Europe in the Global Space Economy

This book analyzes the policies and space economy programs of major space-faring nations and explores whether the present institutional set-up in Europe is adequate to address the challenges. At the core of the discussion are the relative roles of governments and markets in a highly dynamic panorama that involves advancements in science, modifications in technology and organization, and the introduction of new rules of behavior. After a close examination of the history of development of the space economy, and the shift from the centralized model to deregulation and the opening up of space activities to commercial companies, a wide-ranging overview of global space governance is provided. National and regional perspectives are discussed, and the current role of commercial actors in the global space system is elucidated. The various challenges faced by Europe are then examined, including the threat posed by institutional and market fragmentation to the emergence of European companies able to compete with companies of nations such as the USA. The final part of the book analyzes proposals for reforming of the space system in Europe and offers a vision for future European space policy.

1. Introduction.- 2. The development of the space economy.- a. The dawn of the space economy: 1950-1970.- b. The space economy between 1970 and today.- c. The political economy of the new space age.- 3. Overview of global space governance: policies, laws and programs analyses.- a.    National and regional perspectives.- b. Focus on the role of commercial actors in the global space system.- c. Strengths and limitations.- 4. The challenges for Europe.- a. Institutional fragmentation.- b. Market fragmentation.- 5. Possible solutions.- 6. Conclusions.

Patrizia Caraveo is Research Director at the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF) and works at the Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica in Milan, where she was Director from 2011 to 2017. She is also Professor at the University of Pavia. She has worked on several international space missions dedicated to particle physics and has received various awards: In 2009, she won the Premio Nazionale Presidente della Repubblica, and in 2007, 2011, and 2012, she shared the Bruno Rossi Prize of the American Astronomical Society with her colleagues Swift, Fermi, and Agile. In 2014, she received an Outstanding Achievement Award from Women in Aerospace Europe and was included by Thomson Reuters in the list of highly cited researchers for Space Science. In 2017, she was awarded the title Commendatore dell’Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana. In 2021 she won the Enrico Fermi prize awarded by the Società Italiana di Fisica (SIF).

Clelia Iacomino is a Research Fellow atSpace Economy Evolution Lab of SDA Bocconi School of Management. Her research activities are focused on management mechanisms and political strategies, public-private partnerships and innovation policies.  Prior to her current position, she worked as a Resident Fellow at the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) in Vienna, under a fellowship from the Italian Space Agency (ASI), and as a Business Analyst at Thales Alenia Space. Currently, she is pursuing a PhD in Management & Innovation at the Catholic University of Milan where she is researching the transformative role of the State in the context of the space economy and how innovation policies shape the space innovation ecosystem.