Without a safe and sustainable space operational environment, Europe (and international community at large) cannot fully develop and utilise the immense value of space for the broader society and economy.
Space safety and sustainability concerns have become widely recognised issues in policy-making and the available evidence signals a continuation of this trend in the foreseeable future. While multiple concurrent developments and trends are magnifying the concerns related to safety of space operations and sustainability of the space environment, new opportunities arise for more impactful policy making, leveraging technological innovation, emerging commercial and investment dynamics, and a growing global awareness.
Building on this foundation, this report brings a targeted perspective on the future policy-making in the domain of space safety and sustainability, offering a suite of policy drivers and options for decision-makers and executives at national, European and international levels.
These considerations are built on the foundation of research results highlighting major awareness and policy momentum for space safety and sustainability, visible in national strategies, international agenda, as well as private sector engagement
The study does not aim at offering a comprehensive and exhaustive insight into a broad range of safety and sustainability issues. Instead, it takes a more focused approach, leveraging results of a specific research led by ESPI in support of a recurrent “Horizon Scanning” exercise within the EUSST Partnership, under the responsibility and coordination of the German Space Agency at DLR. Perspectives presented in this report are ESPI’s viewpoints and not necessarily those of DLR or EUSST.
