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European Astropolitics

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Geopolitics of the Outer Space

Part of the book series: Contributions to Political Science ((CPS))

Abstract

The final chapter provides the reader with a comprehensive analysis of the European position in outer space geopolitics. First, the common European geopolitical priorities are set up. These are consequently reflected upon the space arena. Europe is presented as a specific actor with its unique strategy and capabilities. These are placed into the SWOT matrix to evaluate the strong and weak points of the common European space program. This analysis together with the previous study of the outer space geopolitical characteristics as well as the history of the European space program then allows us to establish recommendations for the future of the European space strategy. In the opinion presented in this book, the strategy should stand on four main pillars – cooperation, the establishment of independent strategic capabilities, the commercialization of the space programs in general, and participation in new frontier missions.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    E.g., Friedman (2015).

  2. 2.

    See Smoleňáková (2015) or follow @EUvsDisinfo on Twitter.

  3. 3.

    See http://imrussia.org/en/analysis/world/2500-putinism-and-the-european-far-right. Accessed 19 August 2016.

  4. 4.

    E.g., Solomon (2015, pp. 1–20).

  5. 5.

    See Zielonka (2007).

  6. 6.

    Some of the limitations and strengths of the European strategy are well-explained in Kennedy (2016).

  7. 7.

    See also Hufenbach et al. (2014).

  8. 8.

    The issue is in large detail covered in Venet and Baranes (2013).

  9. 9.

    See http://www.copernicus.eu/main/copernicus-brief. Accessed 12 August 2016.

  10. 10.

    See http://swe.ssa.esa.int/. Accessed 23 August 2016.

  11. 11.

    http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Engineering_Technology/Clean_Space/Eco-design. Accessed 23 August 2016.

  12. 12.

    http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Engineering_Technology/Clean_Space/CleanSat. Accessed 23 August 2016.

  13. 13.

    http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Engineering_Technology/Clean_Space/e.Deorbit. Accessed 23 August 2016.

  14. 14.

    http://www.esa.int/About_Us/Business_with_ESA/How_to_do/Industrial_policy_and_geographical_distribution. Accessed 8 August 2016.

  15. 15.

    http://exploration.esa.int/mars/. Accessed 2 September 2016.

  16. 16.

    See http://www.esa.int/About_Us/Welcome_to_ESA/ESA_s_Purpose. Accessed 25 August 2016.

  17. 17.

    For the discussion of the issue, see, for example, De Winne (2015).

  18. 18.

    http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/05/financial-times-luxembourg-asteroid-mining/?sf25844847=1&utm_content=buffere6a0a&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer. Accessed 14 September 2017.

  19. 19.

    See, for example, https://www.iter.org/. Accessed 3 December 2016.

  20. 20.

    Overview of the European international collaborations can be found in La Regina (2016, pp. 192–197).

  21. 21.

    See Hoerber (2012).

  22. 22.

    Not to mention that about 6–7% of the EU gross domestic product relies on navigation systems (Robinson and Romancov 2014, p. 7).

  23. 23.

    For example, Luxembourg plans a cooperation with the US Deep Space Industries and Planetary Resources in its asteroid-mining mission. In the same vein, the ESA’s Moon Village aims to collaborate with the commercial actors (see: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Human_Spaceflight/First_steps_returning_humanity_to_the_Moon. Accessed 19 July 2016).

  24. 24.

    See Dolman (2005).

  25. 25.

    The argument is described in more detail in Doboš (2015).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Political Studies, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic

    Bohumil Doboš

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  1. Bohumil Doboš
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Doboš, B. (2019). European Astropolitics. In: Geopolitics of the Outer Space. Contributions to Political Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96857-5_6

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