Security & Defence
Strategic Autonomy Made in Bavaria: Young Leaders Meet Space Industry Experts

It is not only entire sectors of the economy that depend on data and remote control from space; space itself has become a business model. Whereas satellites and rockets once belonged to expensive state programmes like NASA, today they are part of a private “New Space Economy.”

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Space seems to have somewhat faded from public attention. The last human to leap weightlessly over the Moon did so in 1972; when people think of rockets and astronauts, some picture the Moon landing in black-and-white images from a bygone century. Elon Musk is best known for his electric cars — yet it’s not just Teslas that park themselves backwards, but also his rockets.

That “rocket science” has become a byword for complex, everyday‑irrelevant problems shows that the political significance of outer space is still not widely recognised.

War from space

Western politicians and military leaders were jolted in 2022: before Russia’s troops marched on Kyiv, Moscow attacked satellites in space, thereby disabling the communication channels of the Ukrainian armed forces. That the Ukrainians nonetheless maintained situational awareness on the battlefield was thanks to billionaire Elon Musk. The reason: he deployed his satellite constellation, Starlink, providing the country with internet access.

Without high-resolution imagery from space, armed forces and intelligence agencies would struggle to observe their adversaries. Warfare is no longer fought solely on land or in the air — it is now fought from space.

oung leaders from the Benelux countries in discussion with Prof. Dr. Felix Huber, Director of Space Operations and Astronaut Training (DLR/GSOC), here inside a replica of the Columbus module on the ISS.

Timon Ostermeier/HSS

Security expert Andrea Rotter (Hanns Seidel Foundation) therefore warns: “There could be attacks on space systems, as well as attacks from space, which could trigger NATO’s collective defence under Article 5.” For this reason, it was also long overdue that the German federal government recently unveiled its own space security strategy.

It is not only the military that relies on functioning satellites: farmers need precise weather reports and operate their agricultural machinery via satellite navigation. A long car journey without navigation or GPS? Possible, but difficult. Disaster response and climate monitoring? These require accurate data from highly sensitive instruments orbiting at breathtaking heights.

It is not just entire sectors of the economy that depend on data and remote control from space — space itself has become a business model. Whereas satellites and rockets once belonged exclusively to expensive state programmes like NASA, today they are part of a private “New Space Economy.” The two best-known examples of leading US space companies are Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin.

Europe recognises space as a key domain to reach "strategic autonomy"

But where is Europe? Europe aims to become largely geostrategically independent. Space plays a key role in this endeavour. “A space revolution is under way,” say the European Commissioner for Defence and Space, Andrius Kubilius, and the Director General of the European Space Agency, Josef Aschbacher. They believe:

"The 21st century will be the century of space. Space is about innovation, prosperity and security.”

The European Commission also plans to launch a new military satellite network with high-resolution imagery next year.

The Benelux delegation and HSS staff also visited Airbus Defence and Space’s antenna testing facility, where satellites are tested under “space conditions.” A Belgian manufacturer supplies chemical components for insulation.

Airbus Defence and Space

Bavaria is set to play a significant role. After World War II, a strong technological and industrial base emerged here, shaping the Free State as a business location to this day. Airbus is one of the world’s leading aerospace and defence companies and maintains important production sites near Munich. Currently, the company is merging its space division with two other European champions: the joint project “Bromo” with Leonardo (Italy) and Thales (France) is seen as Europe’s answer to Musk’s SpaceX and Starlink. In addition, Airbus produces communication satellites for the German armed forces.

The new Moon Mission Control Centre for the future Lunar Gateway space station will further strengthen Munich as a hub. As part of the American Artemis programme, the centre focuses not only on the Moon but also on Mars. At the same time, Europe’s largest aerospace campus is emerging with the new Department of Aerospace and Geodesy at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), in reach of the plenty business and production facilities.

EU works on „Space Act“

However, there is a problem: there is no European legal framework, which means that EU member states develop their own national laws. To prevent further fragmentation and bureaucratisation with differing security standards, the Commission, the Council, and the Parliament are currently discussing an “EU Space Act” in Brussels.

It is no coincidence that Angelika Niebler, a Member of the European Parliament from Bavaria, is leading the negotiations for the European People’s Party (EPP). She knows: “Today, space is what the world’s oceans were in the 16th century: a strategic domain where economic strength, technological sovereignty, and geopolitical capacity are decided.”

This report was first published at full-length in German. Read here what makes Bavaria such a unique location and what impressions the young leaders from Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg gained during the three-day dialogue programme.