News

ESPI Director gave an interview with the prestigious German/English review "Cercle Diplomatique" on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the Moon landing. He elaborated on the European perspectives for Space exploration.

ESPI staff contributed to the United Nations / Austria World Space Forum titled 'Access to Space4All', which took place in Vienna between 18 and 22 November 2019. The World Space Forum is a series of annual events organised by UNOOSA with hosting countries. It consists in informal high-level gatherings of public and private space stakeholders meant to deliver messages and recommendations for the consideration of COPUOS delegations.

In October and November 2019, ESPI Resident Research Fellow Tomas Hrozensky participated as a speaker in two events in the Central and Eastern Europe region, addressing issues related to several recently published or still ongoing ESPI research studies on topics such as space security, space diplomacy, space strategy and space power.

The new European Commission, which is expected to start in December, will be marked by some substantial restructuring of commissioners' portfolios and of Directorates-General, including the consolidation of a new one devoted to "Defence Industry and Space". The last ESPI Brief examines some of the questions raised by this new milestone in the long-lasting development of EU affairs in defence and in space and by the rapprochement of these two domains.

ESPI staff attended the 70th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Washington, D.C., which took place between 20 and 25 October 2019. The involvevement of ESPI during this annual event included chairing technical sessions, participation in IAF commitees, presentation of ESPI research activities, and involvement in various side events and meetings. 

The recent evolution of the global space sector, characterised by an increased commercialisation of space activities and an overall greater maturity of the private space industry, represents a great opportunity for space agencies to revisit and enhance some of their long-standing modes of operation, in particular with regard to their interaction with the private sector.