25 Feb 2013, Brussels: Does Europe Have an Ambitious Enough Strategy for Outer Space?

25 February 2013, Brussels, 13:00 – 14:30

European partners such as China have ambitious plans for space exploration. Over the next five years China is seeking to develop its long-range rocketry for space travel, in addition to its plans for its own global positioning system (Beidou) and it’s space station (Tiangong-1) which has already been launched. The Chinese also want to launch a “space lab” in order to further space research. This comes at a time when the United States has downsized its space programme and augmented away from sending manned missions to space for the foreseeable future. Much of Europe’s own ambitions towards space have centred on the development of its own global positioning system, Galileo, and the development of satellites for environmental and security purposes, Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES), among other initiatives (e.g. Eumesat, the International Space Station, etc.). But is such a strategy ambitious enough given the strategic and economic ambitions of actors such as China and India? When, and if, such projects as Galileo become operational what further initiatives does the European Union and partners such as the European Space Agency have in space? Are such ambitions credible when the EU – with a space budget of €700 million yearly (over the 2007-2013 period) – and the European Space Agency – with an annual budget just under € 4 billion – are dwarfed by the US$ 18.7 billion to be spent by the United States in 2012? What are the EU’s own views on the strategic and commercial use of outer space and is there room for Europe to push further on international efforts for space governance?

A Citizen’s Controversy with:

Kai-Uwe Schrogl, Head of the Policies Department, European Space Agency, and Frank Slijper, Senior Researcher, Transnational Institute.

The debate will be moderated by Daniel Fiott, Researcher at the VUB – Vrije Universiteit Brussel.