Europe Celebrates its Sovereignty Progress at SmallSat

Reflex Aerospace Taps Arkadia Space for 2027 Mission Reflex Aerospace selected Spanish startup Arkadia Space to provide a propulsion system for its satellite mission, launching in 2027. Europe made its most concrete claim yet for sovereignty in orbit this week. The EU commission proposed new rules for its spectrum allocation that would reserve at least two-thirds of available frequencies to European satellite operators, leaving foreign satcoms to compete for table scraps. The move immediately elicited a response from the US Chair of the FCC, Brendan Carr: “Reciprocity and nondiscrimination have been at the heart of the FCC’s approach to the many European satellite operators that do business in America,” Carr said—adding a reminder of the FCC’s open proceedings aimed at combatting the EU Commission’s decisions. This month, the FCC filed a document aimed at “aggressively update[ing] its rules to ensure Americans reap the abundance of innovation and investment by the space industry.” On our own: Sovereignty comes up at at every European space conference, but discussions at the SmallSat Europe conference in Amsterdam this week celebrated system-wide decisions driving Europe toward greater independence in space. European leaders highlighted many of the programs they’re building to tangibly increase Europe’s sovereignty, including: Military sovereignty: European states have gone to great effort to ensure they have sole control over defensive—and offensive—capabilities in orbit. In the past 12 months alone, European nations have approved billions in funding on sovereign-defense, and the results are starting to roll in. German-speaking nations are angling to be the tip of the spear. In September, Germany earmarked €35B for investment into space-defense capabilities. Leaders from Germany and its neighbors have since signaled that investments would fund both German and region-wide defenses. But the “DACH-L” nations aren’t alone. Capital sovereignty: A recent report showed that European capital deployed into its space industry in 2025 lagged considerably behind the US and China. This week, leaders highlighted multiple changes (including from ongoing initiatives) that could put Europe on better footing for the future. But there’s still a lot of work to do before Europe deploys the capital necessary to stand on its own. The most glaring roadblocks, according to panelists at SmallSat, are the procurement mechanisms. Alpine Space Ventures Principal Sven Meyer-Brunswick said the issue lies in government contracts, which are often directed to traditional primes, while new space startups get passed over. “[We need] actual programs of record being awarded to new entrants into the market—not just grants being given out to hundreds of companies,” Meyer-Brunswick said. Without an influx of local revenue streams, European space startups will continue to be forced to look abroad for financing and income. The bottom line: Europe remains reliant on US launch capabilities to access space, and in many cases the US is the only game in town for later-stage-funding opportunities. This week, however, proved that Europe is marching in the same direction. European space-industry independence from the US will come through an increasing pool of capital, a series of demonstrated capability improvements, and ultimately, through more cooperative agreements between European nations to collaborate on shared systems.