2023-11-06 06:08:26
What is Europe’s space future? It is this broad question which should be at the center of the debates at the European space summit which opens this Saturday in Seville, while the different European countries members of the European Space Agency (ESA) are divided on the strategy to adopt to relaunch a sector which is lagging behind its Chinese, Indian and American competitors.
The first big piece concerns in particular the future and the operating model of Ariane 6, which illustrates Europe’s difficulties on the question of space launchers, a condition for autonomous access to space. “The discussions are difficult,” concedes Philippe Baptiste, president of Cnes, the French space agency. The four-year delay for Ariane 6, which will not make its maiden flight until 2024, without forgetting inflation, has generated “considerable additional costs”, underlines a source close to the matter at Agence France Presse. When the program is at cruising speed, that is to say from the 16th flight by 2027-2028, there will be a financing need of around 350 million euros per year, according to her, confirming information from La Tribune.
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Several European countries nevertheless continue to believe in the Ariane 6 project. France, in the first place, which finances half of the program, and resolves to do so in the name of sovereignty, as does Italy, in a similar situation with its Vega-C launcher, also in difficulty after the failure of its launch last December. But for Germany and most countries, it is a “failure of the system”, explains this same source.
More competition?
Berlin thus wants to disrupt Arianespace’s monopoly on the European space market, and wants to introduce more competition for the next generation of European launchers, in order to reduce costs. Rather than a program led by ESA, Germany wants the European agency to purchase launch services directly from manufacturers, as NASA does. Several German companies are preparing for this by currently developing small launchers, such as the French MaiaSpace, a subsidiary of ArianeGroup, the manufacturer of Ariane 6. For its part, Italy is also pushing for Avio , the Italian manufacturer of Vega-C, can directly market its rocket, currently operated by Arianespace on behalf of the ESA.
Faced with this major potential upheaval, the other ESA states will also have their say, with decisions being taken by consensus. States benefit from the geographical return rule, providing that each country’s investment results in equivalent industrial benefits for its companies.
“We are not in a buoyant economic situation”
Another item on the agenda of this meeting in Seville will be the question of robotic and manned exploration. In a report commissioned by the ESA, experts called in April for Europe to guarantee a “permanent and independent presence” in terrestrial and lunar orbits, as well as on the Moon. However, Europe does not currently have its own means to send astronauts into space, depending on a barter system used until now with Moscow or Washington. This requires significant investments, but “we are not in a promising economic situation”, points out ESA boss Josef Aschbacher.
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A “first brick” would be for the industry itself to initially develop a cargo capsule for missions in low orbit, another source explained to Agence France Presse. In return, States would offer guarantees for the purchase of services. “It’s a way to reduce costs,” said this source.
The first day of this space summit will be devoted to a ministerial council of the 22 ESA member states (most EU countries, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Norway). The second, organized by the Spanish Presidency of the European Union, is dedicated to a joint EU-ESA meeting. With the hope of reaching consensus, more than necessary to restore a sector which has long been the pride of Europe.
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