"The objectives for this study are threefold: to assess the current competitiveness of the European space industry; to determine the factors that are key to the future competitiveness of the European space sector; to evaluate the role played by EU policies in this area, notably the EU space programme, the EU framework for research and technological development, as well as ESA policies. As such the study provides a snapshot of where the sector is heading in competitive terms. It identifies obstacles for development that might be taken away by policy action and assesses the role of policy in the sector as such."--Editor.

Recent significant developments in the European space sector have had an impact on business and the growth of national and European commercial space law. This book analyses and assesses the legal issues and key factors influencing the space sector in Europe. It is an up-to-date guide to the regulatory background of space projects and examines the typical legal problems which need to be solved by practitioners in the field. Taking into account public and commercial international law and practice, this book examines substantive issues of law specific to launchers, satellite manufacturers and space service providers with contributions from leading experts and practitioners in the field of European space law and policy.

This study prepared by TNO analyzes a part of European Space Policy and Programme under three main themes: space related applications and market players; benefits from the European Space Policy and Program; and governance aspects and policy implications. As instructed by study's administrators, the report concentrates on two primary sectors of interest - Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), including Galileo, and Earth Observation, including the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security initiative (GMES). In addition, the report covers, albeit in fewer detail, access to space and European launcher programme and contains a general analysis of European Space Programme (including a view from international perspective).

The objectives of the study is to support the EU for the potential policy development in the field of the access to space by providing a comparative analysis of the international practices and related existing national space policies and legal frameworks of the following major space-faring nations: USA, Russia, China, Japan and India. The analysis should consider the development of national infrastructures, production and exploitation (e.g. organizational set-ups, costs, and governances), R&D activities (e.g. cost reductions, reliability, availability, non-dependence), how nations are supporting their local private sector and how the institutional demands participate in the support of their launch systems. In addition, an analysis of the present situation and how trends could impact the launch sector in the short, mid and long terms. Lessons learnt from international competition and recommendations applicable to the European case should be then derived.

In the modern world, technical issues define space policy. Missing from discussions of space policy, however, is a consideration of the political consequences of new space endeavors, particularly in the context of the European Union. This book, therefore, approaches space policy instead from the discipline of European studies and analyzes the European integration process through the lenses of political science, history, economics, and international relations. The strengths of each discipline are used to apply theoretical approaches to current issues in European space policy. Theorizing European Space Policy is the latest contribution to the growing debate on space policy and its role in the European integration process.

This book analyzes the policies and space economy programs of major space-faring nations and explores whether the present institutional set-up in Europe is adequate to address the challenges. At the core of the discussion are the relative roles of governments and markets in a highly dynamic panorama that involves advancements in science, modifications in technology and organization, and the introduction of new rules of behavior. After a close examination of the history of development of the space economy, and the shift from the centralized model to deregulation and the opening up of space activities to commercial companies, a wide-ranging overview of global space governance is provided. National and regional perspectives are discussed, and the current role of commercial actors in the global space system is elucidated. The various challenges faced by Europe are then examined, including the threat posed by institutional and market fragmentation to the emergence of European companies able to compete with companies of nations such as the USA. The final part of the book analyzes proposals for reforming of the space system in Europe and offers a vision for future European space policy.

This book is focused on militarization as the nucleus of EU space policy and the interrelatedness of European security, industrial competitiveness, and military capabilities in the shaping of this policy. The EU and key member states have increasingly joined the US, China and Russia, among others, in regarding space assets as critical military, as well as economic, industrial, and technological, enablers. This book tackles this issue by, first, shedding light on the military aspects of EU space policy, with special emphasis on the security and defence dimensions of projects such as Galileo, Copernicus, Space Situational Awareness, and Satellite Communication. In this context, contributors confront the empirical aspect of developments, including the role of different institutional actors and the involvement of specific member states. Further, the volume analyses the discursive, ideological, normative, and theoretical foundations of the use of space by the EU for strategic purposes, drawing on the broad spectrum of European integration/International Relations theory. Last, but not least, the volume discusses initiatives outside the EU by key global space players, with an emphasis on the US and transatlantic space relations. All chapters maintain a solid empirical foundation, in the form of geographical or issue-related focus, with an area-specific emphasis on the EU as a whole, transatlantic relations, the policies of key member states (such as France and Italy), and core space powers such as the US, China and India. This book will be of much interest to students of space power, security studies, European politics and International Relations.