Telespazio, and
Thales Alenia Space to do a one-year study on an EU-branded Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite system. The commission pitched that the system will provide secure and low-latency communications, as well as broadband internet to all Europeans, and will include quantum cryptography to support the constellation’s security. With this study and a potential launch in the future, the EU said it is aiming to secure European “digital sovereignty.”
As a European citizen and space enthusiast this is exciting news! Having spent the better part of this millennium among various Non-Geostationary (NGSO) and LEO systems, however, a couple of questions do come up immediately: Why is this study into New Space opportunities, being conducted by Old Space company? If the ambition is to secure European digital sovereignty, can we afford to spend – or lose – a year on a study, with cyberthreats rampant and so much NGSO/LEO information already available? Also, as the European Co