Infrastructures. Economy. Communications. Sovereignty. For many years, these concepts could only be understood from Earth. Today, however, they depend increasingly on what happens beyond the atmosphere. Space has ceased to be a scenario reserved for astronauts, rockets, and science fiction to become a strategic domain from which everyday issues such as communications, navigation, security, or economic competitiveness are decided.
It is in this context that in recent years the concept of new space, or new space economy, has gained strength to describe an industry that mobilizes millionaire investments, drives new companies, and concentrates growing competition among governments and large corporations worldwide. An economy that, despite bearing the label "new," is not really that new: different countries and companies have been competing for decades to dominate space. The difference is that this race has ceased to be just a matter of scientific prestige —of seeing who arrived first or who went furthest— to become a technological and even geopolitical battle.
But why this urgency to dominate space? Is it not enough to face the economic challenges that humans have on Earth? For Maria Antonietta Perino, Director of Space Economy, Exploration and International Network at Thales Alenia Space, the main European satellite manufacturer, the answer is clear: "We go to space to improve life on Earth". An objective that, she has argued, goes far beyond scientific exploration. "Returning to the Moon is much more than leaving a footprint. If we return, it is to build a stable economy and guarantee the future of future generations," she added.
The engineer stated this before an auditorium full of executives, representatives of startups, technology centers, and political leaders gathered at the sixth edition of the Space Economy Congress, the congress organized by the Cambra de Comerç de Barcelona that until this Friday turns the Llotja de Mar into the main meeting point for the space sector in Catalonia. Throughout the day, references to geopolitics, the need to strengthen European technological sovereignty, and the construction of a proprietary space industry monopolized a good part of the debates.
Because, in reality, dominating space has much more everyday implications than it seems at first glance. Satellites make communications possible across the planet, but they can also leave critical infrastructures, such as hospitals or emergency services, incommunicado if these capabilities fail or fall into the hands of third parties. They are also essential for GPS navigation, indispensable for transport by sea, air, and land, and for monitoring the territory, detecting in advance high-risk fire situations —like those these days in Catalonia— or episodes of drought and water stress. Applications that often go unnoticed or are not associated with these devices that fly over the atmosphere, but that explain why space has ceased to be just a scientific matter to become an economic and political strategy.
Catalonia, heading to space
It is precisely this growing importance that explains why Europe wants to reduce its external dependence on increasingly critical infrastructures. In a sector where the United States and China continue to lead a large part of space capabilities, and where large private operators like SpaceX are redefining the rules of the game, Europe aspires to strengthen its autonomy and to have its own technologies.
"He who is not at the table, is on the menu," graphically summarized Jorge del Río, Scientific Affairs Officer at the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. The actors gathered at the Llotja de Mar are clear that Catalonia —and, by extension, Europe— does not want to be part of the menu, but rather to sit at the table and call the shots in the decisions that will mark the future of the space economy.
Maria Antonietta Perino: "We go to space to improve life on Earth"
In this context, it is not strange, then, that the word "sovereignty" has become the great common thread of the congress. From the inaugural session to the last debate of the morning, the concept has been reiterated in practically all interventions. But this sovereignty is not only a political objective: it also translates into concrete projects. At a European scale, programs such as Copernicus —dedicated to Earth observation—, Galileo —the European satellite navigation system—, or the future IRIS² constellation are some of the pillars with which the European Union wants to strengthen its strategic autonomy. Representatives of the sector, however, agree that this effort must be intensified. "We need programs, we need contracts, we need ambition and budget. And we need it now," demanded Sandra Mingot, head of EU Space and Defense Programs at Sener Aerospace & Defence.
Within Europe, Catalonia also wants to gain weight in this new space economy. It does so with a sector that has not stopped growing in recent years and now totals 83 companies dedicated to space technologies, more than triple that in 2019. These are the latest data from the report presented by ACCIÓ, in collaboration with the Secretariat of Digital Policies and the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC), coinciding with the Space Economy Congress.
Together, these companies invoice 237 million euros and employ 1,822 professionals. The majority are small and medium-sized enterprises —almost three out of ten are startups and more than half are less than ten years old—, but with a clear international vocation: one out of three already exports. According to the conseller of Business and Labor, Miquel Sàmper, these data "highlight the potential of the space sector as a driver of industrial growth, attraction of investment, and creation of qualified jobs."
It is this ecosystem, precisely, that the Govern wants to project to the world with Barcelona's bid to host the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in 2029, the main global meeting of the space sector. The bid, promoted with the support of the Spanish Space Agency, will compete with Houston and Geneva and will be defended this October during the congress that will take place in Antalya (Turkey). For Sàmper, hosting the IAC represents "a strategic opportunity to further grow the Catalan space ecosystem, attract investment, business, and global recognition."
An opportunity, also, to turn Catalonia into the meeting point for a sector that, precisely, demands more coordination among all its actors. It is no coincidence that, if sovereignty has been the great concept of the congress, collaboration has been the second. Public contracts, more investment, cooperation between large companies and startups, and closer coordination between governments, industry, and technological centers have been some of the most repeated recipes throughout the day.
A race won as a team
"If we don't move forward together, we won't change the world. We need to leverage the best of each country to build the best Europe," Mingot summarized. The main obstacle to effective collaboration is not, in the opinion of Jaume Sanpera, founder and CEO of Sateliot, an excess of European regulation, but rather fragmentation among different countries. This is where public administrations and governments play a fundamental role. As del Río warned, they must be responsible for "creating the right environment for innovation to emerge." "It's not enough to develop technology; we also have to create talent," he added.
Precisely, talent has been the other great challenge that has hovered over the different sessions of the congress. Without qualified professionals, several speakers agreed, technological sovereignty and European competitiveness will hardly be consolidated. "The key is to have the right people in the right places, researching and transforming this knowledge into new technologies," remarked Pol Llorca, Head of Business Development at Airbus GeoTech. Along the same lines, Carlos Álvarez, Director of Navigation Missions at Indra Space, warned that "technologies evolve so fast that we need engineers with an open mind, capable of imagining and developing infrastructures that do not yet exist today."
Sovereignty. Collaboration. And talent. These are the three great recipes left by the Space Economy Congress. The three essential conditions for Catalonia not to end up being part of the menu, but to be able to sit at the table and call the shots in a geopolitical, technological and economic race that began decades ago.