Germany will be the largest contributor to the European space agency Esa in the next few years, but space travel only takes up a few lines in the coalition agreement. After all, space travel and new space – that is, start-ups – are considered to be “central future technologies” there. Red-Green-Yellow wants to strengthen the national space program and preserve an independent Esa. “We are developing a new space strategy that takes into account the avoidance and recovery of space debris,” it continues. A German space law that could help regulate this is still not in sight.
The modified Ministry of Economic Affairs, which is to be led by the Greens Robert Habeck, will continue to be responsible for space travel. Dieter Janecek, spokesman for industrial policy in the Greens parliamentary group, brought the issue up at the coalition negotiations. His party has “attached importance to the fact that when it comes to space travel, sustainable uses, new space and space junk are in the foreground,” he says, including reusable rockets, for example. “With this we want to take into account, among other things, the role of space travel in climate protection and climate monitoring,” adds SPD space expert Johann Saathoff.
The space law, which has been planned for two legislative periods, does not appear in the coalition agreement. So far, the taxpayer has to pay for any damage caused by space missions, companies could be made liable by law. “We have to clarify legal issues and remove uncertainties for New Space actors,” says Janecek. After all, space travel is an “important part of industry”, whether it is about automated driving, satellites, rockets or telecommunications and earth observation. “A national space law can create investment and legal security for non-governmental space activities,” says Saathoff: “I am also concerned with the responsible use of space.”
The Greens and FDP, who had previously supported a national space law, are now thinking about whether the legal situation in space could not be regulated across the EU. “What matters is that there is a European law,” says Janecek. Coalition partner FDP is also following this line. Reinhard Houben, economic policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group, warns against “adopting national overregulation that would lead to competitive disadvantages for German companies on the EU internal market”. Therefore, the FDP will also examine a European space law.
Starting place yes, but not for reasons of prestige
So far, however, Article 189 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU speaks against it. “That explicitly rules out such harmonization,” says Cologne space lawyer Ingo Baumann. “The EU could of course change the treaty, but I think that is unlikely”. Instead, he could imagine a kind of coordination group in which the EU member states exchange ideas on the subject of space regulation “in order to agree on common approaches”. This would prevent competition at the regulatory level. Baumann is convinced that there will be at least one national law. “We have an advanced draft that has been in the vote at unit level for a long time”. In view of increasing space travel activities in Germany, whether it is small rockets or Ororatech’s planned satellite fire detection system, “we cannot avoid a national regulation”.
The much discussed rocket launch site in the North Sea will also need a space law and will keep the new government busy. “It is crucial that the launch site is not only built for reasons of prestige,” says Janecek. The FDP is more decisive: there is no question that “it is in the interests of the federal government to secure independent European access to space,” says Houben. Saathoff from the SPD sees “a very promising project” to meet the growing demand for small satellites.
As far as the space budget is concerned, the announcements sound optimistic so far from an industry perspective. “Space is one of the great future fields, I assume that the budget will be increased accordingly in the next few years,” says Janecek. His traffic light colleagues also expect this. Who will represent the federal government as coordinator for the aerospace industry should be decided on Thursday at the earliest – so far this has been Thomas Jarzombek (CDU), who has been particularly committed to start-ups and commercialization since 2018.