Fri, Aug 26, 2011
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.
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