The government has tabled Bill 8633, authorising it to finance Luxembourg’s contributions to the programmes of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the national LuxImpulse programme, implemented with the latter’s assistance, for the period 2026–2029. All this with a planned maximum budget of €265.1m, €66.59m more than for the period 2020–2024. As a reminder, public investment planned for this previous period totalled €198.51m, including €68m for the LuxImpulse programme. This sum will be paid for from the state budget and financed by the “Innovation Fund” budget line of the Ministry of the Economy.
This sum is “intended to support the ongoing effort to diversify and develop Luxembourg’s space ecosystem” and, more specifically, to consolidate the country’s position in satellite communications and support key initiatives such as SpaceResources.lu (the exploration and sustainable use of space resources).
In detail, the €149.3m earmarked for the ESA covers mandatory programmes to the tune of €8.4m and optional programmes to the tune of €125.5m. These include Artes (secure connectivity and communications) with €52.5m; E3P (human exploration and robotics) with €35m; Earth observation with €20m; space transportation systems (FLPP) with €9m; Access (commercialisation) with €6m and the Navigation programme (FutureNAV) with €3m.
A fair return
The contribution to mandatory programmes covers research activities (the scientific programme) and core activities that strengthen Europe’s space autonomy and resilience, in particular by developing technologies with a low level of maturity (TRL) and ensuring the cybersecurity of space infrastructure. Member States’ contributions to the mandatory programmes are determined according to a coefficient calculated on the basis of each country’s GDP. This coefficient is 0.25% for Luxembourg.
The LuxImpulse programme is a national instrument managed with the assistance of the ESA. It provides funding for projects that are not part of the European agency’s optional programmes, offering young companies a first experience with the agency and better protection of intellectual property.
The ESA guarantees that Member States’ financial contributions are converted into research and development contracts with economic players in that state, in proportion to the contributions. Since 2022, the Luxembourg ecosystem has continued to grow. Over the period 2022–2024, the number of companies in the sector has risen from 67 to 81, representing growth of 20% in three years. A decade earlier, in 2012, there were 16. By the end of 2023, the output of companies in the space sector had reached €2bn, according to Statec. This figure is largely driven by SES. Without the satellite company, the output of companies in the sector was €160m at the end of 2023.