Helios 2 -- myth or reality?

Helios is the only example of a multilateral collaborative military space effort currently being pursued within Europe. As such, a unique tripartite project, the first generation of the programme has had significant successes, even though the project has been faced with severe spending constraints and hindered by political obstacles. Helios 2, on the other hand, is not faring quite as well. Plagued by problems, the project has been in effect grounded indefinitely by German reluctance and inability to finance their share of the proposed three satellites. This paper assesses the origins and development of the Helios programme, and the difficulties facing the second generation of this satellite system.