Flight_International_14_20_February_2017

flightglobal.com 14-20 February 2017 | Flight International | 27

EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY

heel; where US rivals SpaceX and

United Launch Alliance can count

on some €5 billion spent annually

on launches by NASA, the military

and the National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration – and

“buy American” legislation virtually

eliminates foreign competition –

ASL and Arianespace see only

some €500-600 million.

Of 86 launches worldwide last

year, 11 were European and barely

a quarter institutional; the USA saw

22 launches, nearly two-thirds of

which were institutional. ASL clearly

relies on commercial sales, such as

for telecommunications satellites.

For Ariane 6 and the smaller

Vega C – whose solid fuel main

engine will double as boosters for

the larger rocket – the plan is for 16

or 17 flights yearly from the

European space centre in Kourou,

French Guiana. The 2016 total of

11 flights was typical of recent

years, but more flights would help

reduce unit costs, as expenses like

site maintenance would be spread

out. Charmeau says he wants to

see European governments and

institutions order at least five

Ariane 6 and two Vega-C flights

per year. That, he says, is a “key

factor in guaranteeing long-term,

independent access to space”.

Asked if the launch cost reduc-

tion associated with Ariane 6 will

boost European institutional de-

mand for flights, Charmeau says he

hopes so, but so far has no evi-

dence. However, he says there is

increasing interest within Europe in

space programmes, so if the launch

cost is slashed there should be, in

national and institutional budgets,

“more room for future missions”. ■

clearly disappointed Woerner, who added

that the project – asteroid protection falls

under the broad category of so-called “space

situational awareness” or “planetary defence”

• is a “necessity... [so] I will try to find a way
  back in through a window again. It is simply
  too important.”
  A rising contribution was particularly wel-
  come from one particular ESA member state:
  the UK. At Lucerne, Britain pledged €1.4 bil-
  lion over the coming five years, up from the
  €1.2 billion it signed for at the 2012 ministe-
  rial in Naples. That translates into a yearly
  programmes contribution of €280 million, up
  from €240 million. As UK universities and
  science minister Jo Johnson put it at the time:

UK is a matter of “very big importance” and

the focus of much hard work.

Across the Atlantic, president Barack Oba-

ma’s NASA administrator, Charles Bolden,

resigned on 20 January as the Trump adminis-

tration took charge. In Paris a few days before

that, Woerner had simply observed that a new

government means a new NASA administra-

tor, but ESA had met with the Trump transi-

tion team to ensure the ESA-NASA partner-

ship carries on.

In December, Woerner spoke in Washington

DC to outline the results of the Lucerne minis-

terial meeting, and he says it is “clear” that the

NASA transition people see ESA as a “reliable

partner”. ESA, in any case, is supplying the

“We are committed to ensuring the UK re-

mains at the forefront of new technologies,

science and daring space exploration.” And,

he added: “Our sustained investment... will

ensure we build on the strengths of the UK’s

growing space industry.”

BREXIT-BOUND

So far, then, no sign of a Brexit-bound UK

matching its imminent withdrawal from the

EU with a pull-back from ESA. In Paris,

Woerner noted that ESA is an intergovern-

mental organisation with links to the EU, but

it is not part of the EU (full members include

Norway and Switzerland, and Canada is an

associate) – and that the relationship with the

Next stop, Mars: in

space, nobody hears

Earthly bickering

Ever-reliable

Ariane 5 is

heading for

retirement

Stephane Corvaja/ESA

Stephane Corvaja/ESA

❯❯

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