Ensuring the security of the EU Space Programme is a multi-front battle, one that involves protecting not only satellites in space, but also the signals and services those satellites provide.

As the security gatekeeper of the EU Space Programme, EUSPA helps with both.

For example, in this role EUSPA works to ensure that governmental users have ready access to secure satellite communication services through the GOVSATCOM component of the EU Space Programme.

The European Union Governmental Satellite Communications (GOVSATCOM) provides secure, resilient and cost-efficient satellite communications capabilities to security and safety critical missions and governmental operations managed by the EU and its Member States, including national security actors and EU Agencies and institutions. This is an essential capability during crisis situations and natural disasters, during which having timely access to secure satellite communications (SatCom) is critical to emergency response and mitigation efforts.

The key infrastructure of GOVSATCOM is the GOVSATCOM Hub, which securely links governmental users with satellite communications resource providers.

Managed by EUSPA, the GOVSATCOM Hub is the programme’s secure ground infrastructure that pools commercial and governmental satellite communications capabilities and services. These capabilities and services are then shared with EU Member States, who can use them for such security-related services as surveillance, protecting critical infrastructure and crisis management.

With the GOVSATCOM Hub, emergency first responders and other authorities no longer have to find and book secure SatCom services through the various service providers – a cumbersome and time-consuming process that can significantly delay emergency response efforts. Furthermore, by always having a substantial level of SatCom services reserved for EU Member States, the GOVSATCOM Hub eliminates the risk of commercial SatCom services being unavailable.

GOVSATCOM is operational today, connecting governmental users throughout Europe and strengthening European capabilities in the sensitive areas of safety and security.

In its security role, EUSPA also helps develop and deliver innovative new services and solutions that address specific risks such as spoofing.

One of those new solutions is the Galileo Open Service – Navigation Message Authentication (OSNMA), a unique authentication mechanism that lets Galileo users verify the authenticity of their GNSS navigation data.

It seems hardly a day goes by without a story involving malicious actors spoofing satellite signals to provide unreliable or even fake positioning information. When this interference tricks our smartphone or vehicle navigation system into believing it is metres, if not kilometres, away from its actual location, it’s a nuisance. But when it targets aviation or the maritime sector, spoofing becomes a serious safety risk.

For instance, in January 2025, a flight en route to Vilnius had to abort its landing approach and divert to Warsaw due to severe GNSS interference. Likewise, last spring, merchant ships near the Danube Delta and Romania reported spoofing where their Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) displayed ships moving on land or spinning in circles.

With OSNMA, users can make sure that the navigation data they receive is coming from Galileo and has not been modified in any way. It does this by inserting a ‘digital signature’ into Galileo’s positioning and timing information. Using public keys, an OSNMA-enabled receiver decodes this cryptographic data and verifies that the navigation information is coming from the Galileo system and not another source.

OSNMA also makes Galileo signals unpredictable and difficult to replay, making it considerably more challenging to spoof OSNMA-enabled receivers.

Galileo is the first GNSS system to offer such robust protection from spoofing attacks to all users worldwide.

Down the road, Galileo will be moving towards a multifrequency authentication approach that will cover all Galileo data (starting with the Galileo second generation (G2) and based on increased infrastructure capabilities). But in the near future, Galileo will complement the OSNMA with the Galileo Signal Authentication Service (SAS) to provide a fully authenticated positioning solution. Galileo SAS will provide access to encrypted E6C signals without the need to store confidential cryptographic material in the receiver.

GOVSATCOM and OSNMA are but two examples of how Europe is investing in the security of its space assets. And in today’s era of geopolitical instability, such investments are more critical than ever.

That’s why the EU has made space a key component in its security and defence, a concept that is enshrined in the EU Space Strategy for Security and Defence. The Strategy aims to protect Europe’s space assets, defend its interests, deter hostile activities in space and strengthen its strategic posture and autonomy.

Thanks to its robust security apparatus and wealth of security-related experience, I am confident that not only will EUSPA continue to be an essential partner in implementing this Strategy, but also in keeping all of Europe’s space assets and the important data and services they provide safe and secure.

Rodrigo da Costa is Executive Director at EUSPA