THE CHALLENGE OF FUTURE SPACE SYSTEMS AND SERVICES IN EUROPE: EFFECTIVE ANSWERS TO LOCAL ISSUES WITH GLOBAL SOLUTIONS

摘要

This paper reviews the challenges and opportunities of market growth for space applications. Up to now, the development of space systems has been mainly driven by global or regional needs or sovereignty missions. The global dimension of satellites fits perfectly the needs of customers requiring a global coverage. Meteorology, operational oceanography, TV broadcast or Global Navigation Systems are good examples. In those domains, either the needs are wide enough or the communities of users are well structured. Main customers were able until now to invest in a proprietary capacity or to fund a significant part of the infrastructure. New elements shape today's landscape: - The budgetary constraints affecting many countries weaken this model. - The increasing competition and the emergence of new players. - New operational needs are more and more challenging (e.g. real time surveillance of wide areas) and require dedicated capacities, while the users demand is fragmented and spread over the world. Meeting the performance requirements can justify a collective approach with capacity sharing. So far collective solutions have been hampered by the reluctance of the governments to share exclusive and sovereign responsibilities. The market of space applications is thus facing a general challenge regarding future growth: cost-effective solutions can be developed and operated only if the user base is consolidated. Beyond technical issues, this paper summarises the findings of recent studies on the business cases and governance of space systems. Assessing examples in Europe and worldwide, the paper analyses the success factors, relying on a smart combination between: - institutional and commercial assets, - dedicated systems and general purpose systems, - national versus European or international capacities, - with a clear governance and mandate for the coordinating entities. Addressing fragmented markets will likely be the main growth opportunity in the coming years, while usual domains are becoming renewal markets. There is an opportunity for the services activity. Nevertheless, the main focus of this analysis is the space infrastructure and more specifically the satellites for Earth observation, telecommunications and navigation applications. The service dimension is addressed through its potential impact on the long term sustainability of space systems. International cooperation plays definitely a major role. The successful implementation of large capacities will depend on the cooperation between two, three or more stakeholders and will be a lengthy process. In conclusion, the paper emphasises the importance of raising awareness and promoting best practices.