The report also calls for a substantial increase in space project spending, with the annual growth rate reaching up to 4.6 percent more than the 5.3 billion Euros ($6.1 billion USD) set aside for 2003.The plan will appear before EU Competitiveness Council for review later this month.
"The goal is to reach a point where we don't have to rely on the satellites and space occupational services from other space powers like Russia and the U.S., " said Fabio Fabbi, EU spokesman for research. "Of course, the long-term goal might be a completely European manned space mission."
Currently, European astronauts can only reach space aboard Russian spacecraft bound for the International Space Station, or through NASA space shuttles, which are currently grounded. Meanwhile, ESA researchers have partnered with Russia to improve existing launch vehicles and develop new, reusable launchers. In return, Russia hopes to use ESA's French Guiana space port in South America for Soyuz launches.
EU officials maintain in the policy report that a renewed focus on space applications is not fueled by the need to gain national prestige. The focus, instead, is the growing EU's ability to develop space technology that serves citizens and the economy, while still maintaining Europe's role as a global space power.
The failure to make conscious effort for the future, the report stated, will result not only in the decline of EU space programs, but also a drop in the companies that provide the infrastructure necessary for satellites and other technology. Space projects employ more than 30,000 Europeans working in 2,000 companies throughout EU nations. According to the policy report, the satellite navigation market alone could create 40,000 more jobs, and generate up to 100 billion Euros ($115 billion USD), by 2010.
Telecommunications also represents a major EU interest, with studies already underway to shorten the digital divide between parts of Europe by using satellites to offer broadband connections in rural areas. Europe is also hard at work developing its own global navigation system Galileo, a network of 30 satellites expected to go into operation by 2008. The system's first test satellite is due for a 2005 launch.
The Galileo project is a key example of a new agreement between the EU and the ESA, which union officials approved last month. That framework agreement, ESA and EU officials agreed, is should bridge two agencies that until now have functioned under different budgetary and organizational systems.
"It's really the start of a new, stronger relationship," ESA spokesman Franco Bomacina told SPACE.com. "And it set the ground rules for us for each of us to follow, while still maintaining our own personalities."
The partnership offers a chance for more European Union agencies to take advantage of space technology, rather than the traditional research ministry that has handled past efforts. "The ministries of agriculture, for example, would have an interest in earth observation missions like GMES," Bomacina said. GMES is short of the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security, an effort to use satellites and other monitoring technology to keep taps on the Earth. GMES satellites could be used for agricultural land management studies, ocean and atmosphere monitoring and national security applications.
In addition to its launch talks with Russia, the EU is also seeking partnerships with non-European groups to bolster its space effort. China, for example, has already pledged its support for the Galileo project, promising to contribute funds on the same level of other major European countries -- a commitment of at least $200 million.
The European Commission's policy report cited China as an emerging major space power, especially after the nation's first successful manned space flight last month. China is also a member of the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization, a separate group of more than a dozen non-European nations themselves working to bolster their space activities.
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