In a new contribution for Table.Briefings, Nina Klimburg-Witjes and Philipp Kürten reflect on the temporal politics of European spaceflight. The article argues that Europe’s future in space is not only a question of rockets, budgets, or technological speed, but also of time: planning horizons, institutional rhythms, decision-making cycles, and the capacity to shape futures on Europe’s own terms.
Drawing on insights from the ERC project FutureSpace, the piece introduces the notion of Temporal Ownership: the ability to not merely react to the pace set by commercial actors, geopolitical competitors, or media-driven urgency, but to define when, how, and towards which futures space activities should unfold. Against the pressure to simply “catch up,” the article asks what rhythm Europe wants to set for spaceflight – and how this rhythm might align with cooperation, sustainability, and public responsibility.
The article also highlights FutureSpace’s speculative foresight workshops as spaces in which actors from policy, industry, space agencies, and research can collectively examine dominant assumptions about the future and explore alternative European space futures.
