Background to legislative work

Space technologies and applications are used every day by citizens, businesses and governments. They provide essential services in areas as diverse as weather forecasting, global communications and networking, monitoring and managing transport and energy networks, preventing and mitigating natural disasters, climate and environmental monitoring, and satellite navigation. All of these terrestrial applications – and many more – rely on the data provided by satellites in orbit. The infrastructures that use space data contribute in many different ways to the security and stability of the economy and society, and therefore to prosperity. Space activities also significantly improve our scientific understanding of space, the Earth and humankind.