Draw inspiration from the “meteoric” emergence of American billionaires in space without always pursuing the same goals. This is the trajectory proposed this Thursday in Toulouse by Emmanuel Macron during an informal meeting of European ministers in charge of space. The meeting was intended to lay the groundwork for “clear and structuring choices”, to “ensure the spatial sovereignty of Europe”.
In terms of satellite constellations in the first place, these relays which allow broadband connectivity, for white areas, telemedicine, emergency services, for connected objects, autonomous cars, or even to control encrypted communications in the field of Defence.
Do not stay behind the Chinese and the Americans
The Chinese are ahead, the Americans too – with Elon Musk’s Starlink network in particular – and there won’t be room in orbit for many other clusters. A “ten at the most”. Emmanuel Macron urged Europe to “take its destiny into its own hands” in this area. And it was quickly granted since at the end of the day, Bruno Le Maire announced that the member countries had “unanimously” approved the principle of the launch of a European constellation of satellites in low orbit.
“We want a signal [satellitaire] European, autonomous, sovereign”, specified the Minister of the Economy who chaired the meeting. Such a “geopolitical” decision, underlined the European Commissioner Thierry Breton, author of a recent report on the question, since this constellation which will have a “north/south” trajectory will also be able to cover the African continent.
To put the constellation into orbit, but also so that Europe continues to develop its own launchers for institutional and commercial satellites, the French president praises the methods of those who, like Elon Musk but without quoting him, “have been able to marry significant public funding (…) and the velocity of private actors”.
“A common good that should be useful to all”
But for “the dream part that space carries”, exploration in the noble sense, Emmanuel Macron stands out from billionaire adventurers. “For us Europeans, the viable space model is not that of exploitation, is not that of increasing the number of space tourists for thousands, even millions of dollars, any more than the only horizon is mining the Moon, he said. We Europeans indeed cultivate a certain idea of space as a decentered view of the world and of the human condition, as a common good that should be useful to everyone. We Europeans believe more in exploration, in knowledge, and therefore in long-term human spaceflight rather than in the commodification of space”.
So, when the International Space Station (ISS) dear to Thomas Pesquet will be “disconnected” in 2030, will Europe have to choose to continue exploration alone towards the Moon and then Mars? By manned or robotic flights? And at what price? In Toulouse, the Member States and the European Space Agency (ESA) decided to appoint “a committee of experts” to settle these questions, which are both fundamental and prestigious.