by Michel Rose
PARIS (Reuters) – The European Union will accelerate its investments in launchers, satellite communications and space exploration so as not to be overwhelmed by Chinese and American ambitions, said Thierry Breton on Sunday.
“We are an autonomous space power. And we will not only remain so, but we will accelerate, “said the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, whose responsibilities also cover the space sector, to Reuters.
Over the past decades, the EU has sought to have its own access to space, independent of the pioneers of the United States and Russia, and has developed programs with sometimes little-known success, such as the Ariane launcher and the Galileo satellite navigation system.
But the emergence in the United States of SpaceX and its reusable rockets as well as China’s progress in the space field, including a first moon landing on the far side of the Moon, obliges the EU to accelerate.
“SpaceX has redefined the standards of launchers, and that is why Ariane 6 is a necessary step, it is a step which is not an end in itself: we must now think of Ariane 7 and the breaks technological solutions, ”said Thierry Breton.
“What is very important is that everyone is aware that we have in Europe all the technologies and expertise to do so”.
For the first time in its history, the EU will sign a billion euro framework contract with Arianespace, including guaranteed orders in order to offer more visibility to the company. In exchange, Brussels will ask him to make an effort on innovation.
“Europe is autonomous with regard to its access to space and obviously will remain so. It is an essential element of our sovereignty ”.
Galileo is today the centerpiece of this European space sovereignty.
AFTER BUDGET DISCUSSIONS
While the project had raised doubts during its conception, certain member states, Great Britain in the lead, fearing at the time a costly duplication of the American GPS, it is today consensus.
And Thierry Breton does not want to stop there.
“I have decided to speed up the implementation of second generation satellites, which will be the most modern in the world,” he explains.
The deployment of these new Galileo satellites with electric propulsion and communication will therefore take place at the end of 2024, compared to 2027 initially.
So that Europe continues to lead the race, Thierry Breton also wants to make it a world center of innovation in the sector.
It proposes the creation of a European space fund of a billion euros capable of investing quickly in startups in the sector as well as a European space incubator coordinating all existing efforts.
Finally, it offers an innovative program allowing startups to access satellites and launchers free of charge following a competition in order to test their technologies in orbit.
All this will be possible if the 27, who are negotiating the next European budget bitterly, support the Commission’s proposal for a space budget of 16 billion euros.
“We are very close to the initial budget which had been presented by the previous committee. We still have a little effort to make, but we are working on it and I very much hope that we will get there. “
(French version Benoît Van Overstraeten, edited by Gwénaëlle Barzic)
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