Article 5

Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:

(1) ‘space object’ means a human-made object sent to outer space, including a spacecraft and the launch vehicle orbital stage;

(2) ‘spacecraft’ means a space object designed to perform a specific function or space mission, such as providing services of communications, navigation or observation, or providing in-space operations and services, including a satellite, the launcher upper stages, or the re-entry vehicle;

(3) ‘constellation’ means a group of space objects consisting of at least 10 operational spacecraft, but not more than 99 of those spacecraft, working together for a common space mission, subject to a predefined orbital deployment plan;

(4) ‘mega constellation’ means a constellation that contains at least 100 operational spacecraft, but not more than 999 of those spacecraft;

(5) ‘giga constellation’ means a constellation that contains at least 1000 operational spacecraft;

(6) ‘GEO protected region’ means a segment of the spherical shell defined by the following: lower altitude = geostationary altitude minus 200 km upper altitude = geostationary altitude plus 200 km -15 degrees ≤ latitude ≤ +15 degrees geostationary altitude (35.786 km is the altitude of the geostationary Earth orbit);

(7) ‘mini-satellite class’ means a class of satellites with a weight equal or superior to 201 kg and inferior to 600kg;

(8) ‘space mission’ means a user defined mission to be achieved by a space object;

(9) ‘space infrastructure’ means any asset or set of assets, systems and sub-systems or parts thereof, used to carry out space activities, through the interaction and operation of the ground, space and link segments;

(10) ‘ground segment’ means the segment of space infrastructure located on Earth, situated within or outside the territory of the Union, encompassing the ground-based infrastructure referred to in the Annex to Directive (EU) 2022/2557, and including ground stations, terminals, terrestrial-based equipment needed to communicate with space objects and supporting the carrying out of space activities, mission control centres and other ground control centres, generic ground infrastructure, ground networks, auxiliary facilities, such as the spacecraft assembly testing and integration (AIT) facilities, launchpad and related infrastructure needed for carrying out launch activities;

(11) ‘space segment’ means the segment of space infrastructure located in outer space, including space objects, space stations, space probes, crewed space transportation systems and onboarded hardware and software in the information systems and other onboarded material or equipment;

(12) ‘space-based data’ means data received from outer space, including but not limited to data of interception, of localisation, of transmission of a signal generated by a space object, or observation data, and which originate from the Earth, a celestial body, a space object or from outer space;

(13) ‘space activities’ means a set of operations when carrying out activities in outer space, in particular:

(a) operation and control of space objects, including for re-entry;

(b) launch services, including launch attempts;

(c) operation and maintenance of launch sites and facilities;

(d) activities in relation to the exploration of outer space, such as human spaceflight, space transport and conducting experiments, including of scientific nature, in outer space;

(e) activities in relation to the use and management of space objects in outer space, such as in-space operations and services (ISOS);

(f) operations that entail the monitoring of space debris;

(g) operations that entail the disposal of space debris;

(14) ‘space services’ means any of the following services:

(a) operation and control of a space object;

(b) provision of launch services, as well as provision of services of operation and maintenance of the launch sites;

(c) any of the services provided by a primary provider of space-based data;

(d) in-space services and operations (ISOS);

(e) collision avoidance space services;

(15) ‘space services provider’ means a provider of space services covered by this Regulation;

(16) ‘space operator’ means a public or private entity that operates the space infrastructure, by carrying out at least one of the following space services, based on authorisation or a specific regime for carrying out a national space programme:

(a) operation, control and return of a space object (‘spacecraft operator’);

(b) operation, control and monitoring of the launch process of a space object (‘launch operator’);

(c) operation, control and maintenance of facilities at the ground segment of space infrastructure used for the launch process (‘launch site operator’);

(d) operation and control of a space object for the purposes of provision of in-space operation and service, including to other space objects (‘ISOS provider’);

(17) ‘Union space operator’ means a space operator established in the Union, or controlled by a natural person or a legal person that is a space services provider established in the Union;

(18) ‘control’ means, for the purposes of point (17), the ability to exercise a decisive influence over a legal entity directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediate legal entities;

(19) ‘third country space operator’ means a space operator established in a third country which carries out any of the following:

(a) provides space services to Union space operators, or in relation to the space assets defined in points (20) and (21),

(b) acts itself as a primary provider of space-based data, or

(c) provides services to primary providers of space-based data;

(20) ‘Union-owned assets’ mean Union-owned tangible and intangible assets created or developed under the Union Space Programme referred to in Article 9(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/696 and Article 1 of Regulation (EU) 2023/588;

(21) ‘governmental or non-governmental space assets’ means assets other than those defined in point (20), whether publicly or privately owned, operated by a public authority or a private party established in a Member State, including dual use assets placed under civilian control;

(22) ‘primary providers of space-based data’ means space services providers, established in the Union or in a third country, that initiate the first processing of space-based data which is technically sufficient to enable any subsequent provision of space-based data, as follows:

(a) providers of electronic communications services, where the space-based data concerned is communication;

(b) space services providers which ensure the first processing of observation data, before other processing thereof, where the space-based data concerned is observation data;

(23) ‘international organisation’ means an international organisation providing in the Union space services or space-based data generated by space objects placed on an orbit not further than GEO and operated by such international organisations;

(24) ‘collision avoidance space services provider’ means a provider of collision avoidance services, including the Collision Avoidance entity (CA entity) in the Union, or collision avoidance providers established in a third country;

(25) ‘research and education institution’ means a space services provider which carries out space activities for experimental purposes, whether or not exploiting the results of that research for commercial purposes;

(26) ‘small and medium-sized enterprises’ (‘SMEs’) means small and medium-sized enterprises as defined in Article 2 of the Annex to Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC;

(27) ‘small mid-caps’ (SMCs) means enterprises as defined in Article 2 of the Annex to Commission Recommendation C(2025) 3500 final;

(28) ‘entities applying a simplified risk management’ means space operators that are small enterprises or research or education institutions and apply the simplified risk management referred in Article 10(3) and in Article 15(2);

(29) ‘launch vehicle’ means a system, part of the space segment, that is designed to transport one or more space objects into outer space;

(30) ‘launch vehicle orbital stage’ means a complete element of a launch vehicle that is designed to propel a defined thrust during a dedicated phase of the launch vehicle’s operation and achieve orbit;

(31) ‘launch service’ means a service intended to place a space object in orbit, including launch attempts;

(32) ‘launch site’ means a location on Earth, that is part of the ground segment of space infrastructure, from which the launch of a space object takes place;

(33) ‘high-interest events (HIEs)’ means close approaches with a high level of risk, potentially requiring collision avoidance manoeuvres to be performed by a space operator;

(34) ‘nominal operation’ means the execution of planned tasks or the functioning for which a spacecraft or a launch vehicle orbital stage was designed;

(35) ‘conjunction data messages’ means information about a conjunction between two space objects;

(36) ‘collision avoidance’ means the execution of collision avoidance manoeuvres to reduce the risk of collision in outer space;

(37) ‘delta V’ means the velocity increment necessary to reach a specific orbit or flight path;

(38) ‘object of interest’ means any object involved in any situation that could affect the other space objects or the situation on Earth;

(39) ‘re-entry’ means the permanent return of a space object into the Earth’s atmosphere;

(40) ‘disposal’ means a set of actions performed by a spacecraft or a launch vehicle orbital stage, with or without support of a servicer spacecraft, with a view to permanently reduce the risk of accidental fragmentation and to achieve long-term clearance of orbits;

(41) ‘disposal phase’ means the interval between the end of the space mission of a spacecraft or launch vehicle orbital stage and its end of life;

(42) ‘end of life’ means the instant when a spacecraft or a launch vehicles orbital stage is permanently turned off, nominally as it completes its disposal phase, re-enters the Earth’s atmosphere, or can no longer be controlled by a space operator;

(43) ‘end of mission’ means the phase when a spacecraft or launch vehicle orbital stage completes the tasks for which it has been designed, other than its disposal, becomes non-functional as a consequence of a failure, or is permanently halted through a voluntary decision;

(44) ‘passivation’ means the act of permanently depleting, irreversibly deactivating, or making safe all on-board sources of stored energy capable of causing an accidental fragmentation;

(45) ‘space debris’ means any space object, including spacecraft or fragments and elements thereof, in Earth’s orbit and lunar’s orbit, or re-entering Earth’s atmosphere or lunar’s exosphere, that are non-functional or no longer serve any specific purpose, including parts of rockets or artificial satellites, or inactive artificial satellites;

(46) ‘network and information system’ means the network and information system as defined in Article 6, point (1), of Directive (EU) 2022/2555;

(47) ‘security of network and information systems’ means security of network and information systems as defined in Article 6, point (2), of Directive (EU) 2022/2555;

(48) ‘critical infrastructure’ means critical infrastructure as defined in Article 2, point (4), of Directive (EU) 2022/2557;

(49) ‘mission control centre’ means the element in the ground segment dedicated to the control and monitoring of the execution of a space mission;

(50) ‘satellite control centre’ means the element of the ground segment dedicated to the control of the satellite platform configuration;

(51) ‘effective technical control’ means the assurance of a space operator that a space object only executes commands transmitted by authorized sources and that those commands are executed in the proper order and at the intended moment;

(52) ‘telemetry/telecommand’ means the links that transmit the telemetry from the space segment to the ground segment and the links that send the telecommand from the ground segment to the space segment;

(53) ‘resilience’ means the ability to prevent, protect against, respond and resist, mitigate, absorb, accommodate, and recover from an incident;

(54) ‘cyber threat’ means a ‘cyber threat’ as defined in Article 2, point (8), of Regulation (EU) 2019/881;

(55) ‘significant cyber threat’ means ‘significant cyber threat’ as defined in Article 6, point (11), of Directive (EU) 2022/2555;

(56) ‘incident’ means an event compromising any of the following:

(a) the availability, authenticity, integrity or confidentiality of the stored, transmitted or processed data, or of the services offered by, or accessible via, network and information systems, or

(b) the physical security of the assets of space infrastructure and of space operators;

(57) ‘incident handling’ means ‘incident handling’ as defined in Article 6, point (8), of Directive (EU) 2022/2555;

(58) ‘additional impact categories’ means categories of environmental information that fall outside the environmental footprint (EF) impact categories calculated and communicated alongside product environmental footprint (PEF) results;

(59) ‘aggregated dataset’ means a life cycle inventory (LCI) of multiple unit processes or life cycle stages, for which inputs and outputs are provided only at the aggregated level, horizontally or vertically;

(60) ‘environmental sustainability’ means the ability to preserve and protect the natural Earth environment over time, through appropriate practices and policies meeting present needs and without compromising the availability of resources in the future;

(61) ‘disaggregation’ means the process that breaks down an aggregated dataset into smaller horizontal or vertical unit process datasets;

(62) ‘derived dataset’ means a dataset obtained by combining, through mathematical operations, two or more datasets or by combining at least one dataset with substantial additional information or other datasets;

(63) ‘in-space operations and services (ISOS)’ means activities carried out in space (on orbit and in outer space), with a view to provide services on assets in the space segment and which include the performance of tasks such as inspection, rendezvous, docking, repair, refuel, reconfiguration, manufacturing, assembling and disassembling, re-use, recycling, removal and transport of operational, non-operational and defective objects (debris) in space, with a servicer spacecraft with a high degree of autonomy, including platforms or larger structures;

(64) ‘ISOS operation’ means the execution of the planned ISOS tasks involving one or more space objects;

(65) ‘ISOS servicer spacecraft’ means a spacecraft specifically designed for the purpose of providing specific ISOS;

(66) ‘client spacecraft’ means a spacecraft that receives ISOS;

(67) ‘competent authority’ means a public authority established or designated as competent authority in accordance with Article 28;

(68) ‘qualified technical body for space activities’ means a technical body established in a Member State which performs technical assessment in relation to matters of safety, resilience and environmental sustainability covered by this Regulation and which has been notified to the Commission in accordance with this Regulation;

(69) ‘technical assessment’ means the process demonstrating that space services providers fulfil the technical requirements laid down in this Regulation;

(70) ‘standard’ means a standard as defined in Article 2, point (1), of Regulation

(EU) No 1025/2012;

(71) ‘common specifications’ means a set of technical requirements, other than a standard, that provides means of complying with the requirements applicable to the e-certificate and the light and radio pollution;

(72) ‘turnover’ means the amount derived by an undertaking within the meaning of Article 5(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004;

(73) ‘Union Space Label’ means a document issued by the European Union Agency for the Union Space Programme established in Article 1 of Regulation (EU) 2021/696 (‘the Agency’) attesting that a given space object has been evaluated for compliance with the specific safety, resilience, or environmental sustainability requirements laid down in a Union Space Labelling Scheme;

(74) ‘Union Space Labelling Scheme’ means a comprehensive set of rules, technical requirements, standards and procedures established at Union level that apply to the compliance check of products, processes, services, including testing and inspection activities carried out in relation to matters of safety, resilience or environmental sustainability;

(75) ‘critical design review’ means the stage in the engineering, manufacturing and development process, which determines that the systems and subsystems design and configuration satisfy all specified requirements of the space mission, in terms of performance, compatibility, product specifications, assessment of risks, preliminary test planning, adequacy of preliminary operation and provision of supporting documents, enabling to proceed to system implementation and integration.

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /var/www/html/article.php:8) in /var/www/html/script/loginauth.php on line 163