https://spacewatch.global/tag/space-sovereignty/ AN INDEPENDENT PERSPECTIVE ON SPACE Tue, 03 Nov 2026 11:31:52 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.4 https://spacewatch.global/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/SpaceWatchGlobal-Sign-90x90.png https://spacewatch.global/tag/space-sovereignty/ 32 32 https://spacewatch.global/2026/11/spacewatchgl-opinion-bailouts-billions-and-satellites-europes-space-defence-illusion/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 09:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=79759
Written by K.-P. Ludwig.
Europe is spending billions on space security, yet national programmes, industrial interests and fragmented architectures continue to pull in different directions. K.-P. asks whether Europe is building genuine defence capability – or an increasingly expensive target catalogue.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/10/spacewatchgl-gray-space-there-is-something-not-rotten-in-the-state-of-denmark-its-views-on-how-european-governments-could-turn-space-ambitions-into-capabilities/ Fri, 23 Oct 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=79331
Written by Christophe Bosquillon.
What turns an ambitious space strategy into actual capability? Looking at a new Danish study of six European countries, Christophe Bosquillon explores why budgets, procurement and institutional authority may matter more than whether a country has a space agency.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/10/spacewatchgl-recap-espi-at-20-europes-aspirations-are-big-now-it-needs-the-nerve/ Thu, 22 Oct 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=79264
Written by Judith Delany and Torsten Kriening
At ESPI’s 20th Annual Conference in Vienna, Europe’s aspirations met the realities of a fragmenting world. The capabilities, partners and public support are there. What Europe still needs is the confidence to set its own agenda and act before the next crisis forces it to.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/10/spacewatchgl-analysis-the-sovereignty-test-what-happens-when-earth-observation-dependencies-fail/ Wed, 14 Oct 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=78925
Written by Fernando Kalleder
Sovereign Earth observation is not defined by ownership alone. The real test begins when a supplier, service or system fails. This analysis examines what Europe can learn about preserving decision-making and operational capacity under pressure.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/10/spacewatchgl-recap-day-one-what-europe-can-learn-from-riyadh/ Tue, 13 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=78914 Europe was not on the agenda in Riyadh, yet day one of the Global Space Connectivity & Sustainability Events delivered five lessons for Brussels. They cover the D2D kill switch and IRIS², unlicensed satellite service in French overseas territories, Ookla’s D2D measurement data, the GSO/NGSO spectrum fight ahead of WRC-27, and Ambassador Foradori’s warning that sustainability and security are one problem.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/10/spacewatchgl-recap-iac-2026-day-five-antalya-closes-geneva-wins-2029/ Mon, 12 Oct 2026 07:30:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=78882 IAC 2026 closed in Antalya with a vote for Geneva in 2029, the flag handover to Poznań and awards that matched the week’s themes. Torsten Kriening looks back on five days of sovereignty, Moon bases, crowded orbits and security, and asks who will write the rules for a sky that everyone now wants a piece of.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/10/spacewatchgl-recap-iac-2026-day-two-sovereignty-is-the-new-sales-pitch/ Wed, 07 Oct 2026 07:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=78686 At IAC 2026's industry plenary, Planet, Roketsan, Pixxel, The Exploration Company, Redwire and SANSA debated sovereignty versus collaboration. The verdict: it's a false dichotomy, and sovereignty is now a product. Torsten Kriening on who's selling it, and why Africa wants to build it instead.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/10/spacewatchgl-recap-iac-2026-day-two-turkiye-shows-its-sovereign-space-stack/ Tue, 06 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=78600 On day two of IAC 2026, Türkiye named the companies behind its space ambitions. Aselsan is building a 198-satellite military LEO constellation, Baykar's Fergani a navigation network at 1,200 km, a Somalia spaceport will open to foreign users, and TÜBİTAK UZAY is heading to the Moon. Torsten Kriening on Ankara's sovereign space stack.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/10/spacewatchgl-recap-iac-2026-day-one-on-the-side-stage-beijing-made-the-news/ Tue, 06 Oct 2026 07:30:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=78551
Written by Torsten Kriening
Away from the IAC 2026 main stage, the Global Networking Forum revealed another side of international space cooperation. From China's opening of Tiangong and expanding lunar partnerships to Russia's return to the international stage and the UK's sovereignty-through-partnership approach, Torsten Kriening reports from the side rooms where cooperation becomes concrete.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/10/spacewatchgl-recap-iac-2026-day-one-antalya-talks-cooperation-builds-sovereignty/ Tue, 06 Oct 2026 07:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=78549
Written by Torsten Kriening
IAC 2026 opened with a promise of international cooperation, but the message underneath was sovereignty. From Türkiye's lunar ambitions and Europe's crewed autonomy debate to NASA's reshaped Artemis plans and China's planetary defence push, Torsten Kriening reflects on the signals from day one in Antalya.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/08/spacewatchgl-analysis-how-iris2-became-a-market-rescue-programme-wrapped-in-the-language-of-european-strategic-autonomy/ Wed, 26 Aug 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=76931
Written by K.-P. Ludwig
The IRIS2 programme was conceived to address a sincere and urgent strategic need: a sovereign European satellite communication infrastructure, independent of non-European providers, capable of serving both governmental and military requirements. The instrument chosen to deliver it, the SpaceRISE consortium and its concession model, was motivated by something definitely different: the industrial and national interests of a small number of actors seeking to stabilise their own market positions through public funding. The Rendezvous 1 agreement of August 2026, far from resolving this incompatibility, has institutionalised it. This analysis examines how, why, and with what consequences for European security.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/08/spacewatchgl-opinion-europes-orbital-future-innovation-integration-or-irrelevance/ Tue, 18 Aug 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=76438
Written by K.-P. Ludwig
SPRIND’s 2026 space strategy imagines a sovereign European orbital economy built on innovation and autonomy. But the U.S. Space Command’s SWE 2040 describes a very different future: a contested domain shaped by interoperability, resilience and military integration. Can Europe pursue both sovereignty and integration, or will it ultimately have to choose?]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/08/rocket-lab-establishes-rocket-lab-germany-to-deliver-sovereign-space-and-launch-capabilities-to-europe/ Tue, 11 Aug 2026 06:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=76409 Rocket Lab has established Rocket Lab Germany to scale domestic satellite and component manufacturing and offer launch on Electron and Neutron, giving European programmes assured access to space.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/07/spacewatchgl-analysis-a-space-programme-or-just-a-subscription/ Fri, 31 Jul 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=76056
Written by Timo Krone
Why strategic autonomy in space is no longer measured by launches, but by control over infrastructure. ]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/07/spacewatchgl-opinion-the-1200-satellite-question-can-germany-deliver/ Mon, 13 Jul 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=75593
Written by K.-P. Ludwig
Germany is planning to build a military satellite constellation that would be the second-largest in the world after Starlink. However, fundamental industrial and geopolitical hurdles lie between the political will for strategic sovereignty and the actual orbit.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/07/spacewatchgl-opinion-stop-admiring-the-problem-europes-space-sovereignty-is-an-execution-failure/ Fri, 10 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=75574 A founder, a security strategist and a defence professor walked into Reflex Aerospace's new Berlin office. Between them they exposed Europe's real space problem - not technology, not vision, but execution. My notes from an evening that doubled as a warning.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/07/space-cafe-radio-with-franck-mouriaux/ Fri, 10 Jul 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=75566 Live from Eurosatory in Paris, Franck Mouriaux, acting CEO of FADA, an EDGE company, joins Torsten Kriening to explain how the UAE is building sovereign space capability at speed - the bet on SAR with the Sirb constellation, the "supermarket of data" vision behind the Zenith orchestration system, and why the real challenge is building the brains, not just the hardware.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/06/spacewatchgl-opinion-ila-2026-german-leadership-steps-up/ Wed, 24 Jun 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=75149
Written by Gilles Rabin
As Europe searches for strategic autonomy in space, ILA Berlin 2026 offered a glimpse of a changing balance of power. From the prominent presence of OHB, DLR, and ESA to growing links between space and defence, Germany demonstrated increasing confidence and influence. Yet questions remain about launch capabilities, industrial competitiveness, and whether Europe's newest space ambitions can ultimately be delivered.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/06/ila-2026-resilience-in-orbit-how-vulnerable-is-the-infrastructure-we-all-depend-on/ Fri, 19 Jun 2026 18:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=75125 At ILA 2026, ArianeGroup's Thomas Tschirner, DLR's Olaf Heintze and Monarch's Heiko Hoepfler join SpaceWatch.Global's Rosa Schmidt to ask how vulnerable our space infrastructure really is — from jamming and satellite hacking to supply chains and sovereignty.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/06/ila-2026-sovereignty-security-space-inside-germanys-new-ambition-with-dorothee-baer/ Tue, 16 Jun 2026 14:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=74975 At ILA 2026, Germany's Minister for Research, Technology and Space, Dorothee Baer, joins Space.Table's Nicola Kuhrt to discuss sovereignty, security, dual use, budgets and the national space law — and previews a new programme for young people.]]>