satellite services.
5
In recent years, many European politicians and managers have
affirmed that the so-called Space Economy
6
is a promising and profitable source
of economy on the planet. By doing so, they reassure the public that investments
in the sector are profitable and that their continuity is justified.
According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD), the Space Economy is
The full range of activities and the use of resources that create and provide
value and benefits to human beings in the course of exploring, understanding, managing and utilising space. It goes well beyond the space manufacturing sector, also comprising the increasingly pervasive impacts of
space-derived products, services and knowledge on economies and societies.
It represents one of the most promising development trajectories of the world
economy in the coming decades.
7
Will the Space Economy really be like this in practice?
Generally speaking, the economy can be defined as an area of production, distribution, trade and consumption of goods and services by different users in a
given geographical area. Satellites are by nature connection hubs on a planetary
scale. Since the eighties, their development has largely contributed to the digital
revolution, one of the pillars of globalization. In the twenty-first century, the growing interconnection of a consumer-oriented world has led to an ever-increasing
global exchange. Yet nowadays, this economic process is increasingly criticized,
due to the social disparities it creates.
Until the nineties, all European space programs were exclusively managed by
ESA. But as it became apparent that satellites would be central to widespread
development, the European Commission took over the reins of strategic space
policy.
8
In this case, the political aspect of space outweighed the ideology
according to which scientific research should be disconnected from strategic and
geopolitical issues. As discussed previously proof of this is the Galileo project.
Europe went through with the project, despite strong US opposition, precisely
5
Commission Staff Working Document Accompanying the document Proposal for a Regulation
of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the space programme of the Union
and the European Union Agency for the Space Programme and repealing Regulations (EU) No
912/2010, (EU) No 1285/2013, (EU) No 377/2014 and Decision 541/2014/EU {COM(2018)
447 final} - {SWD(2018) 328 final}, June 2018, p. 4.
6
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. 2014. Space Economy at a glance
2014.
7
https://www.oecd.org/innovation/inno/measuring-economic-impact-space-sector.pdf.
8
European Commission. 2003. Livre blanc - Espace : une nouvelle frontière européenne pour
une Union en expansion Plan d’action pour la mise en œuvre d’une politique spatiale européenne. COM (2003) 673.
Space Economy: A Business On the Launch Pad 85
5
In recent years, many European politicians and managers have
affirmed that the so-called Space Economy
6
is a promising and profitable source
of economy on the planet. By doing so, they reassure the public that investments
in the sector are profitable and that their continuity is justified.
According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD), the Space Economy is
The full range of activities and the use of resources that create and provide
value and benefits to human beings in the course of exploring, understanding, managing and utilising space. It goes well beyond the space manufacturing sector, also comprising the increasingly pervasive impacts of
space-derived products, services and knowledge on economies and societies.
It represents one of the most promising development trajectories of the world
economy in the coming decades.
7
Will the Space Economy really be like this in practice?
Generally speaking, the economy can be defined as an area of production, distribution, trade and consumption of goods and services by different users in a
given geographical area. Satellites are by nature connection hubs on a planetary
scale. Since the eighties, their development has largely contributed to the digital
revolution, one of the pillars of globalization. In the twenty-first century, the growing interconnection of a consumer-oriented world has led to an ever-increasing
global exchange. Yet nowadays, this economic process is increasingly criticized,
due to the social disparities it creates.
Until the nineties, all European space programs were exclusively managed by
ESA. But as it became apparent that satellites would be central to widespread
development, the European Commission took over the reins of strategic space
policy.
8
In this case, the political aspect of space outweighed the ideology
according to which scientific research should be disconnected from strategic and
geopolitical issues. As discussed previously proof of this is the Galileo project.
Europe went through with the project, despite strong US opposition, precisely
5
Commission Staff Working Document Accompanying the document Proposal for a Regulation
of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the space programme of the Union
and the European Union Agency for the Space Programme and repealing Regulations (EU) No
912/2010, (EU) No 1285/2013, (EU) No 377/2014 and Decision 541/2014/EU {COM(2018)
447 final} - {SWD(2018) 328 final}, June 2018, p. 4.
6
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. 2014. Space Economy at a glance
2014.
7
https://www.oecd.org/innovation/inno/measuring-economic-impact-space-sector.pdf.
8
European Commission. 2003. Livre blanc - Espace : une nouvelle frontière européenne pour
une Union en expansion Plan d’action pour la mise en œuvre d’une politique spatiale européenne. COM (2003) 673.
Space Economy: A Business On the Launch Pad 85