Security of space
In recent years, our reliance on space-based systems has grown to include different fields: satellite communications and Earth observation are ubiquitous, as is satellite navigation. Yet, these indispensable space systems face various threats, and especially the alarming growth of space debris, left from launch activities, break-ups in space and obsolete space objects.
Space weather also has an impact on space infrastructure: 'space storms' made of particles or electromagnetic radiation, can cause major failures onboard satellites, but also on Earth such as in electrical power grids.
The vulnerability of our space infrastructure to these threats must be addressed, by monitoring debris to avoid collision, diminishing debris proliferation and better protecting spacecraft against space storms and damage by potential collision.
In this context, the 5th Space Council 
held in 2008 stressed the need to ''develop a European capability for the monitoring and surveillance of its space infrastructure and of space debris''. The 7th Space Council held in 2010 invited the European Commission and the EU Council to propose a governance scheme and data policy for a future European Space Situational Awareness (SSA) system, which would ''build on defined civil and military user requirements, make use of relevant assets in accordance with applicable security requirements and take into account the early developments from the ESA SSA preparatory programme''.
The European Space Agency has launched a preparatory SSA programme, which aims at launching a number of preparatory steps in view of developing a European space monitoring capability, which would provide satellite operators and launchers with precise information on the space debris and spacecraft positions so as to limit collision risks. The European Commission is supporting this programme and has launched a number of research projects on space weather and the security of space assets from on-orbit collisions in the framework of the EU FP7 R&D programme.
