The European Commission has proposed a new regulation to give the European Union Space Services Agency — known as EUSPA — its own standalone founding law.
The proposal would amend parts of the existing Union Space Programme Regulation to reflect what it described as EUSPA’s expanding operational responsibilities.
The standalone act would not need to be amended for each seven-year EU budget cycle, the Commission explained in a release on Wednesday.
EUSPA is the operational arm of the EU’s space activities and is responsible for managing the EU’s satellite navigation systems Galileo and EGNOS, as well as the security of the Union’s space infrastructure.
Galileo provides positioning and timing services similar to the US GPS system, while EGNOS is an augmentation service designed to improve the accuracy and reliability of satellite navigation signals.
What the agency does
The agency also acts as a link between space technology and the public and private sectors, translating satellite data into services used by citizens and businesses, the Commission said.
Under the proposal, EUSPA’s role could be strengthened as a service provider in the global space sector and it could be given additional responsibilities in other space-related areas, provided it has the necessary operational capacity and resources.
