As the boundaries between air and space continue to blur, the 2025 EUROCONTROL Civil-Military Aviation Summit made one thing clear: space is now an integral part of Europe’s airspace management discussion.
A key highlight of the summit was the dedicated panel on “Civil-Military Challenges in Integrating Space Launches into European Airspace Operations.” The session brought together leading voices from the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Defence Agency (EDA), the European Commission (DG MOVE), and EUROCONTROL, focusing on how to coordinate rocket launches, satellite deployments, and high-altitude missions with traditional air traffic flows.
Dr. Tim Flohrer, Head of ESA’s Space Debris Office, underscored the growing risks posed by orbital debris, while stakeholders from both the military and civil sectors emphasized the need for scalable systems that can monitor, predict, and deconflict space-related activities in real-time.
Speakers agreed that space is now a contested, congested, and operationally critical domain—requiring integrated surveillance, secure data-sharing, and harmonized civil-military procedures. As more EU member states and private entities engage in space activities, airspace management must evolve to include orbital considerations, from launch windows to post-mission safety protocols.
The summit reaffirmed that civil-military coordination must now extend beyond Earth’s atmosphere—opening the door to a new era of joint governance and strategic investment at the intersection of aviation and space.