The potential of the space industry is growing, and the Cassini program launched three years ago by the European Commission is helping to take advantage of this. This initiative aims to support enterprises in the space industry at every stage of their development, including those just starting out. Already, a billion euros have been allocated to the development of space entrepreneurship. “In three years, we have already supported over 600 companies, several of which are from Poland. The value of these companies has risen more than 18-fold over the last few years,” says Justyna Redełkiewicz from the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA).
“Space sector is one of the European Union’s priorities. A special directorate of the European Commission dedicated to space strategy and defence was created for this purpose, and I think this trend will continue in the next financial perspective. It’s the perfect time to invest in space technologies because it’s not only the priority of the European Union, but it’s also a great business opportunity,” says Redełkiewicz. “For example, there are a lot of satellite data available in European Union programs such as Galileo or Copernicus, which can be used in all sectors of the economy. This is what we deal with in our agency – we help companies from all sectors of the economy use this data through various support programs.”
As the report by the Polish Economic Institute, prepared in collaboration with the Polish Space Agency, indicates, the space economy includes all types of products and services related to the process of sending payloads into space, keeping them there, and benefitting from them. Satellites – artificial objects orbiting the Earth – are the central element of the space economy. Their number has significantly increased in recent years. The PIE indicates that the number of satellites launched in 2023 was 1170% higher than in 2013. More satellites were launched from 2017 to April 2024 than from the beginning of the space era to 2016. The European Space Agency reports that there were over 13,000 satellites in space in mid-August, of which about 10,000 are still functional. Many of them operate as part of multi-satellite constellations, serving commercial applications from remote sensing to communication and navigation. In the future, greater space exploration, commercial space station launches, and even tourism could further increase the demand for more satellites.
According to McKinsey data, space activity is accelerating and the global space economy will be worth $1.8 trillion by 2035, compared to $630 billion in 2023.
“That’s a very high growth rate, about 10% per year. It can only be compared to the growth rate of artificial intelligence at this point. In Europe, we have a large number of new talents who understand space technologies and are able to implement them. In Poland, we already have two space companies listed on the stock exchange, we have many companies that benefits from our various support programs, and I think this trend will continue in the coming years,” evaluates the expert from the EU Agency for the Space Programme.
Polish companies are already well-known on the global markets, especially since more and more of them are participating in international space missions. For example, in January 2023, a Falcon 9 rocket launched a satellite of the Polish company Scanway listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange into orbit. Meanwhile, Creotech executed over 25 space projects together with ESA over 10 years, thus becoming one of the largest Polish contractors for the Agency.
The number of companies operating in the space sector is growing rapidly. With them in mind, the European Commission launched the Cassini Space Entrepreneurship Initiative, which supports space-related enterprises at different stages of growth.
“A billion euros has been allocated to the development of space entrepreneurship. In this program, we have supported over 600 companies in the last three years, including several companies from Poland. If we look at the values of these companies now, they have grown more than 18 times over the last few years. We are prepared for space technologies to become a very important part of our economy, but a more important condition for this to happen is for space technologies to be used in non-space areas,” says Justyna Redełkiewicz.
The three most important segments of the space economy in terms of value are navigation, satellite communication, and Earth observation. They account for 88% of the entire sector’s value. Satellite navigation systems are widely used by public institutions for both military and civilian purposes, as well as by private sector companies. Satellite data assists in agriculture by automating some devices, monitoring crops and breeding, and assessing the condition of the soil. Data from satellite navigation and Earth observation from space also help monitor climate change, provide early warning of crisis situations and manage them when they occur. The financial and insurance sector also uses data for accurately calculating risk and rates related to investment and insurance activities.
Given the amount of data that satellites provide every day, there could be many more products and services based on space data.
“That’s why we have the billion-euro Cassini program in the European Union. It is dedicated to all companies at different stages of their development. That’s why we have various competitions, hackathons, and the so-called EU Space Academy – a set of online courses that can be completed to make your first step in space technologies, for groups of students, young entrepreneurs. The program is done in cooperation with the International Space University. Once a person has an understanding of space technologies, they can turn to the Space Career Launchpad platform where all companies in the space sector post their open positions,” explains the EUSPA expert.
As reported by the Polish Economic Institute in the report “Space Economy”, prepared in cooperation with POLSA, 300-400 companies and research and scientific institutions have been operating in the Polish space sector in recent years, which employ 12,000 workers throughout the country. Polish companies have developed over 100 space technologies and are sending their satellites into Earth’s orbit. With the participation of Polish scientists, European missions such as Cassini-Huygens, Rosetta, or Solar Orbiter have been implemented in recent years, and there are plans for more. These successes are increasing interest in careers related to space technologies, although it is still less than in the West.
“In Poland, it’s still uncommon for a high school student to think about studying space technologies. I’m very happy that a new space technology course is being established at the AGH University of Science and Technology, and similar courses are also appearing in Warsaw and several other cities. This is still a minority in Poland, but I hope that will change,” emphasized Justyna Redełkiewicz. “In Cassini, we also have programs for more mature companies where we focus on the commercial part.”
Cassini Challenges is a series of open competitions aimed at supporting entrepreneurs who want to use EU space data to achieve commercial success. The Hackathons & Mentoring program consists of a series of hackathons focusing on various topics related to global challenges. The aim is to use technologies and data to stimulate the development of new products and services that will benefit Europe. The Matchmaking program aims to connect space industry companies, facilitating communication between startups, investors, and corporations. The Cassini Business Accelerator, on the other hand, is a series of six-month programs for European space startups. Through training, networking events, and potential funding of up to 75,000 euros, the program equips companies with the tools to accelerate the development of their business and sales.
“One of the main problems with space companies is that they are founded by technical people who focus on product development but don’t attach enough importance to selling the product later, so there is a lack of commercial skills. In the Cassini Business Accelerator program, mentors work with such a company, polish the business plan, so that after six months the company is able to apply for various private investments or funding with a really great idea and a great business plan,” points out the EUSPA representative.
“Over the next decade, the space market is expected to be worth half of the projections for artificial intelligence. This is not a niche market and we shouldn’t perceive it that way, but rather as a real opportunity to get rich. By joining the Cassini program, we become part of a space family in Europe. It’s great that these companies really do help each other, they do joint projects, they complement each other’s competencies and cooperate,” adds Justyna Redełkiewicz.
The Cassini program was a topic of many debates and meetings during the European Rover Challenge, international rover competitions held in Krakow at the beginning of September this year. One of them was the workshop “Start Your Space Journey with Cassini”, which presented young people with opportunities to use space technologies in business and support from the program. Participants could find out how to start a professional career in the space sector and transform their ideas into profitable enterprises. During the ERC, there was also a Cassini Matchmaking, which aims to connect project initiators with investors and corporations.
