In a rapidly evolving global context, the European space sector is faced with promising opportunities and new challenges and needs a well-thought and coordinated space policy. The high-level conference #EUSPACE for Business, organised under the auspices of the Austrian Presidency of of the Council of the European Union with the support of ESPI, brought together public and private stakeholders to discuss issues at stake and share their vision of Europe's future in space.

ESPI coordinator of studies, Sebastien Moranta, gave a keynote presentation on U.S. space policy and implications for Europe at the SIRIUS Space Talks 2018 conference organised in Toulouse by the SIRIUS Chair in collaboration with Space'ibles (CNES) on the theme “Space Economy: Urgent Need for New Global Regulation?”

As a follow-up and complement of ESPI Public Report 64 on "Security in Outer Space: Rising Stakes for Europe", this new ESPI report puts in perspective European and U.S. approaches to security in outer space and investigates the implications of recent policy developments for transatlantic relations in this domain.

With evolving propulsion capabilities of cubesats, new mission opportunities for governments and private sector are becoming enabled or facilitated, adding to the promising outlook of evolving cubesat utilization landscape. Beyond the opportunities that advanced propulsion generates for new cubesat applications, it also raises a number of new issues related to cubesat operations in orbit.

This latest edition of the Space Policies, Issues and Trends report covering the 2017 to 2018 period is now available for download. This report series provides an overview of global space activities, focusing on national and international developments related to the global space economy, space industry evolutions, the European institutional market, military space, and space policies and strategies around the world.