The ministerial order of 28 June 2024 relating to technical regulation of space operations tightens requirements concerning the design, fabrication and operation of launchers and spacecraft. The aim of the Tech For Space Care (T4SC) programme is to guarantee the security and safety of space operations, limit risks to populations and the environment, and reduce generation of space debris while sustaining competitiveness.
Key information
| Mission | Aid compliance of space players with new regulatory requirements |
| Domain | Defence |
| Start date | Early 2022 |
| Partners | CNES and French space manufacturers, SMEs and start-ups |
| Where | France |
| Lifetime | 5 years, plus possible extensions |
| Status | In operation |
Key figures
-
34,000
drifting or manoeuvrable space debris objects tracked daily by CNES
-
350 to 36,000
km is where most satellites—and therefore space debris objects—are found
Key milestones
- 28 June 2024: New ministerial order amending and supplementing previous order of 31 March 2011 on technical regulation of space operations.
- 31 March 2011: Ministerial order setting out technical regulations associated with the FSOA.
- 3 June 2008: French Space Operations Act (FSOA) passes into law.
Project in brief
CNES’s Tech For Space Care (T4SC) project was instituted in 2022 in the wake of successive amendments to the French Space Operations Act (FSOA) that is binding on all space players in France, driven by rapid shifts in the space sector, notably the arrival of New Space entrants, particularly private firms and investors.
This sudden surge in space players also increases the risk of space debris proliferation and ineffectual management of Earth orbit.
T4SC encompasses existing or future technologies designed to ensure sustainable space operations, for example promoting those capable of mitigating space debris while supporting a French space ecosystem bound by the technical and operational constraints of the FSOA.
Its aim is to establish a technology programme to aid and support French space players while pursuing the act’s space operations sustainability goals.
T4SC therefore offers affordable technology solutions to ensure compliance with the provisions of the FSOA’s technical regulations.
CNES’s role
The technical regulations associated with the FSOA were drafted by CNES and submitted for approval to overseeing ministries and authorities—the research and innovation agency DGRI, acting on behalf of the Ministry of the Economy, the enterprise agency DGE and the Ministry of Armed Forces—and then adopted after a vote in the National Assembly and Senate.
Today, the Ministry of the Economy delegates responsibility to CNES for checking compliance of French space operators with these technical regulations.
Contacts
Project Leader at CNES’s Space Security, Safety & Control sub-directorate
Pierre Omaly
E-mail: pierre.omaly at cnes.fr