Europe’s Desperate Scramble to Stay Relevant in Space
(Now with Extra Sovereignty Concerns and a Side of IRIS²!)
Oh How the Mighty have… well, Panicked. The ESA and Viasat have just announced a public-private partnership for direct-to-device (D2D) satellite services, and if that doesn’t scream, “We need to catch up!” I don’t know what does.
D2D technology is all the rage, promising uninterrupted satellite connections for your smartphone, planes, cars, and even ships. Of course, they sell it as a humanitarian tool for “mass SMS alerts for extreme weather!” but we all know this is also about geopolitical power plays and corporate monopolization of space.
ESA is doing its best to sound confident. Josef Aschbacher talks about “technological competitiveness,” which is a diplomatic way of saying, “We need to stop relying on SpaceX before Elon Musk owns the entire sky.” Meanwhile, Viasat’s Mark Dankberg is dropping phrases like “space remains open and accessible to all”, which is rich, considering the whole point of this move is to establish control over who gets to connect and who doesn’t.
Wait, Isn’t Viasat a U.S. Company? What About European Sovereignty?
ESA has spent the last few years talking about “European space sovereignty” and reducing reliance on non-European tech giants. Yet, when push comes to shove, they’ve handed over the keys to Viasat.
That means any critical European infrastructure using this service is ultimately reliant on a company governed by U.S. regulations and potential political interference. If tensions rise between the U.S. and the EU, or if Washington suddenly decides to change Viasat’s priorities, how independent is Europe’s satellite future, really?
And IRIS²?
Here’s where things get even messier. The EU has already committed to IRIS² (its €6 billion flagship project) to create a sovereign European satellite constellation. An autonomous, government-backed satellite network free from dependence on the U.S. or China.
But if ESA is now partnering with Viasat for D2D connectivity, how does that fit? Is this a strategic detour, or are European policymakers realizing that IRIS² might not be able to compete on its own? The EU claimed IRIS² would be a game-changer for Europe’s sovereignty, yet now we see Viasat playing a major role in shaping European satellite services.
Does that mean IRIS² is already falling behind? Are European leaders hedging their bets by cozying up to an American firm just in case IRIS² fails? Or worse, will IRIS² quietly become dependent on Viasat technology, effectively making it another U.S.-influenced project?
The new space race is over who owns the infrastructure that connects the world. And right now, ESA and Europe are handing a significant piece of that control to a company whose first allegiance is to Washington, not Brussels.
Sovereignty? Sure. Just with an asterisk. And maybe a little IRIS²-shaped footnote that says, “Coming soon… maybe.”
