The ministerial conference Space 19+, organized by ESA - European Space Agency - last November in Seville highlighted the need to start gradually increasing the budget for the 22 member countries. The desired increase is expected to reach approximately 45%, equal to 14,4 billion euros over the next three years. An effort, writes the Sole24Ore, which is added to the EU Commission's commitment to allocate 16 billion euros in 2021-27.
It is now clear to everyone that Space is the new dimension where superpowers will have to compete. Russia has recently shown interest in space without revealing any appropriations placed in the defense budget. China, on the other hand, is the most active in this sector: it wants to optimize the performance of the Long March 5 launcher, consolidate Wenchang's competitiveness as a launching station and send its astronauts into space, perhaps to live in its own space station.
The United States is obviously leading the special ranking of the next rulers of Space. Last night on Twitter the American President Donald Trump, with a touch of pride, showed the world the emblem of its new autonomous armed force: the United State Space Force.
Europe is the only continent that can compete with the big worlds but still has a modest budget, the US budget is five times larger, the Chinese one 2,5 times.
Then the tycoon Elon Musk with his company Virgin Galactic it aspires to arrive on Mars and is already putting a constellation of mini-satellites into orbit. Access to space, exploration, scientific research, industrial competitiveness, safety and the environment are the pillars of European space policy for the next three years. Which is articulated around large projects such as the Copernicus program (co-financed by ESA and EU) to observe the Earth from space with a wealth of nuances never before achieved, the × Athena ray telescope and the Lisa satellite observatory, with which to study gravitational waves.
Each country has its priorities, but in Seville last November it seems that Europe has shown that it wants to be serious. For Berlin, which with 22,9% is the main contributor to the ESA budget, lunar missions and artificial intelligence are priorities. For Emmanuel Macron, who obtained from Angela Merkel the commitment to favor European launchers for the launch of European satellites, access to space. And therefore Paris, with 18,5%, will finance more than half of the investments for Ariane 6 and the development of technologies for reusable launchers. Italy, with 15,9%, intends to favor the exploration of Mars. It is significant that London, excluded from Galileo (a community program) in 2018, also confirmed its commitment (11,5%, increasing its contribution in pounds sterling by 15%).
For the European space industry, which directly employs more than 40 people, 40% in France, writes Il Sole 24Ore, Seville represents a success, but it also entails new responsibilities. Macron and Merkel are considering the possible synergies between ArianeGroup (born in 2014 from the merger of Airbus and Safran's activities) and the Ohb-System division, a consolidation which cannot be left out Avio di Colleferro, the Italian specialist in light engines (the Vega family, which stands for European Advanced Generation Carrier). It seems less mature to consolidate the satellite segment, where Airbus and the French-Italian Thales Alenia Space operate.
Italy inaugurates its staff organ dedicated to space
"Italy is laying the foundations for establishing its space command". So the Undersecretary of Defense Angelo Tofalo explained at a conference the recent establishment of the General Office for Space at the Defense General Staff, the first step in following in the footsteps of Space Command by Donald Trump and the Commandement de l'Espace of Emmanuel Macron, both already operational.
It was born after a long debate and ranks directly with the Chief of Defense Staff, Enzo Vecciarelli. The Office, explained the chief of staff of the Air Force, general of the Air team Alberto Rosso, was born from the "willingness to finally treat matter in an organic way", Putting together and"rationalizing previously fragmented skills”In many departments and different armed forces.
In the new office, added Rosso, “the embryo of a Command for Space will be created, to manage already today functions and tools that we have in and for space". It is the "seed for a space command", echoed the undersecretary Tofalo, explaining that in the new office flow "land excellences of all the armed forces”Starting from those of the Air Force, the force naturally predisposed towards everything that comes over our eyes.