Home  /  Newsroom  /  2020  /  NATO agrees new Space Centre at Allied Air Command

NATO Defence Ministers, meeting via secure video on Thursday, October 22, announced the creation of a space centre at Allied Air Command in Ramstein to monitor space and satellites as well as collect data on possible threats.  

“The Centre will be a focal point to support NATO missions with communications and satellite imagery, share information about potential threats to satellites and coordinate our activities in this crucial domain”, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said. He added that NATO’s aim was not to militarize space, but to increase NATO’s awareness of challenges in space, and the Alliance’s ability to deal with them.

The Centre will increase NATO's awareness of challenges in space and the Alliance's ability to deal with them

The NATO Space Centre will be housed within existing facilities at Allied Air Command and will initially be staffed with a small team of officers and experts already working at the command. Expected to start its work in the comings months, the Centre will collaborate with Allied and partner nations to provide space-related products and services in support of NATO operations, missions, and activities. 

At Allied Air Command, Space specialists from the Allies will be collaborating with Allied and Partner nations to provide space-related products and services in support of NATO operations, missions and activities. Archive imagery by Sébastien Raffin.

“The men and women of Headquarters Allied Air Command are honoured to move forward with the development of the NATO Space Centre,” said General Jeff Harrigian, Commander NATO Allied Air Command, Ramstein Air Base. “Coordination with Nations in the space domain is a critical mission as civilian, military, and commercial organizations become increasingly dependent on space capabilities for our safety and security,” he added.

In December 2019, NATO Heads of State and Government declared space as the alliance’s “fifth domain” of operations, alongside land, sea, air and cyberspace. NATO’s new Space Centre is part of the alliance’s efforts to keep ahead as space becomes more competitive.