FACING tough competition from China, the United States and even tiny Luxembourg, Germany is racing to draft new laws and attract private investment to secure a slice of an emerging space market that could be worth US$1 trillion a year by the 2040s.

The drive to give Germany a bigger role in space comes as European, Asian and U.S. companies stake out ground in an evolving segment that promises contracts for everything from exploration to mining of outer-space resources.

Firms likely to benefit from any future spending rise in Germany include Airbus, which co-owns the maker of Europe’s Ariane space rockets, and Bremen-based OHB.

The new legislation would limit financial and legal liabilities of private companies should accidents happen in orbit, set standards for space operations and offer incentives for new projects, the German economy ministry told Reuters.

The ministry’s aerospace and space commissioner, Thomas Jarzombek, could submit the laws to parliament later this year. The move comes as companies and trade groups press for German authorities to establish a regulatory framework for the lucrative new market to encourage private investment.

“We are sounding the alarm that Germany and Europe are falling behind in space vis-a-vis China and the United States,” said Dirk Hoke, defence and space chief at Franco-German-led aerospace group Airbus. “We’re at a critical juncture to ensure we stay in the top league.”

Germany is Europe’s economic powerhouse and the world’s fourth-largest economy. However, it had just the world’s seventh-largest national space budget in 2018, an estimated US$1.1 billion, just over half the amount generated by fifth-placed France, according to preliminary data from Paris-based research firm Euroconsult.

The figure is dwarfed by the United States — by far the largest spender on space at almost US$40 billion. Ironically, American space ambitions could offer a lifeline.

Hoke said a new lunar Gateway program backed by U.S. space agency NASA offered a chance for Germany and others in Europe to stake a claim to a key role in the market.

“In my view, it is hugely important that we participate as equal partners so that we are primed to develop and build technologies for such a gateway,” he said.

The program involves designing and developing a small spaceship that will orbit the Moon and serve as a temporary home for astronauts and as a base for work on the moon’s surface and, later, missions to Mars. (SD-Agencies)