To protect Europe`s space infrastructure and for the global distribution of space loads in the S… It is also interesting to ask what are the motivations that led national administrations to accept the Commission`s initiative. Looking at exactly what remains in the hands of the EU or the Member States helps to understand. On the one hand, participation in the TMS consortium allows Member States to benefit from European financial resources (approximately EUR 10 million per year for 7 years) which will be made available for the creation and use of a network of assets (including its own), which will likely be valued in the future, as well as the implementation and use of process and analysis capabilities. Secondly, it is also necessary to be part of the process in order to better control it and not to be excluded from Europe`s progress. Aware of this, it is precisely through such incentives that the EU has succeeded in integrating Member States and their assets into its new space initiative. In April 2014, the European Parliament and the Council adopted a decision on the development of Space Monitoring and Monitoring Services (SSTs), proposed by the European Commission (EC). To this end, five countries have set up a consortium for the project: the agreement between the national space agencies and the offices of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and the Commission was signed in June this year, press release, 16 June 2015, “SST Consortium Agreement”, www.asi.it/en/news/sst-consortium-agreement-signed. Participation in the consortium will enable national institutions to participate in the security of Europe`s space infrastructure. First, it will accelerate the development of the national THS system, which will provide Poland with the data needed to protect future Polish satellites and strengthen the state`s national security and defence by monitoring space threats. The ESS users who benefit from NESS services are all EU Member States, the Council, the Commission, the EEAS, the owners and operators of private and public vehicles, as well as the civil protection authorities.
The #EUSpace programme will enable the launch of European Space Awareness Initiatives (SSAs) to protect #space infrastructure from space debris. Space Surveillance and Tracking (#SST) already protects 148 European satellites from collisions. 60 years of humanity`s conquest of space lead to many remarkable scientific achievements and technological advances. However, one of its side effects is a systematic waste of space. There are more than 20,000 catalogued pieces of debris over 10 cm and more than 750,000 pieces of debris ranging in size from 1 to 10 cm. According to European Union forecasts, around 1 million space debris over 1 cm is expected in 2020. These are mainly inactive satellites and their components, parts of rockets and spaceships that can pose a threat to the safety of citizens (objects that re-enter the Earth`s atmosphere) and to expensive space-based infrastructure, including the International Space Station, and approximately 1,800 active navigation, surveillance and communication satellites that provide daily data around the world.