EUROPAISCHES INSTITUT FUR WELTRAUMPOLITIK EUROPEAN SPACE POLICY INSTITUTE

Their core work

The European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) is a Vienna-based independent research institute that produces policy analysis, legal frameworks, and governance recommendations for the European space sector. Unlike technical space organizations, ESPI translates space sector realities — orbital congestion, debris proliferation, commercial satellite constellations — into actionable policy, norms, and guidelines for EU institutions, space agencies, and industry. In H2020, their contribution has been shaping the regulatory architecture for sustainable space operations, specifically defining best practices and legal instruments for Space Traffic Management (STM) and Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST). They serve as the policy-science bridge that large technical consortia need to turn research outputs into regulatory recommendations.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Both H2020 projects run in the same narrow window (2021–2022), so this is less a multi-year evolution and more a thematic deepening within a single policy moment. The first project (EUSTM) anchored ESPI's work in foundational STM governance — best practices, legal frameworks, SST integration, and managing space debris. The second project (SPACEWAYS) pushed further into the commercial frontier, adding satellite constellations, CubeSats, space resources, and competitiveness norms to the agenda. The direction is clear: from establishing baseline governance rules toward addressing the disruptive regulatory challenges posed by New Space commercial actors flooding low Earth orbit.

ESPI is moving from foundational space traffic governance toward the harder regulatory problems of commercial New Space — megaconstellations, CubeSat proliferation, and space resource exploitation — making them an increasingly relevant partner for any consortium addressing sustainable commercial space operations.

How they like to work

ESPI has participated exclusively as a consortium partner across both H2020 projects, never as coordinator — consistent with a policy think tank that contributes specialized expertise rather than managing large research programmes. Despite only two projects, they engaged with 35 unique partners across 9 countries, indicating they operate in sizeable, internationally diverse consortia. This suggests they are sought out for specific policy and legal deliverables within technically-led projects, rather than assembling and driving consortia themselves.

With 35 unique consortium partners across 9 countries from just two projects, ESPI participates in broad, internationally diverse consortia averaging roughly 17 partners per project. Their network is European in scope, likely including space agencies, national delegations, technical research institutes, and industry actors given the policy-oriented nature of their CSA projects.

What sets them apart

ESPI occupies a rare niche: it is one of very few independent European institutes dedicated exclusively to space policy research, sitting between technical space organisations (ESA, DLR, CNES) and EU policymakers. This independence is a genuine asset — they are not an agency with political constraints, not a company with commercial interests, and not a university juggling broader mandates. For consortium builders, ESPI delivers what technical partners cannot: credible policy analysis, normative framework design, and regulatory recommendations that give research outputs a direct pathway into EU and international space governance processes.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SPACEWAYS
  The larger of the two projects (EUR 119,688) and the one that expanded ESPI's scope into New Space commercial governance, addressing satellite constellations, CubeSats, space resources, and the competitive dimension of STM — the most forward-looking policy agenda in European space governance.
• EUSTM
  The foundational project that established ESPI's H2020 profile, focusing on building the legal and governance architecture for 21st-century Space Traffic Management including SST integration and space debris best practices.