Brussels, Paris He boosted vaccine manufacturing in Europe and devised a plan to boost chip production. EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton wants to make Europe more independent in all critical areas of the economy and society. “Strategic sovereignty” is how the Frenchman describes his goal. And he is far from satisfied.
His next stage is space. The EU Commission wants to present its plan for a new satellite program this Tuesday. The “Secure Connectivity Initiative” is intended to provide Europe with the Internet, enable tap-proof communication thanks to quantum encryption and can also be used for military purposes. The Commission recently outlined its plan in a letter to Member States. Excerpts of it are available to the Handelsblatt and are similar to a speech Breton gave a few weeks ago.
“We will make fast Internet access available to all Europeans,” the Commission promises. The undersupply of rural regions should soon be a thing of the past. When exactly is still unclear.
However, the Commission is pressing for quick coordination with the Member States and Parliament so that the first offers can go into operation as early as 2024. “It’s ambitious, but doable,” according to the Brussels authorities.
Top jobs of the day
Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.
The Internet from space is intended as a kind of safety net. In the event of disruptions, there would be an alternative to conventional Internet cables. The Commission emphasizes that it is a matter of guaranteeing the “cyber security of tomorrow”. After all, the satellite network should also serve governments and armed forces as a particularly secure communication platform.
“Mega Constellation”
To make all of this happen, Brussels is planning what is known in space as a “mega-constellation” – a network of hundreds, if not thousands, of satellites. The EU wants to involve both large companies and start-ups in the project.
On Tuesday the Internal Market Commissioner will present a plan for a new satellite programme.
(Photo: imago images/PanoramaC)
There are models for this: With the Copernicus earth observation system and the Galileo positioning system, the Europeans already have two satellite programs at their disposal that bring great economic benefits. The Secure Connectivity Initiative would thus be the third major European space initiative.
Breton’s handwriting is clearly recognizable, his cabinet is driving the project forward. The satellite network in Brussels is touted as a “geopolitical infrastructure” that serves to “improve Europe’s resilience” and reduce “European dependence on non-European commercial initiatives”.
This makes it clear what Breton is primarily concerned with. He wants to prevent Europe from giving up control of digital communication. Breton considers it naïve to rely solely on private offers – especially when these offers are operated outside of Europe.
This means: With its satellite initiative, the EU can compete with US billionaires such as Tesla boss Elon Musk and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who have discovered the Internet from space as a business field. Musk operates the Starlink satellite network with his company Space X.
Read more: Laboratories in space – weightlessness is revolutionizing research
The offer is already available in Germany – albeit at steep prices. 99 euros are due per month for the Internet connection, the necessary antenna costs a one-time fee of 499 euros. At the end of last year, Bezos announced that he would launch an alternative offer with his Project Kuiper. For this purpose, more than 3000 satellites are to be launched into orbit.
Six billion euros for the project
It is not yet clear how many satellites the EU intends to launch. However, unlike Musk and Bezos, the EU does not want to cover the entire world, but only Europe and large parts of Africa.
Setback for his company SpaceX: A solar storm destroyed 40 of 49 Starlink satellites.
(Photo: AP)
The inclusion of Africa allows the Commission to market the project as part of its global infrastructure initiative “Global Gateway”, with which the EU is making a counter-offer to Chinese infrastructure offers to emerging and developing countries and is trying to curb Beijing’s influence in Africa in particular. It is therefore no coincidence that the satellite project will be presented shortly before the EU summit with the African Union (AU) that begins Thursday in Brussels.
The project will initially cost around six billion euros, one third of which will be financed by the EU, one third by the member states and one third by the private sector, which is primarily responsible for shouldering the expansion of the internet.
Approval comes from Parliament: “But we have to make sure that the project benefits the population,” says MEP Niklas Nienaß. “The internet service must be affordable for everyone.”
The Green politician therefore advocates not leaving the development of satellite internet to the private sector alone. Additional costs could, for example, be covered from the lavish budget for regional funding. Although satellite internet is not a substitute for fiber optic expansion, it is a “simpler and quicker way” to close gaps in coverage.
French industry comes into play
The German economy also welcomes the project in principle. However, there is concern that Breton could design the initiative in such a way that French industry in particular would have a chance.
As early as 2021, several German space start-ups, together with the Federation of German Industries (BDI), appealed to Breton in a letter to “take much greater account of young companies and use their innovation potential and understanding of the market to shape European space policy”.
Read more: These 20 tech trends will shape 2022
French President Emmanuel Macron has made space a priority, while the new federal government is still sorting out this policy area. Most recently, Macron announced as part of its “France 2030” initiative that it would invest 1.5 billion euros in the development of reusable mini launchers and satellite programs.
“A New Space is being created,” said Macron. “New players are emerging much faster than we thought a few years ago.” Europe risks being left behind when it comes to access to space.
France also wants to promote the start-up scene in space technology. Above all, however, Paris seems to be concerned with established players such as the Ariane Group, which is backed by the European Airbus Group and the French company Safran.
Criticism of rocket projects
The rocket builder has a Franco-German orientation, important locations are Bremen, Lampoldshausen and Ottobrunn near Munich. But the French state takes particularly good care of the company.
For more than four decades, the Ariane rockets have guaranteed European access to space. But the state-sponsored European missile projects have had to take a lot of criticism in recent years: They are said to be too expensive and too inflexible. The maiden flight of the sixth generation Ariane is scheduled to take place in the second half of 2022, the project is two years behind schedule.
Ariane Group engineers are also working on a reusable mini-rocket. Dubbed Maia, the launch system is expected to be operational in 2026. A new rocket engine is also in development, which will be produced almost entirely using a 3D printing process and will therefore be significantly cheaper than the previous engines.
In the French space industry, the argument can be heard that certain tasks are simply too big for start-ups. After all, it’s not just about launching small satellites into low orbits.
When transporting heavy payloads into space, there is no way around carrier systems like Ariane. In addition, some missions would be subject to strict secrecy, for example for the military, which could only be guaranteed by a space provider close to the state.
More: This is how Elon Musk wants to boost Tesla shares again