On October 1st and 2nd 2024, the 18th ESPI Autumn Conference “Scaling European Space Capabilities for Security & Defence: From Ambition to Implementation” took place at the Urania Observatory in Vienna.
ESPI welcomed 200 attendees from a broad spectrum of the space security and defence ecosystem. In this regard, the participants represented various organisations, including 24% from policy (ministries, parliaments), 25% from industry, 8% from space agencies, 9% from armed forces and space commands, 19% from academia/think tanks, and 3% from media. Attendees represented 46 countries, with 85% from Europe, and 15% from outside Europe.
The 27 speakers at the conference also reflected this diverse ecosystem involved in space security and defence in Europe. Of the speakers, 31% represented policy organisations (ministries, EU institutions and agencies), 23% were from space agencies (ESA and national), 19% from academia/think tanks, 15% from the commercial/private sector, and 12% from armed forces and space commands.
The theme of this year’s conference explored how Europe could better leverage its space capabilities to meet the continent’s security and defence needs. The topic has been addressed from different perspectives, including think tanks, military space, policy, and industry.
Overall, the speakers agreed that Europe needs more political will as the main driver by increasing funding and creating a European coherent industrial policy to boost European internal competition to enhance overall resilience. Moreover, the speakers called for increasing and better leveraging capabilities, addressing needs and requirements of national space commands, enhancing a European common understanding on (hybrid) space threats, investing in personnel with training and exercises, as well as for creating a framework for civil/commercial-military cooperation at national and European level.
The conference was comprised of keynote speeches, four sessions, and one thematic debate. Session 1 provided views from the think tank community, Session 2 focused on the military space perspectives, and Session 3 aimed to bring together reflections from the perspectives of policy makers and implementors. Additionally, this year’s Autumn Conference welcomed a thematic debate providing views from an industrial standpoint. The conference concluded with Session 4, which meant to combine the different views and reflect upon all previous discussions providing a wrap-up on how to transition from ambition to implementation in a coordinated and cooperated manner between all stakeholders at national, EU, ESA and NATO levels, as well as military, civil and commercial actors.
The conference opened with welcoming remarks by ESPI Director Hermann Ludwig Moeller who emphasized the importance of the topic space security and defence in the current geopolitical situation and ESPI’s increased focus on activities in this topic. Opening Remarks were provided by Karin Tausz, Managing Director of the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG), followed by a Keynote Speech by Maj. Gen. Philippe Adam, Commander of the French Space Command, about the relevance of space security and defence, the need to enhance the understanding of threats, France role in Europe as pioneer in space security and defence, as well as the need for commercial integration. As a surprise point in the programme, a video message of Anders Fogh Rasmussen was displayed, in which he highlighted the role of space for security and defence in the current geopolitical situation.
The conference programme continued with Session 1 “Think Tank Perspectives”, which was introduced and moderated by Lina Pohl, ESPI Research Fellow and Relations Officer for Germany & Austria, seconded by DLR, and comprised of 4 speakers from think tanks: Andrea Rotter, Head of the Division Foreign and Security Policy, Hanns Seidel Stiftung (HSS), Xavier Pasco, Director of the Foundation for Strategic Research (FRS), Jana Robinson, Managing Director of the Prague Security Studies Institute (PSSI), and Benjamin Ang, Head of the Centre of Excellence for National Security and Head of Digital Impact Research at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS).
The session’s discussions focused on the role of think tanks in shaping European and national space security policies by providing recommendations to policy makers, and thereby supporting the collective effort in bridging space, security and defence. Moreover, the speakers discussed the (hybrid) space threat landscape, feedback on the EU Space Strategy on Security and Defence and an assessment on its implementation, the governance challenge in Europe towards a collective coordinated defence, the outside perspective on Europe’s ambitions, as well as international cooperation in space security in the NATO framework, with the US and APAC countries. After the panel discussion and a Q&A involving the audience, the session closed with the announcement of the launch of ESPI’ s Network of European Space Policy Think Tanks (NEST) Initiative, which provides a platform for a continuation of exchanges and cooperation between think tanks.
The programme continued with Session 2 “Military Space Perspectives”, comprised of representatives of space commands and space units of armed forces. The session continued discussions between space military actors during the closed-door Roundtable of European Space Commands and Ministries of Defence on September 30th. The session was introduced and moderated by Mathieu Bataille, ESPI Research Fellow and Lead of Security & Defence, and composed of the speakers Colonel Thomas Spangenberg, Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff, German Space Command, Colonel Eduardo Sánchez Pintado, Chief of Exercise and Training, Spanish Space Command, Brigadier General Friedrich Teichmann, Director, Geospatial Institute, Austrian Ministry of Defence, and Colonel Leszek Paszkowski, Chief of Geospatial Intelligence & Satellite Services Agency, Ministry of Defence Poland.
After a closed-door “European Roundtable of Space Commands and Ministries of Defence on September 30th, this session aimed at continuing the exchanges between the military space actors in a public setting. The session discussed the increased relevance and creation of space commands in Europe, their main roles/tasks, major space threats (jamming/spoofing of GPS signals, space debris), and challenges/hurdles (gaps in budget, personnel/training, exercises) that the space commands are facing, the situation of each national space command/entity in the broader national governance especially regarding military-civil coordination of SSA, and requirements/needs that need to be addressed.
After the two sessions, the conference closed with two keynote speeches by Maj. Gen. (ret.) Michel Friedling, CEO of Look Up Space, Former Head of the French Space Command, and member of the ESPI Advisory Council, and by Samantha Cristoforetti, ESA Astronaut, member of the European Astronaut Corps, and member of the ESPI Advisory Council. Gen. Maj. Friedling highlighted the need to identify main challenges, assess if they can be addressed nationally or collectively and recalled that space commands are still restricted to exchange/share data (classified data/information) while information sharing would be possible under a complex cooperation framework. Samantha Cristoforetti highlighted the use of space in the war in Ukraine and the synergy between space exploration and space security and defence.
At the exclusive Evening Reception at Juwel, an opening speech was given by Eric Morel de Westgaver, Director of Strategy, Legal and External Affairs at ESA on ESA’s role in space security, followed by a keynote speech by Marcin Mazur, Vice President of the Polish Space Agency (POLSA) about Poland’s national governance of and developments in space security and defence. The evening’s programme was closed with a short “New Space Pitch” given by Robert Sproles, CEO, Exolaunch, on the role of new space.
The second day of the conference began with welcoming remarks by Matija Renčelj, ESPI Research Manager, followed by opening remarks by Eric Morel de Westgaver, Director of Strategy, Legal and External Affairs at ESA and Margit Mischkulnig, Head of the Department for Space Affairs at the Federal Ministry of Climate Action, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology (BMK) and member of the ESPI Advisory Council. The opening remarks were followed by a Keynote Speech provided by Christoph Kautz, Director for Satellite Navigation and Earth Observation (DG DEFIS) in the European Commission, highlighting that enhancing a common European strategic posture and closing the capability gap between and within countries are key to a more resilient space sector.
The conference continued with Session 3 “Policy & Implementation Perspectives”, introduced and moderated by Matija Renčelj, ESPI Research Manager and was comprised of the speakers Orsolya Ferencz, Ministerial Commissioner for Space Research at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade of Hungary, Marjolijn van Deelen, Special Envoy for Space at European External Action Service (EEAS), Eleni Patouni, Project Officer for Space Research & Technology activities at EDA, Major General (ret) Pascal Legai, Senior Adviser to ESA DG & Security Coordinator at ESA, and Major General Luca De Martinis, Director of the IV Department at the Ministry of Defence Italy.
The session addressed views on current policies and strategies in Europe, the level of their implementations, the question how to deal with dual use, R&D, capability development and procurement, as well as the roles of the multiple policy and implementor actors (EEAS, EDA, ESA, and member states presented by a Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a Ministry of Defence) and how to bridge them to cooperate in a coordinated manner.
After Session 3, the next programme point was the thematic debate “Perspectives on the Industrial Dimension”, which was moderated and introduced by Peggy Hollinger, International Business Editor for the Financial Times and ESPI Advisory Council member and composed of the two speakers Pacôme Révillon, CEO of Novaspace, and Andrea de Blasi, Managing Director & Partner at Boston Consulting Group (BCG). The debate focused on the industrial perspective, providing key KPIs of the space economy and the synergy of the space and security and defence industry, discussing Europe’s budget constraints and the relevance of a approach to procurement and the need for a more effective procurement strategy that moves beyond project-based initiatives.
Following the thematic debate, Walther Pelzer, Director General of the German Space Agency at DLR, Member of the DLR Executive Board, and member of the ESPI Advisory Council, gave a keynote speech highlighting DLR institutions serving both military and civil security, such as the SSA center jointly operated by the German Space Agency (civil SSA/SST) and the Space Command (military) as well as the ZKI center for satellite-based crisis information, the military aspects of the new German space law, as well as the relevance of ESA’s georeturn policy to maintain Europe-internal competition to ensure resilience.
The keynote was followed by the conference’s last session, Session 4 “From Ambition to Implementation: Leveraging Different Dimensions” which was introduced and moderated by Etienne Schneider, Chair of ESPI Advisory Council and Former Deputy Prime Minister of Luxembourg. The session was composed of speakers from all previous sessions to bring together the different perspectives in a final wrap-up session. Jana Robinson, Managing Director of the Prague Security Studies Institute (PSSI), Marjolijn van Deelen, Special Envoy for Space at the European External Action Service (EEAS), Orsolya Ferencz, Ministerial Commissioner for Space Research at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade of Hungary, Colonel Thomas Spangenberg, Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff at the German Space Command and Major General Luca De Martinis, Director of the IV Department at the Ministry of Defence Italy.
In the session it was discussed that there needs to be greater investment and sustained budgetary commitment, that harmonisation efforts and procurement speed will be essential in closing the capability gap at EU level and the question if Europe will become a space power in the future.
After the sessions, the conference concluded with a ceremony for the two winners of ESPI’s Essay Competition, which was organised and presented by Lucas Bersegol, ESPI Research Fellow seconded by CNES. For the second time, ESPI organised the Essay Competition in synergy with the ESPI Autumn Conference, inviting students and young professionals to submit Essays that are addressing research questions related to the conference topic. In line with this year’s conference topic, the participants could choose one of three research areas: (1) Re-Capabilities; (3) Integration of Commercial Capabilities for Security & Defence Endeavours.
The two winners of the Essay Competition were Margherita Penna, PhD Candidate in Legal Studies for Innovation at the Center of Higher Defence Studies, University of Turin, Italy, with an essay on the topic “Militarisation of Outer Space: A Comparative Look at the Military Doctrines in France, Germany and Italy under International Law” and Bence Kertész, Student and Researcher specialising in international relations, space research and cyber security, University of Public Service, Hungary, with an essay on the topic “The Diffusion of Counterspace Capabilities and Technologies”.
The two winners presented their study and key results and received a certificate from ESPI Director H. Ludwig Moeller.
More information about the ESPI Essay Competition 2024 can be found here.
The conference closed with final remarks by ESPI Director H. Ludwig Moeller, summarising key statements from the conference, showing statistics with information on the panellists and audience (sector, nationality, age) and closed the conference with the announcement of the next ESPI Autumn Conference 2025, which will take place in Rathaus Wien and will cover the topic “Europe as a Space Power – Directionality & Priorities of Strategic Action” in October 2025 (date TBC). Subscribe to ESPI’s Newsletter to be informed about ESPI’s 19th Autumn Conference.f
A gallery of photos from this year’s Autumn Conference can be found below:
ESPI family photo:
In synergy with the Autumn Conference, two additional ESPI events took place:
Roundtable of European Space Commands and Ministries of Defence
On September 30th, ESPI organised a Roundtable of European Space Commands and Ministries of Defence, providing a platform for coordinated discussions and exchanges on current challenges and best practices. This dialogue was further pursued during the conference, in particular, in the public setting, offered by Session 2, “Military Space Perspectives”.
Launch of Network of European Space Policy Think Tanks (NEST)
Moreover, as announced during Session 1 “Think Tank Perspectives”, ESPI launched the Network of European Space Policy Think Tanks (NEST) Initiative with an official and dedicated Launch Event on October 2nd afternoon, right after the conference.
The conference was attended by media, including Spacewatch Global, having conducted interviews with speakers and having reported about the conference. Shortly before the conference, ESPI released a factsheet on space, security and defence with key facts and figures.
Spacewatch Global reporting about the conference and talks with speakers, which you can view here.
You can also provide your feedback on our 18th Autumn Conference here.
Key Demographics from this year’s Autumn Conference:
For any questions related to this year’s Autumn Conference, please contact ESPI Research Fellow seconded by DLR and Germany & Austria Relations Officer, Lina Pohl at <lina.pohl@espi.or.at>.
Photos by Rainer Mirau; video shot and edited by ESPI’s Engagement Officer, Sonja Agata Bišćan.
