Space is now an extension of our economy, our security, and our technological sovereignty. At stake is not only scientific primacy but the ability to control the infrastructures that are part of everyday life: communications, satellite navigation, weather forecasting, climate management, global connectivity. Today, over 12,000 satellites orbit the Earth, and nearly two-thirds belong to U.S. operators. This is a telling figure.
We are witnessing a new space race. And this time it is not only played on the scientific or technological level: it is played on the level of rules, and Italy was among the first to understand this. With Law no. 89/2025 on the Space Economy, approved by Parliament last June, our country has taken a decisive step.
Article 1 already recognizes space as a strategic crossroads of geopolitical, military, economic, and scientific interests. This definition marks a paradigm shift: space is no longer a distant frontier but a critical infrastructure that supports our digital economy and collective security. Giving legal value to this awareness is decisive. It means laying the foundations for space governance that protects national and European interests, recognizing its strategic nature, and ensuring uniform rules across the entire ecosystem.
The first misconception to dismantle is that regulation stifles the market. Those operating in the space sector know this is not the case. Companies do not flee regulation: they flee uncertainty. They flee the absence of transparent procedures, the risk of operating in a legal vacuum that makes it impossible to plan long-term investments, obtain adequate insurance coverage, access credit, or build joint ventures with international partners.
Law no. 89/2025 responds precisely to this need: a coherent authorization system for national space activities, with defined procedures, insurance coverage thresholds calibrated to mission risk, and a liability regime that incorporates the principles of international space law adapted to contemporary operational realities. For an operator, this means being able to do business knowing exactly which rules apply, which risks must be covered, and which protections can be asserted. The reliability of the regulatory framework is worth as much as any tax incentive for investors.
At the European level, the issue to resolve is fragmentation. European operators working in the space sector must navigate different rules from state to state: licenses, procurement procedures, liability and insurance regimes vary widely. This regulatory mosaic slows projects, increases costs, and represents a concrete obstacle to the emergence of a true single space market. The consequences are clear: while other countries, like the United States, operate under a unified framework, Europe risks remaining trapped in its own administrative complexity.
The EU Space Act is an important signal in this regard. For the first time, Europe says: space is no longer just science, astronauts, and weather satellites. It is business. So let’s establish common rules. It’s a bit like putting order in a condominium where until now everyone has done as they pleased. Through the Space Team Europe initiative, the Commission has launched a harmonization process aimed at networking skills, resources, and rules. The future EU Space Act is a unique opportunity to complete the missing piece: a single legal framework for licenses, procurement, liability, data management, cybersecurity, and orbital debris. These are not just technical details but an essential condition for European competitiveness.
With a solid legal basis, Europe can build a single market and claim an autonomous role in the major global space alliances. However, the risk is clear: while Europe discusses (rightly so, because that is how laws are made), others, much faster, are beginning to take over space. Literally. Those who arrive later have little say in changing the rules. The history of digital infrastructures has already taught us this once. We cannot ignore the lesson a second time.
For this reason, the EU Space Act is useful, but it must become something more. It must address data protection in orbit. It must address space cybersecurity. It must address competition and vertical monopolies — among those who launch satellites, those who operate them, and those who sell cloud services from space — because concentration along the entire supply chain is a real, not theoretical, risk. A global critical infrastructure cannot be in the hands of a few entities without rules ensuring fair access, interoperability, and protection of end users.
This is especially true for startups and SMEs, which are the backbone of the European and Italian space industry. They are the protagonists of the New Space Economy: nano-satellites, innovative propulsion, Earth observation, debris removal, in-orbit servicing. Young companies, with high technological content and capital intensity. For them, a proportionate regulatory framework is not a bureaucratic issue: it is a market access condition. A clear authorization regime means predictable timelines. A calibrated insurance regime means costs compatible with their financial structure. A well-constructed liability regime means being able to negotiate with partners, obtain bank guarantees, structure agreements with venture capital funds or institutions like the EIB and CDP. Without these foundations, opportunities remain accessible only to the big players.
International partnerships are indispensable in this scenario, but they must rest on clear legal foundations: who owns the data? Who is liable in case of incidents in orbit? How is intellectual property protected in a context where the line between civilian and military use is increasingly thin? Defining these rules is the only way to ensure that collaborations strengthen Europe’s autonomous capacity. Only with a coherent legal framework can balanced alliances be built, capable of protecting industrial interests, security, and innovation.
The real challenge, one we will sooner or later have to face, is understanding whether an international governance of space is needed, as we have built for civil aviation and telecommunications. The European Commissioner for Defence and Space has reminded us that whoever controls space controls the future. But control does not arise only from owning satellites: it arises from the ability to write the rules governing their use. The orbital cloud will not be European, American, or Chinese. It will be orbital. And without shared rules at that level, the real risk is a digital Wild West.
Europe has excellent companies, advanced research centers, and a recognized scientific tradition. Italy has done its part with Law no. 89/2025. Now it is necessary that the implementing decrees arrive with the same coherence with which the law was built, and that Italy plays a driving role in the European negotiation, bringing its experience as a contribution to the common debate. A coherent and modern European space law is what can enable our companies to move quickly, cooperate beyond national borders, and compete on the global stage. The new frontier is not only in space. It is in the rules that will decide who can truly use it and derive value from it. And in that game, European law can be our most powerful thruster.
The EU Space Act is a good starting point. But the marathon has yet to begin.
