Europe’s dependence on America in space is hard to escape
Unlock unlimited access to all our award-winning journalism, subscriber-only podcasts and newsletters Unlock unlimited access to all our award-winning journalism, subscriber-only podcasts and newsletters Your browser does not support the <audio> element. T he strongest signals that America is turning against Ukraine have come, this month, from outer space. Ukrainian drones’ connections to Starlink, Elon Musk’s satellite-internet service, cut out at speeds above 160kph. Russian ballistic missiles smacked into Kyiv without the usual warnings from American spy satellites. Ukraine’s European allies reacted with deep foreboding. European defence chiefs can offer Ukraine only partial substitutes for American intelligence and communications networks. And they worry about their own dependence on America’s space-based capabilities, about whether these will stay available if Russia attacks and about how quickly they can develop their own alternatives. All this is hastening efforts to develop alt