2023-04-19 19:00:01
The head of the European Space Agency (ESA), Josef Aschbacher, promised Tuesday “a transformation of the space sector in Europe” in the coming years, during an interview with AFP.
The ESA will rely more on the industry, erected as a true “partner”, declared Mr. Aschbacher, questioned on the sidelines of the great annual meeting of the space industry in Colorado Springs, in the United States.
This is also the strategy adopted by NASA, which plans for example to send its astronauts to private commercial space stations, once the International Space Station (ISS) is retired.
The main directions of Europe in terms of space will have to be discussed at the second European Space Summit, which is to be held in November in Seville.
– When will we know more regarding Europe’s future vision for space?
Josef Aschbacher: “Around the space summit at the end of the year, I think we will have a clearer picture of Europe’s ambition for the next decade. These are decisions that we have to prepare today in order to be able to achieve them. There is a lot of work being done at the moment in Europe. I am preparing scenarios for the politicians to make decisions. It will be up to them.”
– What are the different scenarios?
Josef Aschbacher: “It will be a step-by-step approach. Certainly, the first step is to transport payloads to low Earth orbit, for commercial stations — because the ISS will be decommissioned by the end of the decade. We have need for a future European presence in low orbit to continue research (scientific, editor’s note) The second point is to send astronauts to low orbit.
The next block is the Moon. First shipments to and from the Moon, then astronauts. Then there’s the long-term perspective, to Mars, but that’s further away.
So for these different scenarios, we are going to develop architectures. What does it mean, what equipment, what cost…
But it is also clear that it will be quite a different approach compared to today. This will be a transformation of the space sector in Europe, which we are also seeing here in the United States.”
– What do you mean by transformation? –
Josef Aschbacher: “Industry will be encouraged to be a partner, not just a provider. And we, ESA, will not just be a customer, but a partner. That means developing technology with and for them. get involved, and get involved.
We provide the framework and the long-term warranty, we are a long-term customer, but they have to provide the solution. We want them to be more of a driving force in this architecture. And that they bring their money, from their own sources. It’s really a new way to build a space program.”
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