European astronauts plead for ESA to get its manned spaceflight program

In a rare joint declaration on the occasion of the European Space Summit which has just ended in Toulouse, European astronauts call for the establishment of a manned flight program. After a study by CNES last year, then the support of the director of ESA, the agency will make its proposals by November.

There are already several avenues, but it will not be easy.

Get on the rocket

” It’s time to launch, we are ready “. Thus ends the Manifesto of European Astronauts published on February 16. In Toulouse, the representatives of the States of the European Union met to discuss their common space policy (E. Macron, given that France currently chairs the EU, also spoke there). And the European Space Agency, although it is not the agency of the European Union, was present there, as a partner in all its major projects such as Galileo and Copernicus, but also to discuss space with the various governments.

We must not forget that in November 2022 the ESA Ministerial Assembly will be held, which takes place once every three years and which sets the course for all future projects and orientations. A very important political, media and budgetary ballet for one of the largest agencies, which must be carefully prepared. It is therefore a key moment that the ESA astronauts have chosen (supported by their director J. Aschbacher) to plead in favor of a European manned program.

No vehicle, no voice in the chapter?

Indeed, ESA now has a recognized astronautics sector with its astronaut office, but also its various centres, its preparation and its involvement within the International Space Station.

It is involved in several international projects on the ground, in orbit and up to the Moon since it is the ESA which provides the service module of the American Orion capsule. And yet, it does not have an independent manned program (unlike the USA, Russia, China and India which are preparing their own).

“ It’s urgent, write the astronauts, that European leaders decide to accelerate efforts to remain in the leading group of space nations, on pain of being relegated to the position of a minor partner in the decades to come “.

The plea, which does not mince its words, recalls that Europe is also about values, and that by remaining behind manned flight, by being a client of the current and future giants of manned space, it will not be able to prevail. Not to mention the wonder and public enthusiasm for astronautics…

A new committee!

ESA seems aligned with this position, via the voice of its director, but also the support of industrialists, ArianeGroup and other existing giants in Europe having already shown themselves to be in favor (at the same time it is difficult to imagine them refusing this opportunity) , which will therefore be discussed in November.

There is also the political support of the French president: with his support, ESA will set up a specific committee, which will be responsible for submitting a report by the end of the summer with different options for a European space program. reside.

Now or never ?

But be careful all the same to see only enthusiasm, because this ambition, if it is to materialize, will require a substantial and long-term investment. Many voices are already being raised for ESA to continue and accelerate its plan for robotic exploration of the Solar System, thanks to its probes, and observation thanks to ambitious missions and telescopes. Will the European ministers have the will to inject into the agency a minimum of 400 to 700 million additional euros each year until 2030?

The architecture that the committee set up will have to propose will have the heavy task of taking into account current technology, but also future, the fact that the ISS is coming to the end of its life (what interest for public transport, if the stations become private?) and European needs such as access to the lunar station… without forgetting that the landscape, by the end of development, may no longer be that of 2022.

Source: ESA