European Union Special Envoy for Space Marjolijn van Deelen. Photo: eeas.europa.eu
India can be a very active player in developing an international framework for responsible behaviour in space, said Marjolijn van Deelen, European Union Special Envoy for Space, while flagging debris from Anti-Satellite (ASAT) weapon testing and Rendezvous and Proximity Operations (RPO) that threaten satellites as major concerns.
As India and EU look to deepen strategic cooperation, they are also looking to hold a “space dialogue” as a first step for collaboration in the space sector.
“I think it would be important to jointly look at how we would want to regulate, in a way, these RPOs… to have international agreements on what is okay and what is not okay. And for that, we are setting up this framework for norms, rules and principles of responsible behaviour and India and the EU could cooperate on setting out how we think they should be regulated in a way that does not pose a threat to us,” Ms. van Deelen said, while speaking to The Hindu. “RPOs in themselves are not necessarily a problem. You don’t want to a solution that also kills all the programmes and the civilian benefits we can have from them.”
Rendezvous and proximity operations, or RPOs, refer to a spacecraft intentionally manoeuvring to dock or operating close to another space object.
Asked if India’s ASAT test was a matter of concern, the envoy said, “The creation of debris by ASAT is something that should concern all states and we’ve spoken about that and that’s why the EU has supported in the UN context a ban on destructive ASAT testing. The word ‘destructive’ is key here.”
To a follow-up question on whether there had been a conversation with regard to India’s ASAT programme, she replied there have not been any discussions yet and her conversations here will be “about how we cooperate”.
In March 2019, India announced the successful demonstration of ASAT capability, after destroying a live-orbiting satellite in the Low Earth Orbit of around 300 km with a new three-stage interceptor missile in a “hit to kill” mode.
Speaking of the top concerns, the envoy, whose visit followed the historic visit of EU Commissioners led by President Ursula von der Leyen, noted that several countries had tested ASAT weapons. “But we also see cyber jamming and spoofing in space, which are threats to delivering services to our citizens. We also see RPOs, which basically involves having a satellite get very close to your satellite, and if that is without notification and if that is done by an actor with whom we do not have friendly relations, and especially if our satellite is a sensitive one… that’s something we need to talk about. So these are the threats that we see, maybe the key ones on the security side.”
There are also debris circulating in space that makes it very difficult for operators to operate their satellites safely and of course any accidents could potentially happen in an unintended way, she observed.
The envoy’s visit to India last week coincided with the Global Technology Summit organised by Carnegie India in coordination with the Ministry of External Affairs, where she was a speaker. She said the meet was also an opportunity to interact with various stakeholders.
On the proposed space dialogue, she said there was a need for the regulation of the space sector itself so that both sides can see where there are discrepancies or gaps that need to be addressed, or if anything that could be done to help create a vibrant environment for businesses to operate. “I’m really hoping that we will deepen our engagement and set up a space security dialogue so that we can sit down with all the actors on each side and go in depth on all these topics,” Ms. van Deelen stated.
The EU is set to bring in a Space Act in the next few months, which the envoy termed is very much an instrument designed for European competitiveness. While reiterating that it does not regulate third parties, she said the Act tries to ensure EU companies cooperate more closely so that the bloc does not “get 27 individual space programmes, but do that more jointly”. “…But also that they respect certain safety measures and sustainability measures, because we would want our industry to uphold those principles. So that’s what the what the Act when it comes out is designed to do,” she added.
Published – April 20, 2025 09:01 pm IST
