Value of contracts committed by ESA in 1994
The stakes in the space sector are manifold, and at least three categories - strategic, economic and cultural - can be distinguished.
From the strategic viewpoint, space systems are instruments of sovereignty, mastery of space technology being vital in guaranteeing independence vis-à-vis other powers. Such independence requires an autonomous launch capability, and the instruments of sovereignty reside both in civil and military observation systems and in telecommunications systems.
On the economic side, the development of applications such as fixed telecommunications and television broadcasting has boosted the market in launch services, of which Europe, with its Ariane launchers, has taken the lion's share for the last ten years. Ariane has already provided European industry with a production market three times larger than the original public investment. The space sector forms part of what must be considered whole branches of the economy, ranging from the satellite placed in orbit to the service provided to the end user. The applications sectors now cover genuine mass markets where services are provided daily to tens of millions of users. The next few years should see rapid expansion of the market in mobile telecommunications, broadcasting, satellite-based navigation and geographicalinformation systems, as well as the emergence of new markets such as that for value-added remote-sensing products.
From the cultural and social viewpoint, the use of space makes a unique contribution to the pursuit of knowledge of the Universe and to our understanding of and ability to manage Planet Earth. In advancing our knowledge of the Universe, access to space is vital because the Earth's atmosphere prevents a vast amount of information about the Universe from reaching us. When it comes to our own planet, observation from space contributes global repetitive information on the Earth's evolution. Moreover, research in space not only enriches our knowledge, but can also pave the way for new applications and open up access to new resources. The effort put into exploration thus adds to the cultural, scientific, technological and economic riches of the World as a whole and the space powers in particular.
In the course of the last thirty years, Europe, via ESA, the national space agencies and other international organisations, has developed a body of space and ground facilities, a technological and industrial base and operational organisations. These developments have raised it to the level of the World's major space powers and have even enabled it to overtake them in specific scientific and commercial sectors. The European organisations have proved themselves sufficiently efficient and innovative to achieve their objectives with much smaller budgets than those of the other two major space powers. Thanks to these successes, Europe is now self-sufficient in responding to the needs of space users, both scientists and consumers of space services, and European industry is able to export its products throughout the World.
From the outset, the European space sector has cooperated with the USA, Russia and Japan, mainly in the fields of science and manned spaceflight, and notably in the development of Spacelab. With the advent of the International Space Station programme, cooperation now involves the development of major in-orbit infrastructures and may in the future extend to an international lunar programme.
The rapid growth in supply and demand as Western products reach maturity and non-Western products arrive on the market, coupled with the opening up of the political situation and the recent economic constraints, is bringing about a fundamental transformation of the space market. Europe's facilities, industry and organisation must adapt to this transformation in order to satisfy Europe's own requirements in the most effective way possible and to put European industry in the best position to reduce costs and export its products. In this process of adaptation, the space industry's leading role is more crucial than ever, now that some of its applications have reached commercial maturity. In the present situation, the improvement of competitive- ness is a major concern of European firms. If the services induced by space facilities are included, the space industry now holds the key to success in major areas of the economy.
In the process of adaptation, the space agencies, especially ESA, need to focus on strategic and scientific objectives, where their role is unique. When it comes to applications, the agencies traditional technical role of promoting emerging applications and providing support for industry has become even more vital. In the face of growing World competition, the agencies must support industry through technological research and development activities that accompany its own efforts in commercially oriented applications programmes. By virtue of its European dimension, ESA has a central role to play in every attempt to implement the technological, promotional and regulatory measures needed to put European industry on a favourable competitive footing. In every case, ESA will have to coordinate its action with that of the organisations involved, especially the national agencies and the European Commission. Concentrating essentially on the promotion of new or emerging applications and the demonstration of technologies, it will act in close consultation with industry. The funding and management arrangements for ESA programmes will have to be adapted for this purpose, so that the Agency can respond swiftly to the changing requirements of the European space industry. If such action were not forthcoming, the European space industry would find it increasingly difficult to export to international markets and might eventually become unable to cater adequately for European needs.
The transformations with which Europe has to cope mean that ESA has the twofold task of completing those programmes that have already been decided upon or which follow logically from previous investments, while at the same time adapting its programmes and procedures to changing needs and a changing environment. The Agency's policy and programme priorities over the coming years will therefore be to:
Value of contracts committed by ESA in 1994
The ESA Programmes (BR-114).