Thought Leadership
Diplomatic Council New Year’s Reception on 21 January 2026 under the theme “Space Night”
Keynote: Prof Dr Heinrich Kreft, Ambassador (ret.), Leading Authority on Space Diplomacy, and Jochen M. Richter, Chairman of the Diplomatic Council Global Security Forum, together with the Authors present
The heavens have always fascinated humankind, symbolising the existence of something far greater than our earthly lives. Today, the use of space has become an integral part of daily life – one need only think of GPS navigation in cars and smartphones.
But now, a new phase is beginning: space is turning into a battlefield. Whatever happens above us has direct consequences below. And Europe is falling noticeably behind in this global contest.
Europe has now sounded the call to catch up. For the first time, there is an EU Commissioner for Defence and Space. The European Space Agency (ESA) has been equipped with a record budget to strengthen Europe’s role in space. EU Commissioner Andrius Kubilius and ESA Director General Dr Josef Aschbacher are among the 23 distinguished authors who contributed to the new book “Space Security – Extending European Defence into Space”.
At the Space Night, the editors accompanied by contributing authors in attendance, will present the volume and outline a European space strategy that reflects the latest EU and ESA developments. This includes the planned EU Space Shield, to be established from 2026 onwards to protect Europe.
Space – not long ago the realm of science fiction – has become a multidimensional domain. It is a rapidly expanding sector with growing budgets. It presents formidable technological challenges, such as reusable heavy-lift rockets that dramatically reduce the cost of placing satellites in orbit, or mega-constellations of more than 10,000 satellites offering entirely new capabilities (satellite telephony with any mobile device, AI data centres in orbit, and more). And it raises profound security implications: “He who controls outer space controls the Earth", said John F. Kennedy . At the Space Night, the editors and participating authors will provide insight into this fascinating and unsettling transformation, in which we already find ourselves in the midst.
The authors of “Space Security – Extending European Defence into Space” are:
Dr Josef Aschbacher, Director General, European Space Agency (ESA)
Dr Balász Bartóki-Gönczy, Vice-Dean, University of Public Service, Budapest
Juan Carlos Cortés, Director General, Spanish Space Agency (AEE)
Dr Bohumil Doboš, Associate Professor, Charles University Prague
Andreas Dripke, Executive Chairman, Diplomatic Council
Dr Enrico Fels, Managing Director, CASSIS, University of Bonn
Dr Namrata Goswami, Professor of Space Security, Johns Hopkins University
Minister of State Florian Hahn, Federal Foreign Office, Member of the German Bundestag
Prof Dr Mahulena Hofmann, SES Chair in Space, SatCom & Media Law, University of Luxembourg
Prof Dr Heinrich Kreft, Ambassador (ret.), President, Diplomatic Council; Programme Director, Diplomatic Academy of the Federal Foreign Office
Andrius Kubilius, EU Commissioner for Defence and Space
Dr Ciro Maddaloni, Ministry of Innovation and Technology (ret.)
Hang Nguyen, Publisher, Diplomatic Council Publishing
Dr habil. Antje Nötzold, Lecturer and Research Fellow, Chemnitz University of Technology & Bundeswehr University
Almudena Azcarate Ortega, Senior Research Fellow, Space Security and WMD Programme, UN Institute for Disarmament Research
Dr Xavier Pasco, Director, Foundation for Strategic Research, Paris
Clémence Poirier, Senior Researcher, ETH Zurich
Dr Dumitru-Dorin Prunariu, Lieutenant General (ret.), first Romanian in space, former President, Romanian Space Agency; Full Member, International Academy of Astronautics
Jochen M. Richter, Chairman, Diplomatic Council Global Security Forum
Andrea Rotter, Head of Foreign and Security Policy, Hanns Seidel Foundation
Rabea Rogge, German astronaut and first German woman in space
Juliana Süß, Researcher, Security Policy Working Group, Project “Strategic Threat Analyses and Nuclear (Dis)Order”, German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP)
Matthias Wachter, Managing Director, NewSpace Initiative, and Head of Department for International Cooperation, Security, Raw Materials & Space, Federation of German Industries (BDI)
This circle of authors makes the book a unique reference work on space security – and the Space Night a one-of-a-kind event offering first-hand insight into the combined expertise and forward-looking assessments of these leading decision-makers and specialists.