- June 27, 2024
- Posted by: admin
- Category: Emilio Cozzi
Private space activities will be subject to authorization by the Presidency of the Council. Technical and economic requirements, as well as guarantees against damage and accidents, will be necessary. A fund of 295 million euros is planned until 2026. The resilience of national communications “rewards” Starlink and satellite connection networks.
BY EMILIO COZZI
It is not a law. Not yet, at least; but it is the first set of rules that Italy’s space sector has been waiting for, the first to fill the legislative gap in Europe (which will not be addressed before next year). On June 20, the Government approved the bill to regulate a growing, enabling, and strategic sector that lacks a suitable regulatory framework for present and future needs, particularly regarding access to orbit and private space operations on the Moon and asteroids. The 32 articles of the bill cover several key points, at least in general terms, such as authorizations, the register of launched objects, and the technical and economic requirements needed to obtain clearance for space activities. It also includes a dedicated program and fund for extra-atmospheric activities of companies and the first directive on public procurement for innovative SMEs and startups.
Accessing Space
The second article of the bill lists a range of activities covered by the law, stating: “The launch, release, in-orbit management, and re-entry of space objects, including disposal from terrestrial orbits and removal of objects, in-orbit services, assembly and use of orbiting space stations, as well as the production of objects in extra-atmospheric space and on celestial bodies; the exploration, extraction, and use of natural resources in extra-atmospheric space and on celestial bodies, in accordance with internationally adopted legal instruments; the launch, flight, and stay, both short and long term, of living beings in extra-atmospheric space and on celestial bodies; activities conducted through stratospheric platforms and sounding rockets; any other activity carried out in extra-atmospheric space and on celestial bodies.” In other words, any activity beyond the Karman line, the boundary between the sky and space, conventionally set at an altitude of one hundred kilometers.
The bill, which will be connected to the Budget Law and must pass through parliamentary approval, establishes a registration system to assign a unique code to each object launched beyond the atmosphere. This code acts like a license plate, identifying the company responsible for the space activity. To obtain it, authorization based on objective and subjective criteria is required. The objective criteria involve an assessment of the safety of the space activity, resilience to cyber, physical, and interference risks, and environmental sustainability, both in the production process and operational and end-of-life stages. In short, it must be ensured that a satellite is always under control, not hackable, and does not risk damaging or compromising other activities. Safe disposal (deorbiting or parking in a graveyard orbit) and the capability to avoid generating space debris must also be guaranteed.
The subjective requirements concern the “professional and technical capabilities suitable for conducting the activities for which authorization is requested”: financial solidity, insurance against potential damages, and a collision prevention device. Space is selective, and this article, the sixth, underscores that operating in space is not for everyone. It is a legitimate emphasis given the burgeoning market expansion.
According to the procedure outlined in the bill, applications to operate in space must be submitted to the Italian Space Agency, which is responsible for evaluating the requirements and providing a response within sixty days. If positive, the application moves to the Presidency of the Council, which, through the Interministerial Committee for Space and Aerospace Research Policies (Comint), in consultation with the Ministry of Defense, intelligence services, and the National Cybersecurity Agency, will decide within 120 days.
National Security and the “Political” Clause
The “gates of heaven” will remain inaccessible to operators whose space activities could potentially jeopardize national well-being, the country’s interests “in defense, national security, and continuity of international relations, or for the protection of critical material and immaterial infrastructures, or for national cyber or cybersecurity.”
Extra-atmospheric activities will also be barred to operators with ties to “third states or territories that, considering the official positions of the European Union, do not conform to the principles of democracy or the rule of law, or that threaten international peace and security or support criminal or terrorist organizations or entities linked to them.” While the reference to Russia is almost explicit, it remains difficult to understand how and to what extent democratic principles might affect collaboration with China. This will be a very significant political and economic issue.
Who Pays for Damages
For those engaging in space activities without authorization, the penalty will be three to six years of imprisonment and a fine of 20,000 to 50,000 euros. Fines ranging from 150,000 to 500,000 euros are foreseen for those obstructing the supervisory authority. Extra-atmospheric operators must be insured with a coverage of no less than 100 million euros to cover damages caused by potential incidents. This amount will be reduced by 50% for less dangerous activities (three risk categories are identified) and to 20 million for startups and research activities. Any amount exceeding these sums, in case of damages caused on the Earth’s surface or to aircraft and passengers, will be paid by the State, provided the space operator did not act with intent or gross negligence, as defined by the penal code. In such cases, the excess will also be the responsibility of the operators. Compensation for foreign states under the International Convention on Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects is the responsibility of the Italian state, which may, however, seek reimbursement from the operator responsible for the incident. Conversely, Italy will act against a foreign state to compensate its citizens.
The Space Fund, Contracts for SMEs and Innovative Startups
A total of 295 million euros will be allocated: the Government’s fund for the space economy includes 85 million in 2024, 160 million in 2025, and 50 million in 2026. The fund will also be financed by contributions from each company requesting authorization to operate beyond the atmosphere (and from the penalties provided for in the same law). This money is intended to promote market growth, products, and services that use space technologies (and data), but it is not new money: to find financing for the commercialization of innovative products, the growth of services and infrastructure, and international collaborations, the government has tapped into two funds from the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy (Mimit), one supporting small and medium-sized enterprises and the other supporting sustainable growth. The ministry led by Adolfo Urso will draw up a list of potential beneficiaries. The government’s orientation will be established by the National Space Economy Plan, prepared by the Italian Space Agency, Comint, and the Ministry of University and Research, which has a five-year planning horizon and will be updated every two years. It will aggregate a series of analyses and evaluations of the Italian space economy to monitor it, understand its direction, follow it, and support it through public initiative.
A concrete step to promote emerging technologies and realities of the new space economy will be the obligation, in public tenders, to subcontract at least 10% of the total contract value to innovative startups and small and medium-sized enterprises. The percentage of reliance may also be one of the evaluation criteria for the offer. Additionally, if there are startups involved, the contracting authority must pay them directly (without passing through the main contractor), advancing 40% within 15 days of the award.
National Frequencies and the “Starlink Issue”
The law also mentions the establishment of a “national transmission capacity reserve” to promote government-level connections and offer cloud storage of sensitive data via satellite, a sort of orbital backup in critical cases or if terrestrial communication networks are unavailable due to disasters, emergencies, or – one might suppose – in a wartime scenario. In other words, the aim is to find alternative routes through space, with satellites and constellations “in geostationary, medium, and low orbits, managed exclusively by entities belonging to the European Union or NATO.” Some suggest this favors SpaceX and Starlink. In truth, the English Eutelsat OneWeb would also be part of the picture, given that the constellation was completed in 2023 and is primarily dedicated to business and institutional solutions. And let’s not forget Iridium.
The European Union has also started designing its new institutional constellation – the third, after Galileo and Copernicus – Iris² (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity, and Security by Satellite). Part of the “continental” Govsatcom program, with an estimated cost between 6 and 10 billion euros, its very name declares the purpose outlined in the bill. The goal is for Iris² to become operational starting in 2027. Yet, with its over six thousand satellites already deployed in low Earth orbit, it is clear that Starlink is (and will probably remain) a step ahead of everyone else. From a national interest perspective, it would be desirable to aim for system integration rather than a law tailored to one company, as the agreement between the Meloni Government and Elon Musk might suggest. It remains impossible to be certain: the bill provides for a measure to promote an “advanced use of the spectrum” aimed at “adopting technical coexistence models to reduce interference effects between space and terrestrial systems.” Many have seen this as a patch for a situation Starlink and Musk denounced in April, with a public attack on Tim, accused by SpaceX of not complying with data sharing rules to avoid frequency interference with its equipment. According to the American company and its founder, this attitude would have jeopardized Starlink services’ operation in southern Europe and North Africa.