Roundtable: Does Europe need an independent research satellite?

Satellite images show the world. Where no one else looks. In an increasingly fragmented and conflict-ridden world, high-resolution satellite data is often the last resort for finding the truth. However, more and more of our colleagues have recently reported that their access to this data is being blocked or denied—by satellite operators and governments who decide behind the scenes what can and cannot be made public. Here are just a few examples:

• Gaza, 2023: Following a New York Times investigation into Israeli tank movements, companies such as Maxar and Planet Labs restricted the publication of satellite images, while others, such as Airbus, withheld them entirely.
• Ukraine, 2025: The US government revoked Ukraine's access to commercial satellite images via a contractual arrangement with Maxar – in the midst of war.
• Red Sea, 2025: ESA blocked access to Sentinel-2 images of the region to prevent military use – but this also affected NGO and media projects.
• Gaza & Ukraine, 2025: Since May, the archives of Maxar, Planet, and Airbus have been empty. All images that undoubtedly existed are no longer available.

Airbus has now started offering free images from the OneAtlas archive to editorial offices such as the Süddeutsche Zeitung and Wirtschaftswoche—but only because the company has the final say on what colleagues are allowed to show and what not. This is hardly compatible with press freedom and the everyday work of a daily and weekly newspaper.

The legal background is complex. There are international principles for satellite remote sensing, such as the UN principles of 1986. However, these are not binding. And in the commercial sector in particular, providers often operate under contractual obligations, geopolitical pressure, or security considerations. "The entire model of commercial Earth observation is based on the possibility of state control over image releases – for reasons of foreign, security, or defense policy,” comments space lawyer Ingo Baumann in a post on LinkedIn.

“Commercial space activities is currently shifting heavily toward defense. This threatens to create a fatal imbalance: high-resolution Earth observation will then become an exclusive tool for the military, while press freedom, transparency, and civilian use will fall by the wayside,” says Lina Hollender, industry expert for satellite data.

However, what appears to be necessary for security reasons is increasingly being handled arbitrarily in practice. Data is deliberately withheld if it runs counter to political or economic interests. Even investigative projects such as Forbidden Stories have come up against limits. Investigative journalist Frederik Obermaier describes how the team identified high-resolution images that had been taken shortly before a press building in Gaza was shelled – but Maxar refused to release the crucial series of images. "Maxar has often helped the press in the past – but this time, the image we needed most was not available. Despite repeated requests," says Obermaier.

In a world where transparency is increasingly becoming the first casualty of geopolitical tensions, appeals are not enough. Infrastructure is needed. Independence is needed.

It is therefore time for Europe to establish its own, civilian-controlled satellite access for journalistic purposes—permanent, transparent, and protected from political influence.

Such a satellite constellation would need to:

• be financed by public funds,
• be operated by an independent institution,
• and formulate clear rules of access for journalists, NGOs, and research institutions.

When images are only selectively available, we lose more than just pixels—we lose trust and democratic control. The debate about satellite data is a debate about the visibility of the world. And it raises the question: Who gets to decide what is visible?

“We need to redefine how we want to shape access to satellite data for the ‘fourth estate,” says Hollender. Together with Lina, we are therefore organizing a roundtable after the summer break to address this debate. When and where? You'll find out here in good time.