Strengthening Europe’s Space Ambition: The 18th European Space Conference
Time to reflect on the 18th European Space Conference, a key annual gathering that once again proved to be an invaluable platform for engaging directly with the European space ecosystem.
This year’s conference reaffirmed a message that is now widely shared across Europe: space has become a strategic infrastructure. It underpins security and defence, connectivity, climate and environmental monitoring, economic competitiveness, and the daily lives of millions of citizens. The discussions reflected this reality, focusing on how Europe can accelerate and strengthen its space sector in an increasingly complex geopolitical and economic scenario.
Several key themes emerged throughout the conference, including the rising significance of dual‑use civilian–military space systems, the imperative for deeper European cooperation, and the pressing need to accelerate progress toward genuine strategic autonomy. These priorities align closely with the objectives and milestones outlined in the European Commission’s Readiness Roadmap 2030, which calls for a more resilient, agile, and autonomous European space capability. They also reflect the direction set by the European Space Agency’s 2040 strategy, which is moving decisively toward shared goals.
The conference looked firmly toward the future, highlighting ambitious initiatives such as the Moonlight programme, while also celebrating concrete achievements. Among these were the start of operations of GOVSATCOM, enhancing secure satellite communications for public authorities, and the delivery of the first images from MTG-S1, Europe’s first Meteorological Infrared Sounder in geostationary orbit, an important milestone for weather forecasting and climate monitoring.
Discussions also underlined the importance of funding innovation and disruption, ensuring that Europe can support emerging technologies, new actors, and novel applications that will drive the next phase of growth and competitiveness in the space sector.
Beyond the formal sessions, the conference was also an excellent opportunity for Eurisy to reconnect with many of its members and partners and to celebrate together the start of a new year for the association.
A key highlight of Eurisy’s presence at the conference was our dedicated panel on a topic of growing importance for Europe’s resilience and security: The role of space solutions in Disaster Risk Management (DRM).
By bringing together national perspectives from Slovenia, Sweden, and the Czech Republic, the panel showcased how space-enabled solutions are increasingly being understood and integrated into traditional DRM systems. At the same time, the discussions made clear that further efforts are needed to establish dynamic communication channels, strengthen awareness-raising, and bridge remaining operational gaps between space actors and end users. This panel was built on a strong and growing collaboration between Eurisy and EUSPA – the EU Agency for the Space Programme. Since 2022, we have been working hand in hand to advance these discussions across Europe through the Disaster Risk Management Workshops.
Year after year, the impact of these workshops continues to grow. At the conference, speakers highlighted a recurring and encouraging message:after each DRM workshop, new actions, initiatives, and collaborations emerge at national level.
This is precisely the objective of the workshops, not only to showcase European space capabilities, but to share knowledge, foster cooperation, and generate real, lasting impact.
During the conference, Eurisy was also delighted to welcome ESA astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski to the Eurisy booth. The exchange provided an opportunity to introduce him to Eurisy’s mission: building strong links with communities new to space and encouraging innovative uses of satellite applications to address today’s societal challenges.
The conversation naturally touched on a shared passion for space exploration, a spark that continues to pass from one generation to the next and reminds us that our sense of wonder for space is truly timeless. At the same time, we discussed the importance of education and training across all dimensions of the space sector, especially as the industry rapidly evolves and expands.
Following a dynamic and inspiring 18th European Space Conference, the Eurisy team is fully prepared and motivated for the months ahead.
With new activities, strategic collaborations, and upcoming events already underway, we look forward to continuing our work at the crossroads of space, policy, and societal impact, and to sharing the next milestones with our community.