Photo of the full-size model of Ariane 5 at the Paris Air Show – © Michel Petit https://www.flickr.com/photos/couscouschocolat/5873411761/in/photostream/

The SIRIUS Chair is the first international research chair dedicated to the law and management of activities in the space sector

SIRIUS deals with the entire range of regulatory, institutional, economic and management issues raised by the generalization of the social uses of satellites, the opening up of space activities to the competition and the development of commercial applications of space technologies. This is a new approach to space activities, focusing on the latest trends and resolutely oriented toward addressing the needs of industry.

Space Legaltech

Space Legaltech gathers in a unique web portal all of national laws as well as the latest news of spatial agencies.

Discover the new portal, designed in cooperation with PWC.

New article published in "The Space Review"

Lucien and Paul Rapp write an article entitled "Financing space-derived data as commodities" which deals with the development of a service industry using data from space.

Find out more...

Michel Condé and Valentin Miramont receive the SIRIUS 2023 Prize for their work!

The two students received this prestigious award for their respective research work, carried out as part of the TBS Specialized Master's program dédicated to the "Management of Technological Innovation".

- Michel Condé for his professional thesis (in French): "Le New Space en Europe et en France : le lanceur réutilisable, une analyse des défis et des opportunités"

- Valentin Miramont for his professional thesis (in French): "Apport des sciences cognitives sur le management de projet, le cas des projets complexes".

"Space Activities and European Green Taxonomy"

The SIRIUS Chair (Prof. Lucien Rapp, Scientific Director and Gabrielle Leterre, PhD, University of Luxembourg and Research Associate) produced a report at CNES's request, giving a detailed overview of the situation of space activities with regard to European texts currently in force, and formulating five proposals. This report will soon be released.

The SIRIUS Chair is renewed for a further 5 years

On June 17, 2024, at the Cité de l''Espace in Toulouse, the founding members of the SIRIUS Chair officially signed the agreement renewing the Chair for a further five years. Created in 2013, the SIRIUS Chair now boasts a team of 22 researchers (research directors, doctoral and post-doctoral students, affiliated researchers), spread across two Toulouse establishments, Université Toulouse-Capitole and Toulouse Business School. An ambitious research program accompanies this renewal, focusing on six key themes: Moon Economics, Space Ecosystem, Sustainable Space, Space Infrastructure, Space Services, Space Geopolitics.

CNES commissioned the SIRIUS Chair (Prof.Lucien Rapp and Gabrielle Leterre) to carry out a study on the European green taxonomy and the conditions for its application to the space sector

On January 1, 2025, the European directive known as the “CSRD” will come into force, requiring a growing number of carbon-intensive companies to report annually on actions taken to reduce their carbon emissions. More generally, this measure is in line with the objective of making Europe a carbon-neutral zone by 2050 (Green Deal 2050), whose marker (the "compass" to use the European Commission''s expression) is the European Green Taxonomy. The European Green Taxonomy makes it possible to identify 107 most emissive activities (known as “eligible” activities) and to encourage them to align themselves with European environmental objectives, turning them into "sustainable" activities. CNES commissioned the SIRIUS Chair to carry out a study aimed at shedding light on the texts currently being applied, and measuring their impact on the space industry. The report, submitted on February 12, 2024, includes 5 recommendations for action.

The SIRIUS Chair organized its annual Space Talks on the theme of sustainability on June 21, 2024 in conjunction with the European University UNIVERSEH

The 11th edition of SIRIUS Space Talks took place at Toulouse-Capitole University. It brought together 18 speakers from leading space research centers in 12 different countries. The general theme of this 11th edition was "Sustainability for Space, Sustainability in Space, Sustainability from Space". Divided into six sessions (Space Sustainability as a Global Challenge; Lunar Mining, Nexus of Space Sustainability; Taxation, AI, Maritime: Lessons to be learned for Space Sustainability; Which Corporate Strategies for Space Sustainability; Technical Standards for Space Sustainability; Space Sustainability for All), the SIRIUS Space Talks''24 were concluded by Laurence Monnoyer-Smith (CNES). Significantly, the SIRIUS SpaceTalks''24 was preceded by a call for papers launched as part of Beyond UNIVERSEH, Toulouse''s European space university.

A look back at the annual presentation of work by doctoral students in the SIRIUS Chair

The annual presentation of selected work by doctoral students, post-docs and researchers from the SIRIUS Chair took place at CNES on May 30, 2024, in front of an attendance of representatives from the Chair''s three founders. It gave 4 doctoral students the opportunity to present their research work on their thesis topics: Entrepreneurial dynamics in the space ecosystem (A.Cloitre); The ARTEMIS Agreements (A.Chazelle); Para-diplomacy of French regions: the Example of Space (J.Villar); The Space Insurance Obligation (S. Paradis).

The SIRIUS Chair was auditioned by the French National Assembly''s Economic Affairs Committee on the future of the European space industry.

Commissioned by the French National Assembly''s Economic Affairs Committee, Mme Rilhac and Mr Lopez-Liguori presented their information report (Information Report n°2040) on the future of the space industry on December 21, 2023. The report contains 40 recommendations. It was preceded by numerous hearings of personalities and experts in the space sector. During the hearing, the SIRIUS Chair (Prof. Lucien Rapp) put forward a number of proposals that could be implemented both in France and within the European Union. Part of the discussion focused on the proposed European Space Law.

The SIRIUS Chair is co-organizer of the Assises du NewSpace at CNIT La Défense on June 25 and 26, 2024.

The third edition of Assise du NewSpace welcomed over 1,000 participants and 47 exhibitors at CNIT La Défense (Paris) on June 25 and 26, 2024. Structured around four conference cycles, including an Economy, Politics and Financing cycle co-hosted by Mr Billotte and Professor Rapp (Chaire SIRIUS), this event has now established itself in the French landscape as one of the major annual gatherings for operators in the space sector. The third edition of the Assises du NewSpace included a complete cycle devoted to Europe in English. The plenary session that usually opens the Assises featured Mr Alexander McDonald, NASA''s Chief Economist, upon the initiative of the SIRIUS Chair. The Chaire SIRIUS is one of 17 members of the Assises du NewSpace organizing committee, and one of only a handful of academic institutions.

Dos Santos Paulino, V., Lo, A., & Theodoraki, C. (2024).

Innovation: Et si vous faisiez le pari d’une organisation semi-formelle ? The Conversation, 5

Discover Sirius

Goals

The mission of the SIRIUS Chair is to build up a pool of skills in law and management at the service of the European Space industry.

Activities

The activities of the SIRIUS Chair revolve around three main axes: Research (theses, dissertations, articles, notes and books), Training (teaching and seminars), Dissemination and Promotion (Colloquia, Communications, Conferences).

Team

The SIRIUS Chair team is made up of professors, doctoral students and research assistants. It brings together law and management experts.

Partnerships

The SIRIUS Chair is based in Toulouse, in the heart of the European capital of the aerospace sector. It has established a prestigious academic and institutional network in France and internationally.

Current Research Topics

The SIRIUS Chair favors a "micro" approach as opposed to a "macro" approach. Its work focuses on space companies and the space industrial ecosystem, which is not incompatible with a reflection on the international governance of space activities and its current shortcomings. We use to call on the complementary skills, particularly technical, that we need from the laboratories of the Toulouse university site, as needed.