Which programs are likely
to have the strongest impact in
Europe throughout the next couple
of years? Antoine Bouvier, the CEO
of EADS Astrium says there are
three areas where European space
policy could have a great impact on
Europe’s citizens.
“The first one is sustainable devel-
opment. This includes the environment, climate monitoring and GMES
(Global Monitoring for Environment
and Security),” he says. “We see clearly strong society needs, which will be
given a high level of political focus and
significant priority in terms of budget.
Space is extremely well-positioned to
do this. Space will be a key contribu-
tor for sustainable development. The
GMES program is very clearly reflecting this long-term objective.
“The second society need, which
will be addressed by space solutions
is security and defense. We have developed a number of new space solutions,
[research and development] programs
in the field of early warning, laser link,
navigation, etc., which will generate
large operational programs in Europe
in the medium to long term.
“The third one, which is more difficult to quantify, and where we need a
vision to develop a long-term policy, is
revolving around science and exploration. This addresses long-term answers
for mankind. Clearly, in these fields,
space is also a very critical contributor
to this long-term vision,” he says.
Environmental programs could be an
exciting area given concerns over climate
change and increasing public awareness
of these issues, says Ian Reid, president
of space operations at QinetiQ, a defense
and security technology company, “
Clearly, weather and environmental monitoring are programs which, particularly in
the context of climate change and the
impact that will have on the environment,
are going to be programs that have a high
profile in Europe,” he says. “There are
also the inspirational elements of some
exploration programs. We know, for
example, that in the U.K., space is one of
the reasons often cited by students who
go on to do science. I think programs of
exploration have that inspirational quality about them and hopefully will influence the next generation of potential
scientists.”
Galileo
The flagship space project undoubtedly
is Galileo, Europe’s effort to develop its
own global navigation satellite system
to provide a highly accurate, guaranteed
global positioning service under civilian
control. Bouvier believes it is a vital
program for Europe. “We have seen in
2006 the confirmation of the strategic
importance of navigation,” he says.
“China, Russia and potentially India will
develop their own navigation system
