Скачать или смотреть How competitive is Europe in the global space race?

Brussels – On July 9, the European Space Agency (ESA) launched its long-awaited Ariane 6 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, an overseas department of France in South America. The launch was hailed as good news for Europe's space ambitions.

ESA’s Ariane programme is a flagship programme of the European Space Agency, an intergovernmental organisation created in 1975. Today, ESA consists of 22 European countries.

While ESA is not an agency of the European Union, the bloc has its own space agency: the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), which works closely with ESA, whose funding mainly comes from the EU.

The EU also has its own Space Programme, which is supported by and implemented in cooperation with ESA. Two major components of that programme are Galileo – a satellite-based navigation system – and Copernicus – the EU’s Earth observation programme.

The EU’s Space Programme also includes initiatives such as systems for space traffic management to prevent satellite collisions and satellite communication services used by governments, as well as navigation systems for the aviation and maritime sectors.

Check out our video to learn more about what Europe and the EU are doing to compete in the global space race, how ESA and the EUSPA collaborate, and what challenges the continent faces in this ever-evolving sector.