IRIS²: A New Frontier in The European Space Programme

On December 16th, the European Commission signed the concession contract for constructing the Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite (IRIS²). This space initiative involves the creation of a multi-orbital constellation of 290 satellites, leveraging the comparative advantages of satellites in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) (European Commission, 2024a). This 12-year project embodies Europe’s strategic attempt to develop a viable alternative to Elon Musk’s Starlink (Volpicelli & Palasciano, 2024).

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Finabel’s Space Handbook

Against the backdrop of the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War and Europe’s changing security environment, space has become ever more significant in the field of defence and security. Today, the spatial context has moved beyond the binary Soviet-American dynamic of one-upmanship experienced during the Cold War. Greater acknowledgement of the domain’s importance to modern society has led to a renewed look at space within military affairs in recent years, spurring the formal recognition of space as an operational domain by NATO allies in 2019 (Eagleson, 2023). This paper explores various strands of the strategic domain of space in the European context, involving analyses ranging from explorations of the sector’s legal dimensions to a further dive into the lessons learned from the Russo-Ukrainian War in the realm of space.

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New and Old Issues in Space Security: from Space Debris Removal to Italy’s Call for Satellite Protection

Following the recognition by Italy of space as a domain for military operations, the country must increase the robustness and the protection of its satellites. This decision aligns with international and transnational organisations of which Italy is a member, such as the European Space Agency (ESA) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). The problem to be tackled is active attacks in space and the always present issue of space and orbital debris.

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The issue of the dependence of European commercial and institutional space projects on foreign technologies : Is it time to be autonomous in terms of commercially competitive launchers?

Space control is becoming increasingly important. What until now has been one of the most peaceful areas of international collaboration, despite the fierce competition for technological progress, is beginning to become an area of conflict. The consequences of the events in Ukraine, and the sanctions imposed in response to them, are also having repercussions in this field.

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Read more about the article Beyond Traditional Interoperability: Satellite as a ‘Key Enabler’ to the EU Defence Strategy
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Beyond Traditional Interoperability: Satellite as a ‘Key Enabler’ to the EU Defence Strategy

In the light of an increasing involvement of EU Member States’ armies on the international stage, the necessity of interoperability has never been more important. Indeed, many critical missions are conducted BOTH in Europe and overseas. These missions rely on secure communication networks for the EU, which are currently fundamentally lacking in certain areas of intervention.

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