BRUSSELS — The European Union is trying to stop space from turning into a junkyard.
The European Commission on Wednesday proposed a new Space Act that seeks to dial up regulatory oversight of satellite operators — including requiring them to tackle their impact on space debris and pollution, or face significant fines.
There are more than 10,000 satellites now in orbit and growing space junk to match. In recent years, more companies — most notably Elon Musk’s Starlink — have ventured into low-Earth orbit, from where stronger telecommunication connections can be established but which requires more satellites to ensure full coverage.
“Space is congested and contested,” a Commission official said ahead of Wednesday’s proposal in a briefing with reporters. The official was granted anonymity to disclose details ahead of the formal presentation.
The EU executive wants to set up a database to track objects circulating in space; make authorization processes clearer to help companies launch satellites and provide services in Europe; and force national governments to give regulators oversight powers.
The Space Act proposal would also require space companies to have launch safety and end-of-life disposal plans, take extra steps to limit space debris, light and radio pollution, and calculate the environmental footprint of their operations.
Mega and giga constellations, which are networks of at least 100 and 1,000 spacecraft, respectively, face extra rules to coordinate orbit traffic and avoid collisions.
“It’s starting to look like a jungle up there. We need to intervene,” said French liberal lawmaker Christophe Grudler. “Setting traffic rules for satellites might not sound as sexy as sending people to Mars. But that’s real, that’s now and that has an impact on our daily lives.”
Under the proposal, operators would also have to run cybersecurity risk assessments, introduce cryptographic and encryption-level protection, and are encouraged to share more information with corporate rivals to fend off cyberattacks.
Breaches of the rules could result in fines of up to twice the profits gained or losses avoided as a result of the infringement, or, where these amounts cannot be determined, up to 2 percent of total worldwide annual turnover.
Satellites exclusively used for defense or national security are excluded from the law.
The Musk problem
The Space Act proposal comes as the EU increasingly sees a homegrown satellite industry as crucial to its connectivity, defense and sovereignty ambitions.
Musk’s dominance in the field has become a clear vulnerability for Europe. His Starlink network has showcased at scale how thousands of satellites can reach underserved areas and fix internet voids, but it has also revealed his hold over Ukraine’s wartime communication, highlighting the danger of relying on a single, foreign player.
Top lawmakers in the European Parliament, including Grudler, earlier this month advocated for a “clearly ring-fenced budget of at least €60 billion” devoted to space policy, while French President Emmanuel Macron last week called for the next EU budget to earmark more money to boost Europe’s space sector.
That’s crucial “if we want to stay in the game of the great international powers,” he said shortly after the French government announced it would ramp up its stake in Eutelsat, a Franco-British satellite company and Starlink rival.
The Space Act proposal introduces additional requirements for players from outside the EU that operate in the European market, unless their home country is deemed to have equivalent oversight by the Commission, which could be the case for the U.S. They will also have to appoint a legal representative in the bloc.
The proposal is set to apply from 2030 and will now head to the Council of the EU, where governments hash out their position, and the European Parliament for negotiations on the final law.
Aude van den Hove contributed reporting.
The post Brussels moves to tackle satellite junk in space appeared first on Politico.
