The Framework

The EU Space Act establishes multiple regulatory mechanisms that disproportionately burden U.S. satellite operators. The regulation creates a “giga-constellation” category requiring additional propellant capacity requirements that apply exclusively to American satellite companies, as no European operators currently meet this threshold.[1] The Act mandates prescriptive reflectivity standards below current technological capabilities for low-earth orbit satellites, which disproportionately hit U.S. companies that operate at lower altitudes to provide low-latency services, while exempting higher-altitude EU constellations that appear less reflective from Earth.[2] Non-EU operators face a discriminatory “Compliance Board” review process where European regulators vote on U.S. competitors’ market access, while EU operators receive streamlined authorization in their home countries.[3] The launch derogation regime explicitly preferences EU launch providers by allowing European operators to use non-EU launchers only when no “readily available substitute” exists in the EU and the foreign launch “promotes technological capabilities of strategic importance” for the Union.[4] With implementation beginning in January 2030, these requirements force advanced U.S. satellite companies to redesign systems already in development, creating asymmetric compliance costs.[5]

Implications for U.S. Technology Leadership

These discriminatory provisions undermine U.S. competitive advantages in satellite technology and services. By imposing arbitrary technical requirements and bureaucratic hurdles specifically calibrated to affect U.S. constellations, the Space Act forces American companies to divert resources from innovation to compliance with protectionist regulations that provide no meaningful safety benefits. The “giga-constellation” propellant requirements, for instance, have no technical justification—the propellant necessary for appropriate on-orbit maneuvers does not depend on constellation size—yet create special costs exclusively for American operators while exempting their European competitors from identical safety obligations.

The Space Act extends the EU’s established pattern of using regulation to target U.S. technology companies, following the Digital Markets Act’s designation of five U.S. companies as “gatekeepers” while initially exempting all European firms.[6] This discriminatory framework threatens to proliferate globally through the Brussels effect, as the DMA has already inspired similar regulations in over 30 countries.[7] If enacted, the Space Act would establish a precedent for other jurisdictions to create their own protectionist space regulations, fragmenting the global regulatory environment and multiplying compliance burdens for U.S. satellite operators. The launch derogation provisions particularly weaken U.S. launch competitiveness by forcing European customers toward potentially inferior or more expensive EU options, directly undermining the U.S. commercial space sector’s global leadership position at a critical moment when satellite services are essential for connectivity, security, and economic development worldwide.

Endnotes