 |
| European Space Agency members agreed a record five-year budget of 14.4 billion euros to face up to growing challenges and ensure Europe has a fully active space presence (AFP Photo/jody amiet) |
Seville (Spain) (AFP) - European Space Agency (ESA) members agreed Thursday a record 14.4 billion euros budget, promising to maintain Europe's place at the top table as the United States and China press ahead and industry disruptors such as Elon Musk's Space X present new challenges.
The budget
is split, with 12.5 billion euros ($14.1 billion) committed for three years and
the full 14.4 billion euros over five, representing an increase of some four
billion euros on the previous spending plan.
"Its a
surprise, even more than I proposed... this is good," ESA head Jan Woerner
told a nwes conference after ministers from the 22 member states met in Seville
for two days.
Woerner
said the funding pledges meant that ESA could run a full series of programmes
plus additional scientific work, citing moves to increase earth observation as
part of efforts, among other things, to monitor climate change.
"It is
a giant step forward for Europe, fifty years after the moon landing," said
Jean-Yves Le Gall, head of the French space agency.
"We
have beaten all records in terms of financial contributions," Le Gall
added.
Germany
made the largest contribution to the budget, at some 3.3 billion euros,
followed by France on 2.7 billion euros, Italy 2.3 billion euros and Britain
with 1.7 billion euros.
The ESA is
not a European Union body and so Britain's position as a member remains
unchanged despite Brexit.
To
reinforce that message, the UK Space Agency issued a statement recalling that
Britain was one of ESA's founding members, and detailing its commitments to a
series of programmes including earth observation, 5G telecoms and monitoring
space debris.
Moon,
Mars, science
Among the
projects ESA highlighted were the first gravitational wave detector in space,
LISA, and the black hole mission Athena, designed to "enable fundamental
advances in our understanding of the basic physics of the Universe."
ESA
reiterated its commitment to the International Space Station until 2030 and its
participation in the Gateway project, the first space station planned to orbit
the Moon.
"European
astronauts will fly to the Moon for the first time," it said in a closing
statement, and ESA will support a "ground-breaking Mars Sample Return
mission in cooperation with NASA."
In
telecommunications, ESA aims to help develop flexible satellite systems
integrated with 5G networks, "as well as next-generation optical
technology for a fibre-like 'network in the sky,', marking a transformation in
the satellite communication industry."
Ministers
also endorsed the transition to the next generation of launchers, the massive
Ariane 6 and the smaller Vega-C, "and have given the green light to Space
Rider, ESA’s new reusable spaceship."
Going into
the meeting, ESA officials had said the agency was hoping to get increased
funding to ensure Europe does not lag behind.
Europe has
established itself as a major space player, with the Ariane 6 launcher the
latest off the production line and the Galileo GPS system operational.
Critics say
however that it has been slow to develop some key innovations -- notably
reusable rockets pioneered by the likes of Musk.
This
"New Space" evolution has seen Musk develop reusable launchers for
dramatically smaller yet more powerful satellites, many designed to create and
run the "connected world" of driverless cars and countless other
aspects of everyday life on earth.
No comments:
Post a Comment