A European space without the Americans. And with plenty of problems

French President Emmanuel Macron wanted to bring the entire space sector to Paris this September. Ultimately, at the International Space Summit opening today in Paris, a large part of Europe will be represented, but few American companies will attend, following the Trump Administration’s intervention. The summit is designed to demonstrate that Europe has achieved a great deal in the space sector and intends to continue investing in it. This is the very sector in which the United States has built one of its key advantages over the last five years, partly thanks to SpaceX’s Starlink, leaving Europe behind. Yet the very commercial launches that have contributed to SpaceX’s success were developed in Europe in the 1980s by Arianespace. As has happened in other technological sectors, Europe invents, whilst the United States develops and brings products to market.

In Paris, France also wishes to emphasise that, if there is a European space programme, discussions must take place in the French capital, home to the European Space Agency (ESA), which aims to maintain its central role in the sector across Europe. The challenges, however, are considerable, both for Europe and for the Élysée Palace, which is organising a summit announced over a year ago, initially scheduled for the spring and then moved to September: closer to the end of Macron’s term of office and to the ESA’s mid-term ministerial meeting, to be held in Rome in December. Closer, in other words, to French interests. It is no coincidence that Macron has brought two special envoys to the summit: astronaut Thomas Pesquet and entrepreneur Hélène Huby, CEO of The Exploration Company, a Franco-German firm which, on 8 September, announced a $450 million funding round – the largest Series C round ever secured by a European space company.

After years of difficulties and a gradual loss of ground in the face of the dynamics of the New Space Economy dominated by SpaceX, Europe is therefore attempting to change direction. Times are tough, however, and allies are few and far between. U.S. President Donald Trump has warned American industry leaders that it would be best not to go to Paris. The pressure was first revealed by Politico, followed by the French Ministry of Research and Space, which announced the withdrawal of SpaceX, Blue Origin, Stoke Space and Starcloud. According to reports, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy is said to have warned these companies that their participation could be interpreted as an endorsement of European space policies, to which Washington is opposed, accusing Paris of ‘anti-competitive practices’ and of organising the summit without consulting the United States. However, there is nothing surprising about Europe’s desire to strengthen its independence in the space sector.

The issue of sovereignty over European space launches has long been a subject of debate and will certainly be one of the central themes at the Paris summit. Europe is the only one, amongst major players such as China, the United States and Russia, to allow its national and EU satellites to be launched using non-European rockets. This situation has fuelled discontent within the European launch industry in recent years, as it is forced to compete with American companies that, by contrast, have a guaranteed government market. Europe is also the only major space player without independent access to orbit for its own astronauts. And soon, it may not even have the International Space Station as a destination.

While the United States does not want an autonomous European space programme, France, Italy and Germany are also facing a complex situation within their own countries. France has a historic role as a space leader to defend. Germany, with a younger space sector but a more robust industrial base, is seeking to play a more central role. Italy, meanwhile, plays a more marginal role, with lower levels of innovation than France and Germany, but enjoys a relationship with the United States which – at least until a few weeks ago – seemed particularly close. If Trump has widened the gap between the United States and Europe, there is a risk that Europeans will end up divided over space as well.