politico.eu
• Pieter Haeck
As wildfires spread across Europe during another hot summer, satellites are providing earlier fire detection and detailed imagery of affected areas. The data can help authorities identify outbreaks sooner, assess damage more quickly and coordinate responses across large or difficult-to-access regions.
Europe
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As wildfires spread across Europe during another hot summer, satellites are providing earlier fire detection and detailed imagery of affected areas. The data can help authorities identify outbreaks sooner, assess damage more quickly and coordinate responses across large or difficult-to-access regions.
Europe is emerging as a laggard in the global effort to move data centers into orbit, trailing the United States and China. The competitive gap highlights a developing strategic contest over space-based computing infrastructure and the technologies needed to support it.
High activity
Lufthansa has operated its first Starlink-equipped passenger flight on an A320neo, launching a rollout planned to reach about 850 Lufthansa Group aircraft by 2029. Separately, Eurowings will introduce Premium BIZ recliner seats from Dec. 1 on flights to London, Mallorca and Málaga.
Germany has launched a drone security center that uses space-based systems, bringing satellite-enabled capabilities into efforts to address drone-related security concerns. The initiative highlights the growing overlap between space infrastructure, unmanned systems and national security operations.
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Airbus is pressing to raise A320neo-family production to 75 aircraft per month, underscoring the scale of its narrowbody backlog. In parallel, construction has begun on a 6,221-square-meter extension of the Belfast wing facility, supporting an A220 build rate of 13 aircraft per month by 2028.
Italy’s space industry is confronting a scale test as defense and government customers increasingly favor larger suppliers able to manage complex programs. The shift is putting pressure on the country’s fragmented industrial base to consolidate and compete more effectively as European rearmament accelerates.
High activity
SAS will resume nonstop Copenhagen–Mumbai flights on October 1, 2026, ending a 17-year absence from India. The airline plans five weekly, year-round frequencies using a 266-seat Airbus A330, restoring direct passenger and cargo connectivity between Scandinavia and Mumbai after its June launch was aborted.
NASA astronaut Anil Menon and French astronaut Sophie Adenot removed a failed antenna during an Aug. 18 spacewalk at the International Space Station, but ran out of time before installing its replacement. The antenna repair will therefore require a subsequent spacewalk or other planned intervention.
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