In a document published on Thursday 20 June, Eurospace, which represents the major industrial players in the space sector, recommends a budget of €16.1 billion over approximately 3 years for the European Space Agency (ESA) Ministerial Council, “Space19+”, next November.
Thus, the industry proposes a breakdown as follows: – €6 billion in science and exploration, in particular for the initiatives for the Lisa and Athena missions and the exploration of the Moon and Mars; – €4.4 billion in the application of telecommunication technologies for 5G and earth observation to strengthen the EU's Copernicus programme; – €3.8 billion to maintain and renew existing infrastructure, including the development of Ariane 6 and Vega C launchers into reusable solutions; – €1.9 billion to ensure space safety and security against cyber threats and in the field of space weather.
If ESA Member States agreed on such a budget, this would be a substantial increase compared to the current ESA 2016-2019 budget of €10.3 billion (see EUROPE 11682/13). On Monday 17 June, Director General Jan Wörner estimated that a budget of €12.7 billion for the next budget cycle would be needed to keep the European space sector afloat in the face of international competition.
The European space sector is not in a very healthy state (see EUROPE 12275/18). In this context, the industry requires strong institutional support in the face of particularly tough international competition, often heavily supported by the public sector.
To consult the document: https://bit.ly/2XwxnjE (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)