How does space power fit into German defence thinking, and has this changed since German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for a ‘Zeitenwende’ in 2022?

When Chancellor Scholz addressed the nation shortly after the large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a fundamental reconfiguring of Germany’s defence policy and budget was promised. The word Zeitenwende (‘turning point’) usually refers to the shift from one era to another, but two years on from his speech, much remains business-as-usual.

Joining us to discuss German defence in the space domain is Antje Nötzold, Assistant Professor at Chemnitz University of Technology and Associate Fellow at the Centre for Advanced Security, Strategic and Integration Studies at the University of Bonn. We analyse the country's sovereign capabilities and ambitions for space power.

We hear about the dangers of space debris all the time – the high velocities with which discarded or disused manmade objects travel around the Earth and the threat that high-speed impacts, even of small debris pieces, pose to satellites.

Technologies are currently being developed to mitigate this, including by the company Astroscale. Alex Godfrey, Business Development Manager at Astroscale, talks to us about the technical challenges of debris mitigation, as well as future missions and trends. We also discuss the inherent dual-use nature of these technologies and how debris mitigation can be used for nefarious purposes. The question is whether space security and future sustainability measures are doomed to always be at odds – can we keep space free of debris and sleep soundly at night, knowing that robotic arms are orbiting our satellites?

There is no pan-European approach to space. Instead, there is a diverse set of European actors, agencies and infrastructures that are making a mark on the final frontier.

Who exactly is involved in the various European space endeavours and what are their projects? Are the constellations of Copernicus and Galileo the limit of ambition or will we see further projects and a tie into NATO? Mathieu Bataille, Research Fellow and Lead on Security and Defence at the European Space Policy Institute, joins us to discuss these questions and more.