Space activities in the EU: Safety, resilience and sustainability supported by harmonised standards

Space activities in the EU: The future role of standardisation requests from the European Commission to the European standards organisations (CEN, CENELEC and ETSI), as well as the role of harmonised standards, are pivotal in the context of the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the safety, resilience, and sustainability of Space activities in the Union.

The European Commission foresees issuing standardisation requests to draft harmonised standards, which are intended to provide a presumption of conformity with EU legislative requirements when these standards are met.

• Harmonised Framework: The regulation proposes a harmonized legal framework to ensure consistent requirements for space activities across the EU, thereby facilitating a stable business environment. This harmonization reduces fragmentation and supports competitiveness by enabling space operators to work under uniform standards throughout the EU.
• Safety and Resilience: Risk assessment frameworks tailored to the specific cybersecurity needs of space infrastructure are part of the regulation's approach to bolster resilience. Harmonized standards developed for these frameworks guarantee that space systems are secure against potential threats.
• Environmental Sustainability: European standards incorporate Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) principles for assessing the environmental impact of space activities. This approach fosters the sustainable development of space capabilities and aligns with broader EU climate goals.

The CEN/CENELEC Joint Technical Committee (JTC) 5 on "Space" is the primary technical committee that could support the drafting of standards for the draft regulation. This committee's scope covers all standardization activities in CEN and CENELEC related to space, including:

• Dual-use aspects
• Systems of systems
• Upstream standards (related to the development and operation of space systems)
• Downstream applications (such as Earth observation and navigation)
• Space Situational Awareness (SSA) monitoring, which includes protecting from space environmental threats like space debris.

CEN/CENELEC JTC 5 works in close cooperation with the European Cooperation for Space Standardization (ECSS) to adopt ECSS standards as European Standards (ENs), which is a key process for supporting EU-level space projects.

CEN also adopts as European Standards the specifications from ASD-STAN, an association establishing, developing, publishing and maintaining standards on behalf of the European aerospace industry.

Another Technical Committee that may be very relevant is CEN/CLC/JTC 13 'Cybersecurity and Data Protection'
This joint technical committee is specifically tasked with addressing cybersecurity and data protection needs across various sectors. Its primary roles include:

• Standard Development: It develops new standards where gaps exist, often in direct support of EU regulations like the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) and the Radio Equipment Directive (RED).
• International Standard Adoption: It is responsible for transporting relevant international standards from bodies like ISO/IEC JTC 1 SC 27 into European Standards (ENs).
• Collaboration with EU Bodies: The committee works closely with ENISA (the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity), which is instrumental in the development of European certification schemes and is involved in the EU's space cybersecurity initiatives.

The draft EU Space Act aims to introduce a "security-by-design" approach for space systems and mandates the reporting of cybersecurity incidents. The work of CEN/CLC/JTC 13 is crucial in providing the technical standards and frameworks needed to implement these new requirements, ensuring that the European space ecosystem is resilient against cyber threats.

Objectives Supported by Standards:

• Competitive Business Environment: fostering innovation and reducing administrative burdens, the regulation aims to make the EU space industry more competitive globally. Standards provide the technical specifications needed for uniform compliance.
• Innovation and Growth: Standards stimulate industrial innovation by setting requirements for new technologies related to space debris management and other interfacing technologies.
• Safety and Debris Reduction: A key objective is to ensure the trackability of space objects to minimize collisions and generation of debris. Standards provide the methodologies and criteria for maintaining safe and sustainable orbits.
• Global Competitiveness: Establishing the EU as a global standard-setter in space activities not only enhances the industry's competitiveness but also ensures the Union's leadership in space governance.
• Regulation and Compliance: Standards facilitate compliance with the proposed regulation by translating its legal requirements into technical specifications that can be adopted widely across the European space industry.