This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Key figures from Europe's space industry and other international players have converged on Paris to discuss how to advance the continent's ambitions in a global market dominated by the United States. The two-day International Space Summit that started Wednesday gathers officials, astronauts, researchers and industry leaders from about 120 countries to discuss the future of the space industry and pursue potential business deals.
"Europe is taking its destiny into its own hands, including in space," French President Emmanuel Macron said in a message posted on X. He called for innovation and investment "to build a powerful Europe, independent even in space." Here's what to know about Europe's efforts to compete in the global space race. Macron's space summit underlines his push to reduce Europe's reliance on the U.S. for vital tech services, which extends to space launches as well as satellites for communications and reconnaissance.
European nations have sought to build up their sovereign space capabilities since 2022 and Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which highlighted how Elon Musk's Starlink satellite communications service has become both a critical partner for Kyiv and a potential vulnerability. Immediately after the war erupted, there were initial doubts about whether the billionaire would continue to fund Starlink services in Ukraine. Reports said Musk refused to let Starlink to be used to support an attack on a Russian naval base in 2022.
The European Union is working on a "sovereign satellite" constellation called Iris2 that is designed to rival Starlink by providing secure communications and connectivity to the 27-nation bloc's citizens. However, it's not expected to be fully operational until 2030. Another inflection point came this year after the Iran war broke out and U.S. satellite imaging companies Planet Labs and Vantor started withholding images of the conflict region in the Middle East, apparently to prevent adversaries from attacking the U.S. and allies.
The Middle East conflict has fueled demand from countries for their own satellite imaging capabilities, said Emiliano Kargieman, CEO of Satellogic, which signed a deal earlier this year to supply Portugal with two high-resolution imaging satellites. "For Europe there's a lot at stake," the director general of the European Space Agency (ESA), Josef Aschbacher said. "Satellites are really being utilized day in, day out.
It's what we call a critical infrastructure, therefore extremely important for every citizen." The United States remains the global leader in the space sector, with NASA conducting major exploration missions and overseeing the Artemis program, which aims to establish a human presence on the moon. Musk's rocket company, SpaceX, has transformed the commercial launch industry by making reusable rockets operational, lowering costs and increasing the frequency of launches. Meanwhile, Amazon launched its first internet satellites in 2025.
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