What Happened
Balancing Access and Sustainability in Crowded Low Earth Orbit
The new space race is accelerating, with the US and China staking out an increasingly crowded low Earth orbit. Europe faces a difficult balancing act in securing access to this region without contributing to the congestion and debris that it is trying to curb. The European Union is developing sustainability rules for space activities, including the EU Space Act, and is working on alternative constellations such as IRIS². However, the continent risks accelerating the very race it is trying to bring under control, and international cooperation may be necessary to prevent the monopolization and overcrowding of space. This analysis was first reported by Follow the Money.