The European Space Agency (ESA) plans to request funding from member states in November for a high-frequency Earth observation satellite system aimed at supporting security and resilience, marking a significant departure from the agency's traditional civil mission.
Josef Aschbacher, ESA's director general, said in an interview aired by Friends of Europe that the request follows demands from member nations for capabilities that offer near real-time intelligence of global events. “I've been asked to build up a system that allows a much better intelligence of the situation around the world,” Aschbacher said, noting the need for satellite observations every 30 minutes or more frequently — a capability not currently available in Europe.
The envisioned system would likely require a satellite constellation to provide rapid revisit times over targeted areas, comparable to the system being developed by the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office in collaboration with SpaceX and Northrop Grumman.
The proposal forms part of ESA's “Resilience from Space” initiative, which Aschbacher described as a first implementation step toward a broader Earth Observation Government Service under consideration by the European Commission. That initiative, geared toward “security and defense” applications, is undergoing feasibility studies by OHB and Telespazio under contracts awarded in January.
Although ESA's founding convention restricts the agency to “exclusively peaceful purposes,” Aschbacher emphasized that global defense spending accounts for about half of all government space budgets, whereas in Europe it comprises just 15%. “My member states of the European Space Agency have asked me to develop programs that are now responding to this,” he said.
Aschbacher added that ESA's proposal, set to be presented at the CM25 ministerial conference in November, could be incorporated into the EU's next seven-year Multiannual Financial Framework starting in 2028. “Europe must not miss this opportunity to secure a meaningful space budget in CM25 and the MFF – else we risk falling further behind global players like the US, China, and India,” he wrote.