Today, EU citizens enjoy watching satellite TV, increasingly accurate global navigation services for all transport modes and users, extended Earth monitoring for land, marine, atmosphere and climate change, global meteorological observation and accurate cartographies of a wide number of variables. Space also makes important contributions to security crisis management and emergency services. EU Space Programme components (such as EGNSS and Copernicus) are key assets for the EU policies on climate, environment, transport, agriculture and secure society. Finally, the Space sector is a source of economic growth and jobs.

This Destination is structured along the following building blocks:

• Accessing Space, i.e. the ability to transport satellites, cargo, and humans into space; build and launch the required vehicles, including re-usable systems; and operate the related facilities and services;
• Using Space on Earth, i.e. the ability to provide space-based secure communication, navigation and Earth observation services and applications, including through the EU Space flagships Galileo, Copernicus and IRIS²;
• Monitoring Space, i.e. the ability to detect, track and anticipate the trajectory of spacecraft, Near-Earth objects, and space debris during their full lifetime; to share data with relevant stakeholders; and to provide solutions for safe international space traffic management. It also includes the tracking and anticipation of other impacts on the space environment, such as Space weather events;
• Acting in Space, i.e. the ability to inspect, rendezvous and dock, grasp, repair, reconfigure, build, assemble and disassemble, reuse/recycle, relocate, remove and transport operational, non-operational, and other objects in space, including platforms or larger structures;
• Exploring Space, i.e. the ability to conduct high profile space exploration activities, perform excellent science and exploit space data to increase our knowledge about the Universe and celestial bodies, with a view to their exploration for scientific and socio-economic benefits;
• Boosting Space, i.e. the ability to sustain the above strategic capabilities through fostering the competitiveness of the EU space sector; improving education and developing the required skills; accelerating the pace of innovation; supporting EU non-dependency on critical technologies; and strengthening international cooperation.

Those building blocks are implemented through the following headings:

• Heading 1: Accessing Space

Autonomous access to space is a prerequisite for the strategic autonomy of the EU. It is a key enabler and indispensable element in the space ecosystem and value chain. European launch systems allow the autonomous deployment of satellites for the Union’s flagships Copernicus, Galileo/EGNOS and IRIS² and contribute to the security and resilience of Europe’s sovereign space infrastructure.

In a context of fierce competition and launch services paradigm changes, ensuring that Europe improves the resilience and the cost-effectiveness of its autonomous access to space is crucial. This requires urgent activities to enable and further consolidate operational capacities before 2030.

This challenge will be tackled by fostering space transportation solutions through the support to building blocks for smart technologies and digital solutions and contributing to facilitate access to European spaceports.

In a forward-looking approach and thanks to the implementation of a European Parliament Preparatory Action (outside the scope of Horizon Europe), a new R&I approach will be applied toward a more service-oriented and less prescriptive support of the full development cycle of access to space innovations. At the same time, a reflection will be carried out to envisage follow-up actions through the 26-27 WP and future programmes.

• Heading 2: Acting in Space

Act in space is a key enabler of the future freedom of action of the EU. In-Space Operations and Services (ISOS) will ensure EU’s freedom of action in space and increase the resilience, sustainability, safety and protection of its space infrastructure, and contribute to the strengthening of the competitiveness of the EU space sector. R&I activities should bring the Europe to the forefront of emerging service applications, including inspection, rendezvous and docking, grasping, repair, reconfiguration, assembly and disassembly, manufacturing, resource extraction, reuse/recycling, removal and transport of objects in space, for satellites, platforms and larger structures. Key space R&I activities will be driven by a pilot mission that will contribute to establish and foster a new in-space economy.

Game-changing innovations and enabling technologies are at the heart of ISOS and an important focus of future actions. The paradigm shift towards adaptive space systems builds on automation and robotics, artificial intelligence, modular and reconfigurable spacecraft concepts. Together with other enabling technologies such as electric propulsion, they will provide new ways on how space assets are designed, produced, tested, transported, and operated. Different means realised with AppStore-like approaches will benefit the future space ecosystem and foster a circular economy.

• Heading 3: Using Space on Earth related to telecommunications

The Union Secure Connectivity programme aims to develop a secure and autonomous space-based connectivity system for the provision of guaranteed and resilient satellite communications on Earth. Among the objectives are to develop, build and operate a multiorbital space-based state-of-the-art connectivity system, continuously adapted to governmental satellite communications demand evolution; to complement the Union pool of satellite communication capacities and services; and to integrate the GOVSATCOM ground segment infrastructure, as well as the European quantum communication infrastructure (EuroQCI).

• Heading 4: Using Space on Earth related to Earth Observation

Copernicus core services (Climate Change, Marine Environment Monitoring, Land Monitoring, Atmosphere Monitoring, Emergency Management and Security) should evolve and improve to better respond to new and emerging policy needs, and to leverage the latest science and technology developments. The Copernicus service evolution research topics will focus on further enhancing the services in the areas of coupled Earth system reanalysis and exploitation of past and emerging satellite and other data streams, soil-vegetation-atmosphere modelling for volatile organic compounds and pollen, wildfire risk forecasting and related carbon emissions, and ocean data assimilation and ensemble prediction. The digital transformation across services and value chains will be promoted via a dedicated broad topic on AI to stimulate innovation and know-how exchange. In connection with the Space Data Economy, downstream market uptake research activities will focus on energy, climate adaptation and environmental footprint reduction, green financing and insurance, and liveable cities of the future. Innovation in Earth observation services will also be supported in the field of ship source pollution detection in the context of evolving maritime policies.

• Heading 5: Using Space on Earth related to satellite navigation

For Galileo/EGNOS, the international context, the competitive environment with emerging actors and novel techniques in the value chain, the increasing threats, and the evolution of the technologies, components and systems, including dual-use technology, call for a constant adaptation of the EU space infrastructure to these changing realities.

To meet these challenges, EU needs sustained investments in R&D for innovative mission concepts, technology and systems. These will ensure the continuity of the EGNSS service, minimise the risks for technology inclusion in the infrastructure, thanks to anticipated development and testing including in-orbit, protect better this infrastructure against modern threats (notably cyber, jamming/spoofing, natural hazards), and increase the strategic autonomy in key technologies. Overall, they will maintain the EU´s leadership position in the Global Navigation Satellite Systems.

• Heading 6: Using Space on Earth related to services and data coming from satellites

Over 10% of the European GDP is enabled by economical activities linked to the need of location through satellite navigation systems. Whilst the market uptake of EGNSS is already good in many areas, important priorities still remain, in particular 1) support the development of solutions that underpin EU priorities and policies, including the Green Deal, 2) support the public sector as a customer of Galileo, 3) foster the competitiveness of EU downstream industry and SMEs/start-ups and 4) leverage synergies with other space programmes and non-space technologies.

Downstream R&I activities for EGNSS applications are needed to support the uptake of the new services/differentiators (i.e. Galileo High Accuracy Service and Open Service Navigation Message Authentication, made available in 2022 for testing and initial services, Galileo Emergency Warning Service to be made available in 2025 and Galileo Public Regulated Services to be made available soon). Opportunities to be market leader lie a.o. in autonomous driving, unmanned vehicles (aerial, terrestrial and maritime), location-based services, critical infrastructures, emergency management and humanitarian aid, insurance and finance, urban development and cultural heritage.

Regarding Copernicus applications, the digital dimension must be reinforced, encouraging the collaboration of ICT players with Earth observation and space stakeholders. The uptake of applications using Copernicus data could be improved, including by public authorities, who are important potential customers. Also, while many applications are developed for the land sector, other areas are less active. Solutions for a more sustainable use of resources and preserving biodiversity should be reinforced, as well as for countering natural hazards and climate extreme events as well as climate change mitigation and adaptation.

• Heading 7: Monitoring Space

Orbital space infrastructure, the data, and the services they deliver have become indispensable for European societies and economies and in the daily lives of Europeans. However, due to an increasingly congested orbital space, the likelihood of a satellite being severely damaged or destroyed in a collision has raised dramatically. Such risk calls for action to preserve European interests by protecting its private and public investments in space in a sustainable manner.

Based on the EU Space Programme, capabilities of the Space Situational Awareness (SSA) component and Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST) services are being developed and consolidated through a Partnership of 15 Member States. The EU SST Partnership Agreement has officially entered into force on 11 November 2022. With this Partnership, EU SST builds on the good results achieved by the initial consortium of 5 Member States (Decision 541/2014) and targets continuity of activities and service provision, improvement of specialisation on expertise, and consideration of the duality and security dimension of SST.

Partnership’s Member States have joined forces and networked their national assets and competences with the objective to establish and improve the Union’s SST capacities to ensure the delivery of SST services to European institutions, public authorities, and public and private spacecraft operators and owners. Services are structured around three axes: Collision Avoidance, Fragmentation Analysis and Re-entry Analysis. EU SST service provision is the key operational capability for the EU’s future approach to Space Traffic Management (STM) which encompasses the means and the rules to access, conduct activities in, and return from outer space safely, sustainably, and securely.

EU SST relies on the European industry, including start-ups, to develop and improve national, public-owned capacities based on Partnership’s requirements. As a result, more than 80% of the funds delegated by the EU to the EU SST Partnership are sub-contracted to EU industry through call for tenders. This has triggered the spawning of a European industrial sector on SST activities that should contribute to the EU STM approach. On 15 February 2022, a Joint Communication on STM (JOIN/2022/4 final) has been adopted, calling for the enhancement of EU operational capabilities to support SST and STM activities (action 2). Within the framework of this STM Joint Communication, a European Industry Start-ups Forum on Space Traffic Management (EISF) has been created. The Forum aims at directly involving EU companies and other relevant stakeholders in the conception of future research and innovation activities in the SST/STM domain.

Further resilience and autonomy of the Union’s SST capabilities will come by leveraging complementary contributions from European private capabilities and commercial initiatives. At the same time, EU industry is expected to adapt and benefit from new SST market opportunities appearing in a rapidly changing environment in and beyond Europe. To that end, research and development activities are oriented towards the strengthening of the competitiveness of the Union space industry, including start-ups, by increasing its capacity in designing, building, and operating its own SST systems.

Importantly, SSA also covers the domains of Space Weather (SW) and Near-Earth Objects (NEO). For those domains, activities are ongoing and no additional ones are needed under the 2025 WP.

• Heading 8: Boosting space through non-dependence of the EU for key critical space technologies

Ensuring non-dependence for critical space technologies is key, especially in the current geo-political context. The European Commission has undertaken several activities and deployed new tools (e.g. the EU Observatory of Critical Technologies) for assessing space technologies and identify those that are critical from a dependency point of view. Within this domain, a number of technological developments will be initiated with focus on priorities stemming from on-going and planned EU Space missions, including IRIS². Emphasis will be on reducing non-EU dependencies on critical space technologies across their whole supply chain from advanced materials to components, equipment, and sub-systems; providing unrestricted access to advanced space technologies relevant for EU space missions and programme components; developing or regaining capacity to operate independently in space by developing resilient space technologies supply chains, relying on EU supply chains and/or trustable and reliable supply chains not affected by non-EU export restrictions; enhancing competitiveness by developing products and capabilities reaching equivalent or superior performance level than those from outside the EU and compete at worldwide level; and opening new opportunities for manufacturers by reducing dependency on export restricted technologies.

• Heading 9: Boosting Space through international cooperation

International cooperation remains an important enabler as global challenges can best be addressed by global solutions. Opportunities lie especially in innovative technologies, in the exploitation of space-based data and in downstream applications.

• Heading 10: Boosting Space through training and education activities

Preparing the skilled workforce of tomorrow is essential to bridge the gap between supply and demand for talents in the European Space sector and inspire the next generation of space professionals.

• Heading 11: Boosting Space through IOD/IOV opportunities

IOD/IOV opportunities continue to be needed for experiments needing aggregation as well as for read-to-fly satellites. This includes the Flight Ticket Initiative to support competitiveness and innovation of the European Space sector.

• Heading 12: Boosting Space through support to entrepreneurship

Business development, acceleration and upscaling of start-ups is also much needed, which has given rise to the set-up of the CASSINI Space Entrepreneurship Initiative. CASSINI provides support to business and innovation-friendly ecosystems, including the strengthening business skills in the space market segments and digital services based on space data. CASSINI also aims at making start-ups and scale-ups investment-ready and able to secure venture capital funding and at leveraging synergies with the InvestEU programme and the EU Space Programme.

Limiting participation in certain actions to Member States (and certain associated countries to Horizon Europe)

The Space research part of the Horizon Europe Programme is by default open to the world, promoting international cooperation to drive scientific excellence.

However, an important aspect of this Destination consists in ensuring security and strengthening strategic autonomy across key technologies and value chains, taking advantage of the possibilities that space offers for the security of the Union and its Member States. This objective requires special rules in specific cases to set the requisite eligibility and participation conditions to ensure the protection of the integrity, security and resilience of the Union and its Member States. Hence, on an exceptional basis and duly justified, this work programme may foresee a limited participation to entities from selected countries. Such exceptional circumstances would relate to prevalent considerations to safeguard the Union’s strategic assets, interests, autonomy or security. Possibilities for such limitations are framed by Article 22(5) of the Horizon Europe Regulation.

The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:

HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-HADEA

HORIZON-EUSPA-2026-SPACE-03

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