The space industry is actively developing almost throughout the civilized world. But development is impossible without investment, and in Europe they decided to take care of it so that private cosmonautics grows.
If you look at today’s private space market, you will find that there are dozens and even hundreds of small startups and companies that offer (or plan to offer) a variety of services: from building launch vehicles and launching cargo into orbit to developing and even refueling satellites. And the absolute majority of such companies are located in the USA. In Europe, they want more such startups on this side of the Atlantic Ocean.
Investments in private European space
It is reported that on January 25, 2022, representatives of the European Commission, the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund signed an agreement on the allocation of 1.12 billion dollars for the Cassini program. Over the next 5 years, this program will be aimed at financial support for European space startups.
Such a need is quite urgent. The fact is that money in the space industry mostly “spins” in the USA. And that is why there is a “brain drain” overseas, because in Europe “startups” simply cannot realize themselves. In Europe, they decided to fix this by supporting new entrepreneurs in the space industry at the beginning of their journey.
European space entrepreneurs are experiencing a lack of private sources of funding. Therefore, they usually monitor private capital outside the EU, especially in the United States,
– said Chris Peters, Vice President of the European Investment Bank.
The decision is timely and correct, the organizers of the contract are confident. They believe that this will encourage the emergence of new private space companies on the territory of the EU and push this market to greater development. Probably, in Europe, they decided to at least partially adopt the experience of the USA, which creates the right conditions for the existence of private space companies.
So far, there are no details about exactly how the investment will take place: who will be chosen, what the investment amounts will be, what the conditions will be, and so on. In any case, the decision should contribute to the fact that the conventional pole of “private space” will not be only in the USA.
