Space
Satellite constellations, new launchers, lunar programs... Innovations in the space sector are shaking up global political, industrial and strategic dynamics.
Related Subjects
Sat-to-Cell: Towards Universal Connectivity?
Sat-to-Cell is a new type of service that connects smartphones directly to satellites. It has recently enabled innovative applications such as emergency text messaging via satellite. The technology is developing rapidly, and many questions are now being raised about its potential impact.
Ariane 6 launch returns in-house space access to Europe’s armed forces
Europe restored sovereign access to space with the first launch of the Ariane 6 heavy-lift rocket on Tuesday, after years of delays and retirement of the previous launcher had left the continent without guaranteed access to orbit, and kept a French spy satellite grounded.
The Artemis Accords: An American Strategy for Lunar Governance
The Artemis Accords provide a framework for international cooperation in space exploration as part of the U.S. lunar program. They are part of a coherent strategy.
China seeks its own Apollo moment – and more
On April 25, a Long March 2F rocket briefly lit up the dark desert sky above Jiuquan Spaceport in northwest China, carrying three Shenzhou-18 astronauts to the Tiangong space station. Such missions, including crew handovers, have become remarkably routine for China.
NATO's New Ambitions for Space
Ahead of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a devastating cyber attack targets Ukrainian army communications, exposing Western dependence and vulnerability to space technologies, and calling NATO's defensive posture into question.
China adds new moon base project partners, but struggles to attract national-level participation
China continues to add new members to its International Lunar Research Station initiative, but many of these are subnational, suggesting issues attracting partners.
China in International Space Cooperation: Heading South
In only three decades, China has become one of the world’s top space powers. At the turn of the 2020s, almost suddenly, China became the main challenger to the US, although with a significant remaining gap to bridge.
2024: A Pivotal Year for the Space Sector?
2024 could be a pivotal year for space exploration. New launchers are set to make their first flight, satellite constellations and other trends promise to redefine the way space is explored and exploited.
Racing to the Moon: China's Lunar exploration program in competition with the United States
A new Cold War-style race to the moon seems to be in the making. The People’s Republic of China and the United States are both investing in moon exploration with manned lunar scientific stations as the ultimate goal.
Ethics and Responsibility in Space Exploration: The Rise of Soft Law to Regulate New Practices
Sat-to-Cell: Towards Universal Connectivity?
Sat-to-Cell is a new type of service that connects smartphones directly to satellites. It has recently enabled innovative applications such as emergency text messaging via satellite. The technology is developing rapidly, and many questions are now being raised about its potential impact.
China in International Space Cooperation: Heading South
In only three decades, China has become one of the world’s top space powers. At the turn of the 2020s, almost suddenly, China became the main challenger to the US, although with a significant remaining gap to bridge.
China-Russia Cooperation in Space: The Reality behind the Speeches
China-Russia cooperation in space has been increasing for the past two decades. This cooperation accelerated after the Crimea crisis in 2014 and culminated with the announcement in 2021 of the joint construction of the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS).
Indian Space Program and its Drivers: Possible Implications for the Global Space Market
India has one of the oldest space programs in the world with space playing a critical role in India’s national development and external power projection capability.
Space in a Changing Environment: a European Point of View
The development of European space activities has long been pursued under the framework of the European Space Agency and other national space agencies. More recently, the emergence of the European Union as a new actor for space has paved the way for a series of initiatives and opportunities.
European Space Programs and the Digital Challenge
The exploration of space and the use of digital tools and systems have in common to be quite recent in human history but to have changed the world, society and economy by connecting people and things, breaking down borders, and redistributing knowledge, power and control.
Japan's New Dual-Use Space Policy: The Long Road to the 21st Century
Japan’s latest space policy is designed to support a more proactive US-Japan alliance role in containing China, and robustly defend Japan against North Korean ballistic missile threats.
The Lisbon Treaty and the Evolution of European Space Governance
Until the adoption of the Lisbon treaty in December 2007, there was no explicit reference to space in the EU’s constitutive documents. While the European Space Agency has been active in space since the mid-1970s, the Union’s policy remained without a legal basis for space activities. Parallel to the treaties’ evolution however, the EU’s competences never stopped expanding to new fields, bringing it ever closer to space and its various applications. Creativity and dynamic uses of these existing competences have allowed the EU to progressively interfere with the space sector and to get closer to ESA.
The Vegetation Programme
Under human pressure, many changes are taking place in the resources and the environment of Earth. An increasing global population fuels the need for food, natural resources and land. Consequently, the need for maintaining a capacity to observe and understand the Earth system and the biophysical processes has become a key element for the sustainable management of the planet’s natural resources. The SPOT-Vegetation instruments have significantly contributed to reach this goal.
Governing the Geostationary Orbit: Orbital Slots and Spectrum Use in an Era of Interference
Outer space, particularly in the telecommunication sector, is benefiting and becoming accessible to more and more actors. But with this trend comes also a reality that is every day more compelling: no meaningful development can be achieved without a clear, stable and predictable interference-free environment for the use and control of all satellites that depend upon ready access to radio frequencies and appropriate geostationary orbital slots to function properly.
Ariane 6 launch returns in-house space access to Europe’s armed forces
Europe restored sovereign access to space with the first launch of the Ariane 6 heavy-lift rocket on Tuesday, after years of delays and retirement of the previous launcher had left the continent without guaranteed access to orbit, and kept a French spy satellite grounded.
China seeks its own Apollo moment – and more
On April 25, a Long March 2F rocket briefly lit up the dark desert sky above Jiuquan Spaceport in northwest China, carrying three Shenzhou-18 astronauts to the Tiangong space station. Such missions, including crew handovers, have become remarkably routine for China.
China adds new moon base project partners, but struggles to attract national-level participation
China continues to add new members to its International Lunar Research Station initiative, but many of these are subnational, suggesting issues attracting partners.
Helium‑3 from the lunar surface for nuclear fusion?
Since 1969, the return of a human mission to the Moon has never seemed so close. Although scientific interest continued to flourish, space programmes had for many decades abandoned it in favour of the International Space Station and missions to explore the solar system.
China Space Station First Step in Country's Plans to Colonize Space
China's far-reaching ambition for a permanent presence in outer space began in earnest on Thursday with the launch of its first crew bound for a new space station.
Destination Moon: is it time for us to send astronauts back?
The series For All Mankind (2019) is a fictional alternate history that imagines a world where the Soviet Union was the first power to send an astronaut to the moon. From that starting point, the two rival superpowers compete to establish their own lunar station.
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Ifri, a foundation recognized as being of public utility, relies largely on private donors – companies and individuals – to guarantee its sustainability and intellectual independence. Through their funding, donors help maintain the Institute's position among the world's leading think tanks. By benefiting from an internationally recognized network and expertise, donors refine their understanding of geopolitical risk and its consequences on global politics and the economy. In 2024, Ifri will support more than 70 French and foreign companies and organizations.
Related centers and programs
Space Program
Space has become a crucial theme in the main international think tanks’ research activities as it entails important strategic, economic, and technological issues.
Since 2001, Ifri has integrated space in its research, notably by ensuring that the political dimension of scientific and human exploration programs is emphasized, and by supporting reflections on the Code of Conduct for Outter Space Activities.
Today, as part of its research agenda, Ifri mobilizes several of its centers and programs to transversally tackle the theme of space, through three main inputs:
- the competition of powers, driven by the Sino-American rivalry;
- critical points related to mastery of space, such as the issue of autonomous access to space or the mega-constellations necessary for the digital revolution;
- these developments’ challenges for Europe and its status as a space power.
Since the Summer 2020, Ifri has been coordinating a tripartite European Space Governance Initiative, together with two other renowned European think tanks: the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik (DGAP) in Germany and the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) in Italy.