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Countries to talk space cooperation at annual summit

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Russian space agency not attending

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NASA chief to promote post-ISS plans

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IAC draws its highest-ever number of technical papers

By Joey Roulette, Tim Hepher and Giulia Segreti

MILAN, Oct 14 (Reuters) - The world's space agencies are

meeting in Milan this week as geopolitical rivalry fuels a new

global race in Earth's orbit and on the moon, with heavy

involvement from a private sector toiling to keep pace with Elon

Musk's dominant SpaceX.

The International Astronautical Congress (IAC) since 1950

has been a venue for the scientists, engineers, companies and

political leaders of spacefaring nations to discuss cooperation,

even in times of heightened tensions among world powers.

This year's conference will put the space minds of two top

rivals - the U.S. and China - under one roof. But Russia's space

agency Roscosmos, a storied power now isolated from the West

after Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, will have no official

presence, highlighting the latest fault lines in space

cooperation.

Still, nearly all of the 77 member countries of the

International Astronautical Federation (IAF), the non-profit

that organises IAC, have turned out for talks on what attendees

expect will touch heavily on lunar exploration, NASA's growing

coalition of countries under its Artemis moon programme and

Europe's pressing need for more sovereign access to space.

IAF President Clay Mowry said a record 7,197 technical

abstracts were submitted for this congress, and a record 37% of

the papers would be given by students and young professionals.

"This is the most exciting time in space since the Apollo

era in the 1960s," he told Reuters.

NASA administrator Bill Nelson is expected to rally support

at IAC for agency's strategy to tap private companies to replace

the ageing International Space Station after its 2030

retirement. The more than two-decade old orbiting science

laboratory has been a symbol of space diplomacy led primarily by

the U.S. and Russia, despite conflicts on Earth.

NASA, which is investing billions of dollars in its flagship

Artemis moon programme, has been keen on maintaining a presence

in low-Earth orbit to compete with China's Tiangong space

station, which has continuously housed Chinese astronauts for

three years.

The U.S. and China are also racing to land this decade the

first humans on the moon since the last American Apollo mission

in 1972. The two space powers are aggressively courting partner

countries and leaning heavily on private companies for their

moon programmes, shaping the space objectives of smaller space

agencies along the way.

EUROPE'S PRIORITIES

IAC comes as Italy's parliament starts the approval of the

country's first legislative framework for the space industry,

which also establishes rules and responsibilities for private

investments in the sector.

"These rules gives the national ecosystem guidance on how to

reach our objectives and grant the use of space in a sustainable

and useful way," Italy's Industry Minister Adolfo Urso said on

Sunday.

Italy, among the top contributors to the European Space

Agency, recently pledged 7.3 billion euros ($7.98 billion) to

2026 for both national and European projects.

The rise of disruptive space technologies, private

competition spurred largely by SpaceX and geopolitical tensions

has forced Europe to redraw its priorities for both launchers

and satellites.

Musk's SpaceX and its workhorse Falcon 9 is relied upon by

much of the Western world for accessing space, driving countries

- including the U.S. - to encourage new space upstarts that can

offer more affordable rockets. And SpaceX's growing Starlink

internet network has made the company the world's largest

satellite operator.

After a year-long hiatus, Europe regained uncrewed access to

orbit with the test flight of its Ariane 6 launcher in July. But

capacity remains constrained by the cutting of ties with Russia,

whose Soyuz rockets played a key role for the continent before

the Ukraine war.

Europe's satellite manufacturing industry is also facing

growing pressures as a once-thriving market for its large,

bespoke geostationary satellites faces heavy pressure from

constellations in low Earth orbit such as SpaceX's Starlink.

Italy's Leonardo, one of the hosts of the

week-long event, has called for a new strategy for the space

sector embracing its French joint venture partner Thales

and their main rival in satellite manufacturing,

Airbus.

Industry sources say the three companies are involved in

preliminary talks about combining their satellite activities,

but much will depend on the attitude of a new European

Commission, which blocked past efforts to forge a single player.

European strategists argue space is a worldwide market, and

forcing European companies to preserve choice within the same

region misses the bigger picture of global competition.

NASA's effort to seed privately built replacements to the

ISS is driving some transatlantic tie-ups, such as the joint

venture formed this year between Airbus and U.S. space

operations firm Voyager to help capture European demand for

low-Earth orbit research and operations.