'Passengers or pilots?' Europe looks to challenge US dominance in space sector with €10 billion plan

The two-day International Space Summit that started Wednesday gathers officials, astronauts, researchers and industry leaders from about 120 countries to discuss the future of the space industry and pursue potential business deals. “Europe is taking its destiny into its own hands, including in space,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in a message posted on X. He called for innovation and investment “to build a powerful Europe, independent even in space”. To display this content from X (Twitter), you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. Macron’s space summit underlines his push to reduce Europe’s reliance on the US for vital tech services, which extends to space launches as well as satellites for communications and reconnaissance. The chief of the European Space Agency (ESA), Josef Aschbacher, on Wednesday called for a €10-billion ($11.6-billion) investment over 10 years for Europe to achieve independence in the space sector. "Will we be passengers or pilots?" Aschbacher asked European ministers during a closed meeting Wednesday evening. Europe scrambles as US rules satellite race To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracki...