Strategic autonomy is a buzz phrase in Brussels, as the EU tries to ramp up its capabilities in key industrial sectors. Defence is of course a major focus for those efforts. But calls have grown for the bloc to boost its presence in space as well. Space is seeing weaponisation and hybrid warfare; indeed, the EU Commission says it is just as contested as land, sea, air or the cyber field.  Europe does have some world-class systems such as Galileo or Copernicus, but when it comes to the space sector as a whole, it suffers from fragmentation and underinvestment, similar to the problems that have bedevilled its defence sector.

With our two MEPs from the Sky and Space Intergroup at the European Parliament, we discuss how Europe can get smarter amid American and Chinese domination of the global spacecraft market.

Programme prepared by Isabelle Romero, Perrine Desplats, Luke Brown and Oihana Almandoz