Hitching a ride to the moon

Date: 13/04/06

Last month the European Commission confirmed its intention to set up an annual dialogue with the US on the possibilities for further space collaboration.

The ultimate goal is to expand economic and scientific capacities on both sides of the Atlantic.

Commission officials will fly to Washington in the next few weeks to firm up details of working groups on the proposed association that will take place over the coming months, ahead of the next 'plenary meeting' in early 2007.

Part of the reason for the initiative has been the gradual development of a European space policy, currently being worked on by the Commission. "It's difficult to talk about space application without a discussion on how we can collaborate with others," said a Commission official.

Areas of potential co-operation are the global positioning systems Galileo and GPS, joint projects in earth observation and telecommunication, where the EU and US will exchange information on the development of their technologies and collaborate on standards and norms to be used.

But officials will also tackle the lifting of any barriers to the market. For example, there are rules requiring the US State Department to approve the export of any sensitive technology, which can set conditions for its use or delay access.

"There have been no taboos, all topics have been identified and laid on the table and we have been really positively surprised by that," said a senior official in the Commission's enterprise department.

"We talked about co-operating simply on applications, but then it was decided that we would go even further and not only discuss those things that are going well but also the problems we have accessing US technology and the market," he added.

There is another reason for the launch of the dialogue. In January 2004 US President George W. Bush announced his intention to launch a new era of space discovery, which would return humans to the moon and send them to Mars, and he invited other nations to take part.

The US grounded its manned space programme in 2003 after its Columbia shuttle exploded just before landing, killing all seven astronauts on board.

As the EU, with a tiny budget compared to the US but with good know-how, is already considering its options in future space transport, discussions might also focus on the way in which the two blocs might co-operate.

While talks might be open at political level, critics have questioned the US' openness to international co-operation, at least in space transportation.

But Dan Miller, the European spokesman for the US National Aeronautics and space Administration, said that NASA was interested in talking about possible co-operation.

"NASA administrator Michael Griffin has continually said that NASA will take the lead in developing the transportation and crew exploration vehicle and beyond that we are wide open to discussions about what we can do on the moon or other joint co-operation projects," Miller said.

Article takes a look at plans for enhanced co-operation on space activities between the European Union and the United States.
Article is part of a European Voice Special Report, 'European Space Policy'.