DG DEFIS and EU SST Consortium launch EU Industry and Start-ups Forum on Space Traffic Management (EISF)

On 26 April 2022, DG DEFIS and the EU SST Consortium officially launched the EU Industry and Start-ups Forum on Space Traffic Management (EISF). This forum, co-chaired by DG DEFIS and the EU SST Consortium (now EU SST Partnership) gathers the European SSA ecosystem from start-ups to major players and aims at fostering the innovation and competitiveness of the European SSA commercial sector with a view to enhancing strategic autonomy in Europe. 

During the launch event, approx. 170 participants onsite and online learned about the EU approach to STM as outlined in the Joint Communication, ways in which the EU STM approach may strengthen and enhance existing space surveillance and tracking capabilities, and the opportunities that this approach presents to the EU space sector.  

Participants then obtained hands-on details on a range of commercial and funding opportunities to help industrial actors, in particular start-ups, to grow, such as EU space entrepreneurship (CASSINI), In-Orbit Demonstration and Validation (IOD/IOV), and European Defence Fund (EDF) initiatives. 

Background 

The EISF helps to implement the second avenue on “enhancing EU operational capabilities to support STM” of the Joint Communication on an EU approach to STM with EU SST as the operational backbone of the EU STM approach. The EISF gathers EU stakeholders 2-3 times a year to jointly define research and development priorities funded by tendering more than 80% of the available EU SST budget to EU industry. 

More information 

• To learn more about or to join the EISF, check out the EISF one-pager or contact DEFIS-EUSST-INDUSTRYFORUMec [dot] europa [dot] eu (DEFIS-EUSST-INDUSTRYFORUM[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu). 
• To find out about meetings, go to Space Traffic Management stakeholder mechanism (europa.eu) and navigate to subgroup 2.
• To learn about tendering opportunities, check out Procurement – EU SST.
• Joint Communication on an EU approach to Space Traffic Management
• Space Traffic Management – safeguarding space operations
• STM_Factsheet
• STM_Leaflet
• EU Space Surveillance and Tracking - European Commission
• First European Union Industry and Start-ups Forum on STM event in April – EU SST