Gilles Rabin is the French Ambassador for Space in Berlin and used to work for the French Space Agency. We are delighted to welcome him at the Munich New Space Summit 2024, where he will present a round table discussion on “Charting Europe’s Cosmic Future: Enhancing New Space Appeal Compared to the USA”. We asked him 3 questions about his opinion on Europe’s space ambitions and how politics can better support the growth of space start-ups and SMEs.
In the context of Europe’s space ambitions, what are the key policy and regulatory challenges that need to be addressed to foster a thriving multisectoral space ecosystem?
Gilles: Regulation is a necessity in today’s space industry, with the exponential increase in the number of satellites, the multiplication of space ports, traffic management (SST) and the need to reduce the amount of debris. France’s space law provides a possible and ambitious framework.
But regulation is a means, not an end. Europe needs to develop its own space ambitions (low-Earth orbit station, lunar base, in-orbit manufacturing), and cannot limit itself in the future to becoming an Uber Eat to supply American or even Indian space stations. We also need to define who will be in charge in the future, between the national space agencies, ESA, EUSPA and the European Commission. But it’s only once the mission has been set in motion that logistical questions arise. Europe must not be the last to dream of space.
What is the role of SMEs and startups in driving innovation in Europe’s space sector, and how can policies better support their growth?
Gilles: Start-ups are accelerator of innovation and formidable creators of skills for the space sector. But make no mistake. In deep tech, innovation is more a question of rhythm: “Slow is smooth but smooth is fast”. Just remember, the Merlin engine has been created in the last century.
So it’s not just a question of developing start-ups, but of getting the whole ecosystem moving, with fundamental research in public laboratories, start-ups to move from ideas to markets, incentives to enable Prime’s long-term investment in production quality, and an ambitious, strategic Europe. So, to accelerate start-ups, we need to help public research as a raw material for innovation, get incentives from Primes to support and back start-ups, and develop an ambitious Europe financed in line with objectives, with daring VCs.
How can Europe enhance its competitiveness in the global space market amidst rising competition from the US and China?
Gilles: Space is not an ordinary market, as it is supported by public funding that far exceeds 85% of total investment, even if the companies are private. Thinking in terms of industrial policy is therefore synonymous with national strategies focused on defending one’s country’s companies. We therefore need to combine the ambition of European sovereignty, with the ability to use its own data (Iris², Galileo, Copernicus) to serve European industry, with the need for this industry to be competitive. We therefore need to create more freedom for companies to offer innovative solutions, and a more strategic Europe, ambitious in its financing and choices. In short, a strong Europe and an economy that is freer to make its own choices.
