International Space Station / © ESA/NASA-S.Cristoforetti
Enthusiasts, international experts and visionaries were able to exchange ideas about the future of space at this year's Space Week in Kirchberg.
RTL spoke with Hermann Ludwig Moeller, the director of the European Space Policy Institute, an independent institute based in Vienna that deals with space research. Moeller has been fascinated by all things space since his childhood and he is convinced that today we find ourselves in the new age of spaceflight.
"The best comparison I can give you is, 20 or 30 years ago, the internet. When we were first exposed to the internet, nobody knew what it would become and now you can't really imagine life without it, in all areas of life. We are now at the dawn of the age of spaceflight. Because although spaceflight is already being used heavily in various areas today, it is still not that widely known. But it will be everywhere in our lives, even more so than today."
Indeed, spaceflight is becoming increasingly relevant in other sectors too. The car industry benefits from connecting their vehicles together using satellites, precision agriculture uses 'Earth observation data' for cultivation. Projects dealing with the future of communication are using data that can be obtained from space, which can help them in the fight against climate change. Meteorology for example also benefits from spaceflight.
The war in Ukraine also demonstrates how spaceflight can serve a military purpose and contribute to security. Countries like China and India are actively investing in spaceflight for these purposes too. For Moeller, this is a signal for Europe to step up. When it comes to investments in space research, Luxembourg is already ahead:
"So in Europe, if you measure Luxembourg by the proportion of gross national product that is invested in spaceflight, then Luxembourg ranks first in Europe and three times above the European average. This is because the country invested strategically and at an early stage. SES was, I think, created in 1985 and today they're one of the world's largest satellite operators."
In the past, governments had full control over anything related to spaceflight. This is no longer the case. Elon Musk's private satellite company Starlink is an example of how private spaceflight has revolutionised the industry, shifting innovation and operational control from state-run agencies to commercial enterprises. However, Hermann Moeller emphasised the importance of striking the right balance between the interests of the government and those of private individuals.
