French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday, that Europe should once again become a world space power, warning, that his country risks being pushed out of the world market for low-orbit satellite groups.
Macron spoke at the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget, which is not far from the French capital, a day after that, as France more than halved its stake in satellite operator Eutelsat, European competitor Starlink. Macron called for increased investment, оскільки європейська космічна галузь намагається залишатися конкурентоспроможною на рівні США та Китаю.
Він сказав, що Європа має «знову стати космічною силою, в центрі якої буде Франція», warning, that the Europeans are "on the verge of complete" displacement from the market of satellite constellations in low Earth orbit (LEO).
Orbiting only a few hundred kilometers above the Earth, networks of satellites in low Earth orbit can play a crucial role in various industries, including telecommunications, emergency response, space exploration and defense.
Growing geopolitical tensions have forced countries to focus on the independence of their satellite infrastructure. Macron stated, that France and its partners should not rely on non-European low-orbit constellations. He called for the unification of the main strategic partners in the Persian Gulf, of India, Canada and Brazil with France, noting the importance of private investors and cooperation between the public and private sectors.
He told, that France plans to host a space summit early on 2026 year, to "mobilize public and private partners around the world". As part of the general agreement with investors for the sum 1,35 billion euros (1,5 A billion dollars) the French state is to become the largest shareholder of Eutelsat.
Європейський оператор супутників бореться за те, щоб його розглядали як альтернативу Starlink, as companies in Europe and other countries view Musk with distrust and seek to secure sovereign solutions for themselves.
Having over 600 satellites since the merger with the British company OneWeb in 2023 year, Eutelsat is the world's second largest operator of low Earth orbit satellites after Starlink.
Source: https://www.spacedaily.com