News

"Cosmonautics: the development of space-related technologies in terms of patent activity" is a new publication by the European Patent Office (EPO) and the European Space Policy Institute  in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA). The objective of this study was to examine the evolution of patent filings in the world and in Europe in order to identify major trends in selected space technology fields.

June was a busy month for the space sector. The ESA and the EU signed a new Financial Framework Partnership Agreement, there were major developments in Europe in the space quantum domain, and the French satellite communications company Rovial is leading an industrial consortium for an independent European Satcom constellation. You can read about all of these developments and more in the latest edition of ESPI Insights.

ESPI Researcher Tomas Hrozensky spoke at the inaugural issue of the Space Sustainability Talks series organised by the SichTRaum research network (Sicherheit und Technologie im Weltraum). The video recording of Tomas's talk on "Current European Efforts in Space Safety, Space Sustainability and Space Traffic Management" is available on SichTRaum's Youtube channel.

This new ESPI Report provides an informed reflection on the implication that the emergence of new spacefaring players has for Europe. Specifically, the reports raises awareness among European-decision makers on the opportunities and challenges associated to the entry of new spacefaring nations in the international space arena.

Quantum technologies offer interesting prospects with multiple applications notably in the field of secured communications. The space domain also has it's role to play offering inherent advantages when complemented with terrestrial instrafructure. Due to the central security dimension of quantum technologies the EU has accelerated its programmatic and financial support. 

This ESPI publication in the Springer series on Studies in Space Policy is dedicated to the nascent discussion of the legal aspects of human exploration and possible settlement of Mars, and provides fresh insights and new ideas in two key areas.