchgl-analysis-peaceful-provided-nobody-looks-too-closely-what-does-peace-mean-in-space/ Wed, 17 Jun 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=74929
Written by Raoul Cardellini Leipertz
How an old compromise still shapes the future of outer space. Because the Outer Space Treaty did not settle the meaning of peace. It gave the world a word broad enough to hold several disagreements at once, and sturdy enough, for a time, to hold up the sky. ]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/06/spacewatchgl-opinion-do-space-infrastructure-plans-ignore-physical-reality/ Mon, 15 Jun 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=74855
Written by K.-P. Ludwig
The future of space may be constrained less by funding or launch capacity than by orbital physics and geopolitical competition. As military and commercial constellations proliferate, congestion, debris accumulation, and strategic rivalry are reshaping access to orbital space. The question is no longer how many satellites can be launched, but who will retain meaningful access to orbit and under what conditions.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/06/spacewatchgl-analysis-solar-farms-in-orbit-the-legal-framework-for-addressing-a-new-risk-to-the-kessler-syndrome/ Fri, 12 Jun 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=74759
Written by Dr. Anna Hurova
Outer space shall be free for exploration and use. This citation on the Outer Space Treaty (OST) became a pretext of the ambitious projects of constellations promising to shift the quality for the human society, energy efficiency and connectivity on the new higher level. This analysis is an attempt to show broader context of evaluation of such type of projects from the perspective of the common concept for environmental and space law, due regard, and pose the question about the initiation of enforcement of legal requirements for the harmful interference.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/06/spacewatchgl-analysis-allied-by-design-part-2-what-americas-cislunar-ambitions-mean-for-europe/ Thu, 11 Jun 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=74695
Written by Christophe Bosquillon
As the U.S. Space Force expands its focus beyond GEO and into cislunar space, Europe faces difficult questions about sovereignty, industrial capacity, defence cooperation, and its long-term role in the emerging Earth-Moon economy.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/06/spacewatchgl-opinion-europe-can-map-its-talent-the-harder-question-is-what-it-will-build-for-that-talent-to-do/ Wed, 10 Jun 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=74684
Written by Torsten Kriening
ESA's new Skills Digital Twin is a detailed picture of Europe's space workforce. Read closely, it points past training and toward delivery - and toward a communication problem the sector has circled for years.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/06/spacewatchgl-analysis-allied-by-design-part-1-how-the-u-s-space-force-plans-to-extend-operations-beyond-ge/ Tue, 09 Jun 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=74630
Written by Christophe Bosquillon
The U.S. Space Force's latest strategic documents envision an Allied-by-design architecture stretching from launch infrastructure to cislunar operations. This first part examines how launch capabilities, funding mechanisms, and emerging cislunar security requirements could reshape cooperation between the United States and its partners.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/06/spacewatchgl-opinion-smallsat-europe-amsterdam-2026-sovereign-on-paper-dual-use-in-practice/ Fri, 05 Jun 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=74540 At SmallSat Europe in Amsterdam, defence took over the show. A German general pitched a European Space Command, the EU Space Act crawled toward 2030, and the dual-use question nobody wants to answer hung over every panel. Europe spoke sovereignty fluently - and built it haltingly. A publisher's view from the RAI floor.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/06/spacewatchgl-opinion-the-space-industry-has-outgrown-mirror-hiring/ Thu, 04 Jun 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=74499
Written by Judith Delany
The space sector prides itself on innovation, yet many companies continue to hire from the same universities, networks and professional circles. In an industry built on exploring new frontiers, perhaps it is time to rethink where we look for talent.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/06/spacewatchgl-opinion-a-month-on-what-stuck-from-luxembourg-space-resources-week-2026/ Tue, 02 Jun 2026 09:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=74415
Written by Remco Timmermans
One month after Luxembourg Space Resources Week 2026, several themes continue to stand out: a growing focus on implementation, the strategic value of data, the expanding role of industry, and a more pragmatic view of the road to the Moon.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/06/spacewatchgl-opinion-space-power-and-the-architecture-of-the-new-world-order/ Mon, 01 Jun 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=74340
Written by K.-P. Ludwig
Europe increasingly understands the strategic importance of space, yet implementation continues to lag behind ambition. As geopolitical competition accelerates, the gap between policy objectives and operational capability is becoming harder to ignore.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/05/spacewatchgl-orbital-venturing-chapter-2-the-perils-of-a-sheltered-upbringing/ Thu, 28 May 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=74259
Written by Jascha Langenberg
We must confront the uncomfortable reality that Europe’s abundant public funding ecosystem can act as a commercial sedative, sheltering start-ups from the harsh realities of market validation until it is far too late.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/05/spacewatchgl-opinion-europes-space-industry-faces-a-structural-tipping-point/ Wed, 27 May 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=74229
Written by Gilles Rabin
Two political signals from Berlin and Washington have exposed a deeper structural issue in Europe’s space sector. The challenge is no longer technological capability, but the ability to build a market that can scale, compete, and act independently.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/05/spacewatchgl-opinion-orbital-ai-compute-why-spacex-thinks-the-future-of-ai-infrastructure-may-leave-earth/ Mon, 25 May 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=74139
Written by Lucas Buthion
SpaceX’s IPO filing does not just outline a new business line. It reveals a long-term bet that AI growth will outpace Earth’s ability to power it. Orbital compute is framed not as science fiction, but as a potential next layer of infrastructure, built on the assumption that energy, not chips, becomes the limiting factor.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/05/spacewatchgl-opinion-boiling-frogs-in-orbit-what-the-csis-swf-2026-threat-briefing-tells-us-about-where-space-security-is-heading/ Sun, 24 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=74133 Torsten Kriening reviews the joint CSIS-Secure World Foundation briefing on the 2026 space threats landscape, where Kari Bingen, Victoria Samson, Kathleen Brett and Clayton Swope walked through dynamic space operations, the limits of two-line elements, and Golden Dome's trillion-dollar threshold question. The most operationally significant development of the past week, however, came from Greg Gillinger's open-source analysis of Russian Cosmos satellites manoeuvring into co-planar orbits with ICEYE-X36. A European problem.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/05/space-enabled-isr/ Fri, 22 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=74122 At Deep Tech Momentum 2026 in Berlin, the conversation on European space-enabled ISR took place behind closed doors. Held under the Chatham House Rule and moderated by Lt Gen (ret) Sir Tom Copinger-Symes, the session diagnosed Europe's latency problem, the limits of national sovereignty, and the procurement gap holding German space capability back.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/05/spacewatchgl-opinion-earth-observation-isnt-infrastructure-thats-the-problem/ Wed, 20 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=74036
Written by Karolina Sarna
Earth Observation keeps calling itself infrastructure. The market behaves as if it isn’t. As long as EO requires explanation, integration, and active decision-making, it remains a product, not the layer beneath it.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/05/spacewatchgl-opinion-we-can-build-for-space-but-can-we-take-care-of-it/ Tue, 19 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=74007
Written by Rosa Schmidt
We are still early in space. Just early enough to shape it. Just late enough to start seeing the consequences.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/05/spacewatchgl-opinion-golden-dome-and-the-cost-of-deterrence-in-orbit/ Mon, 18 May 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=73951
Written by K.-P. Ludwig
A trillion-dollar estimate triggered a rare public pushback from the U.S. Space Force. Behind it sits a quieter shift: missile defense in orbit is no longer a question of feasibility, but of scale and execution.]]>