Brussels: Europe and the Arabs

   Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said it was a big moment for Europe. It is a big moment for the space industry in Europe. This came in her speech on the sidelines of the opening of the first orbital launch site on the European mainland. It is currently based in Sweden, which since the beginning of this month holds the rotating presidency of the European Union. According to Vonderlein, this spaceport provides an independent European gateway to space. "It is exactly the infrastructure we need, not only to continue innovating but also to explore the final frontier. I was impressed by listening to the scientists," she said. who gave us the different topics and possibilities that are here.And it's a shining example of the huge potential of space research to really improve our daily lives.And we're proud of what we have like Galileo,Copernicus,the new IRIS system.And if you look at the green transition for example -one of the topics we discussed here-, Climate change: If we want to efficiently track the effects of climate change, space provides 60% of the measurements we need. Just look from space and you have the majority of the data you need to understand what's going on. Or take civil protection or traffic management. I'll never forget the help we got from Copernicus In the midst of a pandemic, when we had to create our green corridors to manage them at best in a very critical situation.It was Copernicus who helped us and gave us the data that were necessary on a daily basis to make really critical decisions.
This came on the sidelines of the opening of the first space center for launching satellites in the mainland of the European Union at the "Esrange" space center near the city of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It was attended by von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, King Carl Gustav the 16th of Sweden, and Prime Minister of Sweden Ulf Christerson.
After several years of preparations, the Esrange Center will provide a new gateway to space, as it complements the European Union's space base in Kouroa in Guyana, one of the French overseas territories, according to the Swedish space company "SSC".
The company stated that the first satellite is expected to be launched from the new center at the end of this year, as reusable space missiles will be tested at the site.
"The current geopolitical situation, and of course the Russian intervention in Ukraine, have shown how important it is for the European Union to have access to space," Christerson said.
According to the European Commission, this advanced spaceport has granted Europe the capabilities necessary to meet this growing demand. The benefits of small satellites, which can be launched from here, are enormous. "We've just heard that it's important to launch theses satellites again and again, to have reusability, to test them," Vonderlein said. A: Let's take this as a strong message of political will.
I've talked about mitigating climate change, but adaptation is just as important. For example, we can track natural disasters in real time. We will never forget and we have all experienced terrible droughts, floods and wildfires. And yes, it's terrible, but you need to act right away. And more eyes in the sky are needed to help save lives, in Europe and around the world.
Small satellites, as we have heard, are also important to our security. Today, we know that the brave Ukrainian forces are effectively using small satellites to track Russian troop movements. It is because of this overall increased importance, along with many topics that I could not touch upon today, that the Commission will present a proposal for an EU Space Strategy for Security and Defense. The aim is to improve the resilience of European space infrastructure and to strengthen our common European capabilities.
Finally, we are working tirelessly to change the way "space works" in Europe. This means encouraging the participation of SMEs and start-ups in EU flagship initiatives. There is so much to do, we need you. For example, Copernicus' dynamic purchasing system. It also means enhancing access to finance for space entrepreneurs in Europe. There are many good reasons why we need to accelerate the European space programme. You show us the shining example of that day. I would like to thank everyone who participated in this project. Europe has a foothold in space, and we will maintain it.