Europe's space dreams: Big on tech, short on cash

CGTN Europe

Europe leads in space tech but lags in funding, as the director-general of the @europeanspaceagency, Josef Aschbacher calls for more investment to compete globally.  Public-private partnerships are crucial for innovation, and Europe's space future hangs in the balance, according to the ESA chief, in an interview with CGTN's Ross Cullen.  #ESA #space #europe #tech

Transcript

00:00Well, let me put it a bit in context. So Europe, first of all, is really good in terms of technology.

00:04We have a lot of capacities and excellence across Europe in almost all domains of space.

00:11I take Copernicus, Galileo, some of the programs with the best technologies and leading programs

00:17in the world, also space science, we are pretty good. But where we have to catch up is in terms

00:22of funding allocated to space, because it's very simple. If you don't have money for projects,

00:27you cannot launch large projects and therefore not develop. And space will become more and more

00:32important, both economically, strategically, for security, for many, many domains. So yes,

00:39investment is required, but public investment is necessary to trigger private investment.

00:46Private investment alone is not coming. I take the example of SpaceX, which is probably the best

00:53known space company in the world. They have been created with the help of NASA. NASA provided

00:59funding for technology development to buy launches, but also NASA has provided people and expertise

01:06in order to develop the rocket and the space technology. So it is really a hand-in-hand

01:11cooperation or partnership between the public sector, who has to set the frame, has to provide

01:17funding, has to develop technology, and the private sector has to step in, take it and really go

01:23with it and develop it further. Space is such a big dimension that it needs a significant, I would

01:29say, funding frame. So it can only be done at European level. That means European Commission

01:34and European Space Agency actually together in order to develop something of that kind. So yes,

01:39it needs a large frame, a large clear goal of what should be achieved, and yes, funding, but also,

01:46of course, the entrepreneurs, the entrepreneurial spirit and people who drive it then from a

01:51commercial perspective. But yes, it needs a major engagement of public institutions

01:58in order to develop it. SpaceX is having a huge capacity in launches and telecommunications,

02:05as we know. Europe also has a huge expertise, unmatched, I would say, in Earth observation,

02:11in navigation. The Galileo signal is the most accurate signal in the world. There's no other

02:17signal as good, as strong, as accurate as the Galileo signal. In Earth observation,

02:23there's no system as comprehensive as Copernicus with all the satellites and all the measurements

02:29are taken. So there are different domains that are being covered. Yes, SpaceX is very

02:33visible. It launches rockets, so that is very visible and is very easy to grasp. But do not

02:40underestimate the excellence that you have in Europe. But of course, if you want to develop

02:45launches, then yes, you have to engage in this domain in a stronger way than you do today in

02:52order to really build it up. What we already have is a good network of satellites to measure

02:59our planet in case of natural disasters. I take flooding as one example. So we have

03:04satellites that can look through clouds, can provide an image in case of flooding and be

03:09available. What we do not yet have is a fully operational system. We have the capacity,

03:14we have several satellites who can do, I would say, interesting things and a lot of things,

03:19but not yet in a fully operational way. In other words, if there is a fire happening,

03:25you want an image within 20 minutes. Today, we have to be lucky to have a satellite that

03:31flies over the area at that time. And then, of course, you can get the data very quick.

03:35But the frequency of observations, the number of satellites is not yet at the level. So that's

03:40something I would like to understand, how many satellites you need in order to have a fully

03:44operational system. That's something that we should discuss in order to really have a fully

03:50operational system in place in case of crisis, flooding, fires or other elements that we have.

03:56We have a lot of actions actually ongoing in this domain. First of all, 30% of our budget in ESA,

04:0230% is allocated to Earth observation. And Earth observation is about monitoring the planet,

04:08understanding climate change, taking the right measures and the right decisions based on data

04:13which we provide related to the sustainable use of our planet. And climate change is a major driver

04:19of it, not the only one, but it's a major driver. Within ESA, I have launched a program to really

04:25decarbonize our activities that start in-house with our travels, with the electricity, the power

04:33consumption and so on. So I have declared that I want to reduce the carbon footprint by 46.2%

04:42between 2019 and 2030. So that's the same time frame that is used also for the IPCC. And I'm

04:53really committed to reduce this carbon footprint. We are on the way, we have now 25, we are halfway

04:58on this path, but it really goes in the right direction. That means our carbon footprint is

05:02really reduced significantly. So yes, we are very conscious of what we need to do and we have

05:07engaged and also invested in order to make this possible. I mean, it's always a challenge to

05:13organize funding, but let me recall the last ministerial in 2022. It took place in 2022, as you

05:20would recall, right after the COVID crisis. The inflation in many countries was double-digit,

05:2612%, 10% inflation in many countries, including France, Germany, as large countries. And the war

05:34in Ukraine just started. So we had three elements which were very challenging in terms of organizing

05:40funding. And people told me, said, you have a ministerial conference in November 2022,

05:46you will not succeed because we have inflation, we have COVID, we have the war. It's a very

05:51difficult environment. The reality was that in November 2022, at the end of the year,

05:55despite all the challenges we have, member states, politicians have recognized the importance of

06:00space and have invested 17% more, plus the inflation comes on top. So it's about 35%

06:07more money compared to three years before. So despite the challenges, they recognize that space

06:12is so important for the security of people, for society of people, for the economy, for

06:18the government, that they have really invested in those. So I'm hopeful that also at the end of this

06:23year, despite the challenges which we have economically and fiscally, that we will have a

06:28very successful ministerial, because space is so important.

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