Modern civilizations depend critically on space-based infrastructure and its reliable, secure operation. Indeed, reliance on satellites for communications, data collection, and crisis response - including advanced military capabilities and the detection as well as management of the impacts of climate change - will continue to grow for the foreseeable future. At the same time, the importance of space to humanity goes beyond its mere use by satellites. In any case, as dependence on space resources increases, so does the potential to exert influence on people, institutions, systems and states dependent on them through their strategic technological control. So what about German and European capabilities and dependencies with respect to essential space infrastructures? The holistic exploration and assessment of the European and German position in the strategic competition in space requires not only an examination of actors and their relationships with each other, but also an evaluation of the technologies used and their societal significance. This significance increases to the extent that it can be translated into different facets of power and used to achieve political goals.