Article from the Handelsblatt Journal Security and Defense
Space, alongside land, sea, air, and cyberspace, has long since become the fifth domain of human existence and is continuously gaining in political, economic, and military importance. With increasing space exploration, the risk of strategic dependencies also rises: whoever possesses and controls space capabilities has considerable influence over security, the economy, and technological development.
Space security is therefore a central component of national and international security and a prerequisite for modern public services. For Europe, and Germany in particular, it is crucial to maintain its own technological and security policy capabilities. This applies both to the military dimension of space and to its growing economic importance. The space economy is growing by approximately nine percent annually and could reach a volume of around 1.8 trillion US dollars by 2035, making space a key area for innovation and the future – on a cusp comparable to the internet in the 1990s – while simultaneously gaining increasing relevance for military objectives.
Complex situational picture
In recent decades, space has also become a critical enabler of modern military operations. Space-based data, products, and services are indispensable for planning and executing modern operations. The massive development of new, primarily commercial, systems has accelerated this development, so that space now also plays a decisive role at the tactical level.
Especially the LEO systems currently in commercial use enable near real-time warfare on hyper-transparent battlefields, where information is needed and must be analyzed within minutes. As a connecting element across all military domains, space is indispensable for multi-domain operations. At the same time, this dependence makes space systems attractive targets and increases their vulnerability. Space is therefore no longer merely a support domain, but an independent domain of warfare. The threats arise from the increasing military reliance on space and the rapidly growing capabilities of potential adversaries.
Numerous states are developing counterspace capabilities to deceive, disrupt, impair, or destroy enemy objects and to protect their own systems. The spectrum ranges from cyberattacks, electromagnetic interference, and the manipulation of data signals to lasers, rendezvous and proximity operations, and even anti-satellite weapons and nuclear explosions in space. Cyber and electromagnetic operations have already become standard methods. Furthermore, the increasing demonstrations of military capabilities and maneuvers illustrate that future conflicts will not only be fought with and through space, but in space itself. As the US Space Force states: „Space warfare is a certainty in the future because the use of space in war has become vital.“
The geopolitical competition between the US and China is increasingly playing out in space. Both countries are striving for space superiority and vying for launch rates, new technologies, and mega-constellations (Starlink & Starshield vs. Guowang & Qianfan). Furthermore, both countries see themselves as participating in the "Second Space Race" to put the next humans on the moon – which this time will only be the first step. Rather, the winner of this still-open race will gain a significant first-mover advantage, particularly regarding the establishment of a permanent lunar base, the strategically important cislunar orbits, the Lagrange points, and the future space order.
Europe must learn not only geopolitics, but also astropolitics.
Europe sees itself as a "great space power," but for a long time it was on the sidelines of developments and largely blind to geopolitical dynamics in space. While space capabilities have been recognized in recent years as essential for strategic autonomy, security, and defense, there is still a considerable need to catch up.
The EU possesses powerful systems of its own with Galileo (PNT) and Copernicus (EO), but in critical areas such as satellite communications, missile early warning, SIGINT, launch capabilities, and space situational awareness, it is heavily dependent on its transatlantic partner. The development of sovereign defense and deterrence capabilities is therefore crucial to protecting its own interests and countering hostile activities in and from space.
The Defence Readiness Roadmap 2030, published in October 2025, highlights the development of a "European Space Shield" as a flagship project. It is intended to complement dual-use capabilities, make national systems interoperable, and reduce dependencies. The 2025 ESA Ministerial Council meeting in Bremen signaled a long-overdue shift in thinking and mentality in Europe. Security and defense are no longer neglected but are centrally considered, and dual-use and commercial innovations are to be identified, promoted, and utilized.
Pooling and integrating national capacities is a step in the right direction. However, in the long term, genuine European sovereignty requires more: greater flexibility, an independent space industry, sufficient redundancy ("one is none"), rapid response capabilities, and robust resilience to ensure credible deterrence over the long term.
Germany's space security strategy – an important signal
With its Space Security Strategy (WRSS), Germany has closed a long-standing strategic gap. For the first time, the Federal Government is creating a political and strategic foundation for a comprehensive national space security architecture. The WRSS formulates ambitious yet essential goals for European sovereignty and operational capability, defines long-term visions, and specifies concrete measures for their implementation. The strategy addresses numerous existing capability gaps, creates active capabilities in space, both defensive and offensive, increases resilience, and aims for credible deterrence and an adaptive, "living" space security infrastructure.
In parallel, the Federal Republic of Germany has announced plans to invest a total of €45 billion in space by 2030, of which €35 billion will be specifically earmarked for developing a space security architecture for the German Armed Forces. In this respect, Germany is assuming a leading position within Europe and providing a significant impetus for ensuring its own capabilities in space. The German government has thus sent an unambiguous signal: Germany has identified the security policy challenges arising from and within space and has now transformed this awareness into the development of comprehensive capabilities and a precisely defined military mission. At the same time, Germany is striving to assume a leading role in European space security and defense policy.
In this matter, the Federal Republic of Germany does not aim to act in isolation, but rather to assume the role of a driving force and a so-called guiding nation within the European sphere. A key aspect in this context is the planned establishment of a European Space Component Command (ESCC), whose function is to coordinate and conduct joint space operations with partners. Germany is thus combining national capacity development with European cooperation and making an active contribution to strengthening collective space security in Europe.
Because space is and will remain a team sport that no single nation can master alone. To best position Europe's operational and defense capabilities, it is of paramount importance to coordinate national programs, investments, and capability development across Europe, while simultaneously considering interoperability. Innovation and the European space industry must be fostered to ensure long-term competitiveness and overcome existing dependencies.
Germany aspires to be more than just a user of space; it aims to be a key player in shaping its future. Establishing a coordinating and leadership role that is widely accepted will be crucial for Europe's future in space.
