Polytechnique insights A REVIEW BY INSTITUT POLYTECHNIQUE DE PARIS
Polytechnique insights A REVIEW BY INSTITUT POLYTECHNIQUE DE PARIS
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Home / Dossiers / Space / Space, the new battleground for geopolitical rivalries
π Space

Space, the new battleground for geopolitical rivalries

4 episodes
  • 1
    Sino-American rivalry in orbit: what are the facts?
  • 2
    How is France preparing for war in space?
  • 3
    Private property and militarisation: the new frontiers of space law
  • 4
    Can European space industry compete with American domination?
1_chineUs
Épisode 1/4

Sino-American rivalry in orbit: what are the facts?
On October 1st, 2025
4 min reading time
Isabelle Sourbès‑Verger_VF
Isabelle Sourbès-Verger
Geographer and CNRS Research Director

Key takeaways

  • China is now a global space power, and notably the only nation besides the US to have successfully landed a rover on Mars and made it move.
  • However, further investment is still needed to compete with the US: China’s budget for space activities as a whole is $20bn.
  • While private players are an asset in space strategies, most Chinese players are heavily subject to state control and political decisions.
  • China is currently seeking to prioritise the use of resources on the Moon, using ISRU (In Situ Resource Utilisation) to contribute to the operation of its facilities.
  • Today, China has clear objectives: to send a Chinese citizen to the Moon, to set up a scientific exploration base, etc.
Épisode 2/4

How is France preparing for war in space?
On February 11th, 2026
6 min reading time
Philippe Adam_VF
Philippe Adam
Air Force General, Ex-commander of Air Force and Space

Key takeaways

  • In 2018, the clandestine manoeuvre of the Russian satellite Louch-Olymp in 2017 near the Franco-Italian military satellite Athena-Fidus was made public.
  • In 2019, faced with multiple threats, France officially incorporated space as a domain of military action into its doctrine.
  • Today, hostile behaviour is being observed in space around the Middle East, the Black Sea, Ukraine and the Baltic Sea.
  • In France, the CDE's mission is to maintain and improve military space services and to protect French capabilities in the event of aggression, including by fighting in space.
  • The French strategy does not aim to destroy hostile satellites, but rather to develop non-kinetic means of action such as lasers and jammers.
2_privateProperty
Épisode 3/4

Private property and militarisation: the new frontiers of space law
On October 28th, 2025
7 min reading time
Lucien Rapp_VF
Lucien Rapp
Professor at Université Toulouse-Capitole and HEC Paris

Key takeaways

  • In total, five conventions and their principles currently constitute a solid legal foundation, accepted by all and whose authority is so far undisputed.
  • The Outer Space Treaty prohibits sovereignty claims by a State, but it says nothing about private property.
  • The Artemis Accords are a legal instrument whose signature conditions the cooperation of States with the United States and sets forth a set of new principles among which private property in space is inscribed.
  • The adoption of international technical standards is essential to the development of space activities and equipment interoperability.
  • Officially, space is not a ground for hostilities although it is already heavily militarised – particularly with surveillance satellites.
3_europe
Épisode 4/4

Can European space industry compete with American domination?
On April 9th, 2025
4 min reading time
Jean-Marc Astorg
Jean-Marc Astorg
Director of Strategy at CNES

Key takeaways

  • Today, European space industry is well developed both in the field of launchers and satellites and in space applications.
  • Compared with major players in the sector – namely the USA – Europe’s space industry is rather fragmented so must defend its strategic autonomy and strengthen its capacities.
  • Europe also suffers from a lack of private funding in the space sector.
  • Around 40% of the European space industry's turnover comes from the commercial sector, a much higher percentage than in the United States.
  • Europe has the potential to keep its place as a major global space power thanks to an excellent education system, high-performance industries, etc.

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