Creating a European internal security strategy involving space applications

Space applications are used for countering a wide variety of external security threats but their use for the provision of internal security (for non-military threats like terrorism, organised crime or illegal immigration) is still largely neglected. Several steps have recently been taken to consider space applications for counter-terrorism and other internal security threats. In the context of the general call for a specific European security research programme, the European Union’s Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP 7) is conducting several projects using space applications for fighting internal security threats. However, current attempts remain scattered across national and European initiatives, policy fields and pillars, institutional actors and actors involved in various projects. There is thus a strong need for a more integrated approach at the EU-level through a European Internal Security Strategy complementing the existing European Security Strategy. The US has been looking at the provision of homeland security for some time. A revision of existing structures in Europe should thus not neglect the dimension of transatlantic cooperation in this policy area.     

A selective space strategy for small countries

This article analyses the patterns and trends of small countries' participation in various forms of international space cooperation. The background to formulating a national space programme is discussed, together with considerations in linking national needs, stage of development, resources and capacity with those of the international community. The need for a selective national strategy on space activities is demonstrated: efforts must be concentrated around a few reasonably selected goals, provisions for acquiring information must be maintained, and the space programme must prepare the country for rapid development in all other fields of space research and applications, if world trends require. A brief examination of Bulgaria's space activity is made. A series of advanced space investigations have been undertaken in that country, and space technology transfer and spin-offs have resulted, with valuable benefits for the society and the economy.     

EVA Suit 2000: a joint European/Russian space suit design

A feasibility study in 1992 showed the benefits of a common European Russian space suit development, EVA Suit 2000, replacing the Russian space suit Orlan-DMA and the planned European Hermes EVA space suit at the turn of the century. This EVA Suit 2000 is a joint development initiated by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Russian Space Agency (RKA). The main objectives of this development program are: first utilization aboard the Russian Space Station MIR-2; performance improvement with respect to current operational suits; development cost reduction. Russian experience gained with the present extravehicular activity (EVA) suit on the MIR Space Station and extensive application of European Technologies will be needed to achieve these ambitious goals. This paper presents the current status of the development activities, the space suit system design and concentrates in more detail on life support aspects. Specific subjects addressed will include the overall life support conceptual architecture, design features, crew comfort and operational considerations.     

From initial ideas to a European plan: GMES as an exemplar of European space strategy

Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) is an idea which originated during a meeting in Baveno, Italy, in May 1998, which generated a call for Europe to get its act together in the field of environmental monitoring from space, to define a well articulated strategy in this area and to build upon its excellent scientific research community, its proven technical prowess in Earth observation from space and its nascent political will to express its objectives in international fora related to climate change and other global environment topics. While Europe was already active in the most advanced areas of global monitoring, its rather uncoordinated efforts (even within the European Commission) lacked visibility and did not appear to fit into a clearly established strategy. The ‘Baveno initiative’ was an attempt to remedy this situation and find a place within a developing ‘European Strategy for Space’, which requires ESA and the European Union to work more closely together. GMES was extended to include the ‘security’ (in its wider sense) aspects of global monitoring, a move that produced a number of questions and misunderstandings, but which allowed many in Europe to realize that monitoring the activities of the Earth’ land masses, oceans and atmosphere do include a security dimension. GMES will eventually incorporate an implementation plan which will call upon various monitoring techniques, ambitious modelling projects and connections with society's more urgent requirements with respect to environmental protection and prevention or reduction of risks related to natural hazards. This will entail significant efforts to inform the user communities and to convince them of the relevance and usefulness of this initiative. It will also provide a sound basis for the European contribution to the new initiative for improved coordination of strategies and systems for Earth observations called for by the July 2003 Earth Observation Summit.     

New horizons for Europe – A European Studies perspective on European space policy

This introduction to a special issue sets out the themes to be explored – the role of the EU in a now largely peaceful Europe, the possibilities for space to become a more important tool of EU policy and its potential for promoting further European integration and a European identity – before discussing the various papers.     

European initiative & strategy for prioritising and harmonising space technology R&D

This document outlines the objectives, strategy guidelines, and the approach for the harmonisation of European space technology activities, in line with and in support of the resolution “Shaping of the Future of Europe in Space”, adopted at the ESA Ministerial Council in May 1999.Under an overall ESA co-ordination, the European space sector is elaborating a technology strategy based on top-level priorities (Dossier 0), on the mapping of European development and competences and on a co-ordinated Space Technology Master Plan (ESTMP). This plan shall take into account the various European developments, industry capacities and budgets and shall enhance the complementary role of the various partners towards common objectives.The proposed strategy includes selection of priority activities as pilot projects for harmonisation. For these pre-selected pilot projects, agreements are required on responsibilities, leaderships, partnerships and budget commitments.     

Prospects for a European space administration

This paper addresses legal issues relating to the relationship between ESA and the EU. At present, several policy options are being discussed on how the two international organisations might enhance their cooperation in order to allow Europe's space activities to become more efficient and more competitive. The political options can be classified into four models, each having its specific implications concerning institutional and substantive legal questions. It becomes equally apparent that any cooperation of the two organisations will have certain effects on the funding of space programmes. The paper outlines the various models against the background of the latest policy developments and gives an overview of the possible implications of the models.     

A new cooperative strategy for space in the twenty-first century

The context within which the major government space programmes of the world are planned and obtain political approval has changed dramatically with the end of the Cold War. International economic competition has become a central issue in international affairs. Economic and political constraints require that space agencies adapt the ambitious plans they put forward in the 1980s to the realities of this decade and beyond. This paper argues that in this changed context, enhanced international space cooperation can make important contributions to advancing the core interests of nations and firms, and that in some situations, increased and more intimate cooperation may be the only way to achieve ambitious space goals. The paper contains a series of policy-oriented findings and recommendations that together comprise a ‘new cooperative strategy’ for space.     

A Ticket pricing strategy for an oligopolistic space tourism market

It is important for any new launch system to develop a successful pricing strategy and to optimize launch system parameters to receive a high economic profit. A question arises, what will happen when an existing suborbital flight market (the first likely to be established in space) is interfered with by a new established orbital flight market for space tourism. There is a risk that the suborbital space tourism market could be almost instantly displaced when a product capable of reaching orbit was introduced. This is best discussed using the following three cases whose results are presented in this paper. Case A presents a ticket pricing strategy for a suborbital and orbital vehicle if the two vehicles do not compete in the same market. Case B shows the necessary ticket pricing strategy for a suborbital vehicle if there is competition from an orbital flight operator. However, the suborbital vehicle would not be able to keep up with a drop in ticket prices due to its obsolete characteristics. Thus, the suborbital vehicle would be forced to stop operation in the year when flight costs became higher than flight receipts as shown in case C.     

Reforming European space governance

The structures governing European space activity, now some 50 years old, require reform to take better account of the plethora of space uses, the growing involvement in space of the EU and the variable degree of European integration. Adopting a method that involves identifying weaknesses in governance – e.g. lack of a European military space programme; problems in maintaining operational service continuity; opposition to change – the authors argue that only by harmonising its decision making and coherently integrating its public organisations will Europe be able to achieve a space programme commensurate with its technical capabilities and its political dimension.     

An alternative strategy process for government space activities

This article is a revised and updated version of a paper presented at the 49th International Astronautical Congress, held in Melbourne, Australia from September 28 to October 2, 1998. It presents a methodical approach to the future planning of government space activities. Rather than generating detailed programme plans that are hard to implement in a dynamic environment, the method described herein is rather modelling the priorities of different project alternatives. This is less detailed as the plans that usually result from the classic space planning approach, yet is highly usable as a roadmap for implementation. This approach enables a dynamic planning with inherent learning cycles that can easily be adapted to the dynamic changes which are plaguing today’s space policies.     

Integrating European security through space

For decades, Western European nations have been comparatively uninterested in the military use of space, largely content to rely on the far greater resources of the USA in this area. Today, however, the traditional belief that the security requirements of ‘the West’ are synonymous with those of the USA is increasingly open to challenge. A new European defence identity is emerging, keen to achieve greater autonomy in the security field, albeit remaining within the overarching framework of NATO. Consequently there is a growing requirement for indigenous European capabilities in terms of military space assets. This requirement has been met in part by the establishment, by the Western Union, of a satellite centre in Spain, which currently analyses commercially procured satellite imagery. The centre's capabilities may be expanded if the WEU states decide to add a space-based element — either their own satellite system, or participation in an existing multinational programme. Such a decision is due to be taken towards the end of 1995. This paper concludes by briefly examining the political and security implications of such a decision.     

The Brazilian space program: a selective strategy for space development and business

This report describes the Brazilian Space Organization, the country's general national needs in space and the missions in progress. During the last two decades significant investments were made in space systems development, infrastructure and human preparation. Therefore this effort must show clear benefits to justify its continuation. The way to achieve benefit is to define missions which strategically harmonize Brazil's technical indigenous capabilities and its needs.     

A European military space community: Reality or dream?

Europe is faced with several essential policy decisions with regard to the exploitation of space technology. Important issues are: the relations between civilian and military uses of outer space, employment opportunities, industrial and commercial interests, European security and international stability, regional and international cooperation. Concerted action is required for political reasons and in order to achieve the necessary scientific, technological and economic critical masses. Another major policy issue is, therefore, whether Europe should expand its space venture in the framework of a European military space community as proposed by France, through national or bilateral programmes, by participating in the US SDI research, or through NATO, the Independent European Programme Group, the Western European Union, or the European Space Agency.     

The need for a new Franco-German partnership in space: A joint policy memorandum

France and Germany have long been partners in space. However, new attitudes and directions in their respective space programmes are affecting the nature of traditional Franco-German space relations in an evolving European space context. The long-standing partnership is at a juncture and there is a need for a new dialogue to define what future directions the partnership should take. With this in mind, a joint memorandum was initiated by the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI), who prepared it together with the Paris-based Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique (FRS) and the Institut Français des Relations Internationales (IFRI), as well as the Berlin-based German Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP). It reflects on the state of current Franco-German space relations and lays out the issues to be considered by decision makers in both countries to provide a new impetus to the Franco-German partnership.     

A space exploration strategy that promotes international and commercial participation

NASA has created a plan to implement the Flexible Path strategy, which utilizes a heavy lift launch vehicle to deliver crew and cargo to orbit. In this plan, NASA would develop much of the transportation architecture (launch vehicle, crew capsule, and in-space propulsion), leaving the other in-space elements open to commercial and international partnerships. This paper presents a space exploration strategy that reverses that philosophy, where commercial and international launch vehicles provide launch services. Utilizing a propellant depot to aggregate propellant on orbit, smaller launch vehicles are capable of delivering all of the mass necessary for space exploration. This strategy has benefits to the architecture in terms of cost, schedule, and reliability.     

An alternative strategy process for planning government space programs

This paper presents some thoughts and a methodical approach to the strategic planning of large government projects that takes into account the dynamic development of global problems. Given that an overarching strategic intent is in place and budgetary resources are limited, the methods described herein allow its user to generate and evaluate a set of project proposals according to their individual problem solving potential. In a final step, one is able to select those proposals that are preferable for further planning. Rather than generating detailed programs that are hard to implement in a dynamic environment, the method described herein is only modeling the priorities of different project alternatives. This is less detailed as the plans that result from a classic strategic planning approach, yet is highly usable as a roadmap for implementation. The most important advantage of this approach is its suitability for a dynamic planning with inherent learning cycles that can easily be adapted to dynamic changes in the planning environment. Since change is a well-known phenomenon in space program planning, a paradigm shift towards more flexible and adaptable ways of planning seems to be required.     

Taking stock of Europe's developing space policy: from the European space policy workshops to the European space policy forum

A series of workshops designed to make up for the lack of high-level, informal discussion of European space policy has been running—with a gap during formulation of the EC Green/White Paper on this subject—since September 2002. In view of the progress made in establishing a coherent European strategy, and of various other recent events, such as China's entry into the human spaceflight field, the organizers intend not only to continue the series but also to establish a more permanent, research-oriented European Space Policy Foundation (ESPF). Following a report on the proceedings of the third workshop, held in September 2003, which covered developing an overall European policy, new applications (Galileo and GMES) and human spaceflight, the authors set out a proposal for an ESPF and present the six major research themes it would aim to investigate.