German space sector sounds alarm over US dependency as SpaceX lists publicly

The public listing of US aerospace giant SpaceX is exposing a widening chasm between Germany and the American space industry, triggering fresh warnings in Berlin over Europe’s deep strategic dependencies.

According to a report by German Foreign Policy, thin tanks such as the Berlin-based German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) have long warned that Germany’s space sector has become “excessively dependent on the US.”

Politicians and defense analysts warn that Washington—particularly under the administration of President Donald Trump—could exploit these critical dependencies to ruthlessly advance unilateral US interests.

In response, the European Union has taken initial steps to mitigate this vulnerability. Last year, Brussels announced a new EU Space Law aimed at harmonizing fragmented national regulations to establish a unified European space single market.

However, Washington strongly opposes the proposed Space Law, fearing it will place American industry giants at a disadvantage.

Independently, the German government is planning a massive €35 billion investment package by 2030, which includes the establishment of a “German Starlink.” Yet, Berlin’s push for absolute national leadership in orbit is increasingly sidelining French defense contractors, exacerbating bilateral tensions within Europe.

Dependencies on the US take center stage in Berlin

In Germany, calls are mounting for the country to aggressively advance its own sovereign space capabilities, using SpaceX as a blueprint.

Fabian Mehring, the Bavarian State Minister for Digital Affairs, declared that the US company’s public listing must serve as a “wake-up call” for Europe.

“Those who do not shape the future themselves will become dependent on those who do,” Mehring warned, arguing that technological superiority translates directly into foreign policy power.

Anxieties regarding the EU’s lagging position in the space race have intensified. In October 2025, Juliana Süß, an expert from the Security Policy Working Group at the SWP, detailed the extent of the EU’s “excessive dependency” on the US space sector.

Süß emphasized that this reliance spans irreplaceable technical components, including the US Global Positioning System (GPS) required to guide Germany’s Taurus cruise missiles, as well as critical capabilities in “reconnaissance, communication, navigation,” and “early missile detection.”

Europe’s reliance on Elon Musk’s Starlink constellation has been starkly demonstrated in the Ukraine conflict, where the company deployed approximately 50,000 ground terminals to secure Kyiv’s battle-critical internet connectivity.

In both Berlin and Brussels, concerns have long persisted that the US government, especially under the current administration of President Donald Trump, could leverage these critical dependencies for geopolitical leverage.

Starlink erodes European market share

The rapid expansion of SpaceX and its satellite internet subsidiary, Starlink, poses a direct economic threat to German and European industrial players.

Musk has successfully deployed more than 10,000 communication satellites into Low Earth Orbit (LEO). In the future, the company could compete directly with established terrestrial network operators like Deutsche Telekom on a national scale.

Starlink is already eroding the market share of European aerospace firms in the satellite communications market. In recent years, industry champions such as Airbus and Thales Alenia Space (TAS) have been forced to lay off thousands of workers due to increasingly unprofitable space contracts.

While the EU is actively seeking to protect and stimulate its domestic space sector, its regulatory instruments face stiff resistance. The proposed EU Space Law, introduced in June last year to unify national frameworks, is not expected to enter into force before January 1, 2030.

The draft legislation has already drawn sharp criticism from Washington, which claims the law restricts competition.

In practice, the regulation would impose significant compliance costs on US space enterprises operating within the EU, forcing them to meet strict European technical, cybersecurity, and environmental standards.

Germany’s sovereign space ambitions

To bolster its domestic space capabilities, Germany has significantly increased its financial commitments. Last year, Berlin announced during the European Space Agency (ESA) Council of Ministers meeting that it would raise its contribution to the overall ESA budget to €5 billion.

More crucially, alongside the presentation of its inaugural space security strategy in November 2025, the German government announced it would allocate €35 billion to domestic space initiatives through 2030.

Berlin is currently pursuing several ambitious military space programs. Chief among them is a Bundeswehr plan to develop a proprietary satellite communications network designed to compete directly with Starlink.

Dubbed the “German Starlink,” the project—officially designated SATCOMBw Level 4—envisions a dense constellation of communication satellites operating in Low Earth Orbit at altitudes between 200 and 2,000 kilometers.

The initial phase of the project aims to deploy between 100 and 200 satellites to securely interconnect German troops and military hardware.

Additionally, last December, the German government awarded a €1.7 billion contract to a joint venture between defense contractor Rheinmetall and Finnish satellite startup ICEYE. The program aims to deploy a constellation of 40 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites into orbit by the end of the decade.

SAR satellites provide high-resolution imaging of ground activity under all weather conditions, day or night.

Together, these two major programs are designed to secure the Bundeswehr’s operational independence from US-controlled communication and reconnaissance infrastructure.

Berlin sidelines Paris in orbit

However, Germany’s pursuit of strategic autonomy has triggered friction with its closest European ally, France.

For the SATCOMBw Level 4 “German Starlink” project, Airbus Defence and Space was initially positioned as a leading contender. The company already operates the Bundeswehr’s existing SATCOMBw communication infrastructure, giving it a technical advantage over domestic competitors like Bremen-based OHB.

However, Airbus manufactures its satellites primarily at facilities located in France, whereas Berlin is demanding strict national control over the production and operation of the network.

Major General Armin Fleischmann, who is responsible for the planning and implementation of space projects within the Bundeswehr, confirmed that there is no intention to outsource contracts of this nature abroad.

While Fleischmann acknowledged that certain specialized components would inevitably have to be procured from “Western partners,” including France, the federal government intends to keep this foreign share as minimal as possible.

Consequently, a joint venture between Rheinmetall and Bremen-based OHB is now widely regarded as the finalized prime contractor for the “German Starlink” initiative.

The partnership was officially established on Thursday. While Airbus may still participate in the project, sources indicate it will only be permitted to do so in a secondary, supporting capacity.