Satellites play an increasingly important role in the development of digital economies. Many remote locations in rural areas in for example Eastern Europe cannot be economically connected and cannot develop digital services without satellite communication, especially in regions with vast rural areas. With this strategy in mind, Europe is launching a new space program with a billion euro budget.

The program was announced at the recent European Space Conference under the name Cassini. The fund aims to support startups developing new (micro) launch vehicles and innovative new services. Launch sites are also considered as part of the program. Currently, Kourou in French Guiana is the major European launch site. It is a very favorable location for a wide variaty of missions, but it is thousands of miles away from the European continent. A number of European countries are considering new launch sites. One example is in the south of the UK. In addition, a new site in Shetland is being developed with Danish private funding.

In Q3, the program will also launch a business accelerator. The focus will be on space services supporting existing infrastructures; defending and securing space services that are critical assets for defence and security operations; services for human well-being, education, and entertainment​; and innovative hardware and software solutions for optimizing and evolving launch systems.

Cassini Business Accelerator will offer a 6-month program of mentoring, training and events for start-up and scale-up companies to help them achieve sustained growth in space.

Photo credit: Christian Lue