News

The sector of the High-Altitude Platform Stations (HAPS) is currently experiencing important dynamism, with multiple initiatives taking place in the United States and Europe. Missions performed by these systems are similar to satellites' missions, while HAPS provide specific benefits to their users. Against this background, ESPI Executive Brief 39 analyses the potential impact of HAPS' development on the space sector and the response of European actors.

ESPInsights is a quarterly publication providing the reader with a synthetic overview of major developments in the global space sector on the covered period and embeds useful links to official documents, public reports, web articles or conference websites for further details on the topic.

We regret to inform you that due to the worsening situation with regard to the spread of COVID19, the planned ESPI event “The relevant actors in space governance and their impact on space law making – A reflection on European views” will not take place. We wish you all the best and look forward to welcoming you at ESPI in another occasion.

The launch of the first commercial IOS mission, the Mission Extension Vehicle-1, marked a concrete progress in both technological and business areas of servicing operations, offering new interesting prospects for the space sector at large with a potentially disruptive impact. This ESPI Brief examines the challenges of IOS solutions and considers the implications at European level.

ESPI partcipated to a panel on "Space security and threats" during the GOVSATCOM 2020 conference (Luxembourg, February 20th). ESPI Coordinator of Studies, Sebastien Moranta, discussed about rising stakes for Europe in the field of space security, safety and sustainability and called attention to the role of Space Traffic Management in this domain. The GOVSATCOM conference has become a key event on the agenda of the international SATCOM actors. This edition gathered over 500 participants.