Space Domain Awareness and the EU’s securitization of space

Introduction

Since the EU introduced the 2021-2027 Space Programme, it has assumed an entrepreneurial role in coining new concepts and terms to frame its increasingly versatile space activities. As the EU’s action in space gradually developed to increase new projects, so did the terminology employed in the EU’s official document addressing space affairs. In particular, the EU conceptual framework for space expanded to include comprehensive notions such as Space Situational Awareness (SSA) and Space Domain Awareness (SDA) that add to the more pragmatic ones of Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST) and Space Traffic Management (STM). This paper analyses how diverse notions have come to be in some of the EU’s space-related programmatic documents and how they relate to one another. Such an analysis is key to understanding the current trends of the EU’s action in space, trends which
in turn imply restructuring the space policy governance.

From Technological Standards to Strategic Objectives

In the EU’s space-related programmatic documents, the designation of space activities uses a wide array of terms and concepts. Much of the terminological repertoire has been recently introduced along with the EU Space Programme rather than with the long-established flagship projects Galileo and Copernicus, preceding components of the Programme. Those perfectly fit the conventional categories of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and Earth Observation (EO) with no need for further conceptual framing. Moreover, Galileo and Copernicus were designed to allow the EU to catch up with other spacefaring nations in terms of technological capabilities, as it was the concern “about being dependent on US systems that sparked the Galileo, Copernicus and Egnos satellite navigation and earth observation programmes” (Tani, 2022). On the contrary, recent EU space initiatives explore new applications of satellite systems, requiring additional terms and concepts. Since the EU issued the Regulation (EU) 2021/696 establishing the EU space programme and the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (referred to as the “Space Directive”), it has not only worked to improve European space capabilities to meet other spacefaring nations’ technical standards, but it also begun indicating which strategic functions those technologically advanced space assets should perform (European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, 2021). In particular, the Space Directive clarifies that “Space technology, data and services (…) play an essential role in preserving many strategic interests”, thus acknowledging the strategic importance of space assets and expressing the EU’s interest in taking care of such an aspect (European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, 2021, p. 1). Also, Regulation 2021/696 enables the EU to enact regulatory measures on the use of its satellite services “to  maximise the socio-economic benefits of Galileo and EGNOS, while contributing to Union’s strategic autonomy, particularly in sensitive sectors and in the area of safety and security” (European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, 2021, p. 12). Therefore, the EU has gradually shifted from being a mere receptor of technical standards to playing a leading role in defining the strategic objectives of satellite applications.

About the author: 

Matilde Sacchi works at Finabel’s defence & security research department.