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Aviation History
2004
2004-09 - 1269.PDF
FARNBORO1 19-2 WNTO EARTH Space exploration is at a crossroads: while China presses on with ambitious plans for manned flights, Europe, Russia and the USA are re-examining their priorities ROB COPPINGER / LONDON When the 50th anniversary of the launch of Russian satellite Sputnik is celebrated on 4 October 2007, the world's space programmes are more likely to have come back down to Earth with a bump than reached the visionary heavens of those heady days of the 1950s. Although this year has seen President George Bush announce a new space vision for the USA and the publication of the Aldridge Commission report, events in 2003 set the tone for the future of space exploration. It saw the launch of China's first astronaut in October, the complete restructuring of the Russian space agency, a shift by Europe to a more Earth-focused space strategy, and finally the grounding of the Space Shuttle fleet after the loss of Columbia on 1 February. The death of the seven Shuttle astro nauts resulted in a reinforcement of the USA's cultural choice to have manned spaceflight at the centre of its exploration effort. Speaking from NASA headquarters in Washington, Bush announced his new space vision on 14 January by saying: "Since the beginning of our space pro gramme, America has lost 23 astronauts and one astronaut from an allied nation - men and women who believed in their mission and accepted dangers. As one fam ily member said, 'The legacy of Columbia must carry on for the benefit of our chil dren and yours'. Columbia's crew did not turn away from the challenge, and neither will we. Today I announce a new plan to explore space and extend a human pres ence across our solar system." The USA's reorientation and restructur ing of NASA has dominated the headlines, but developments in the world's other major space programmes are equally sig nificant in pointing the way to the future exploration of space. In Europe it is not disasters but political integration that has spurred a new direction for space activities. The 25 countries of the European Union have agreed to include space as an EU competence in the new European constitutional treaty. The philoso phy is that industries across Europe will sup ply the technologies and all EU countries will share the costs and rewards of launch ing satellite services, civilian and military. This will mean major changes for the European Space Agency (ESA), whose director-general, Jean-Jacques Dourdain, says: "It's not so much the future of ESA, it's the future of space in Europe. I think the future of ESA is not so important. What is important is what space can bring to scientists and citizens and this is exactly why we are working to make ESA closer to the EU - to make the space world closer to the world of citizens." 100 13-19 JULY 2004 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.flightinternational.com
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