Germany And Other EU Members Consider Strategic Needs

Much attention has been focused of late on changes in NASA's approach to space exploration, but the European Union has been working on a revised approach to its member-nations' space efforts since 2007. That work has now produced a paper on European Space Policy that highlights the necessity of cross-institutional and departmental cooperation, focused on national security and defense policy of sovereign countries.

The EU is in the process of rolling out two major space-based projects. Galileo will provide much of the functionality of the GPS system in the US, but is a civilian system created to address the vulnerability that the US Department of Defense could choose to interrupt GPS based on military priorities. Galileo may not be ready until 2018. GMES is a satellite-based earth-monitoring system expected to contribute to efforts ranging from biodiversity to climate change mitigation.

The European Space Agency (ESA) is expected to increase its commitment to additional areas such as the capability to service the International Space Station, and to what's being called "space situational capability." Coming high-level ESA meetings are expected to discuss proposals for 2014 and beyond. An ESA Council meeting at the ministerial level planned for 2012 as well as the planning for the EU long term spending plan from 2014 onwards will put additional focus on space flights.

Next month's "Third Space Forum - The European Approach" will be held at Stadthalle Bonn / Bad-Godesberg, Germany, and will focus on the progress of German and European institutions in space policy. The Conference is scheduled for September 20-21, and is organized by the Center of Studies and Conferences of the German Association for Defense Technology.

The conference will be conducted in English.

FMI: www.esa.int