ESA chief: “Defense from space will also play a greater role in Europe”

The European Space Agency (ESA) is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Ten states signed the agreement establishing a European Space Agency in Paris on May 30, 1975. ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher begins the interview by saying that he had recently reviewed the original document. It was a very impressive and beautiful moment.

Mr. Aschbacher, at the age of 50, a person is about halfway through their lifespan. Does this also apply to ESA?

On the contrary. We're currently in full swing, and there's more and more to do. We've actually always had phases of growth over the decades. We started with very few programs—Ariane and Meteosat were the first—and over the years we've added more and more. Galileo; Copernicus; space security programs, where we measure asteroids, for example; the astronaut programs, the ISS space station, and much more. Now we're in the process of expanding our repertoire again—in the direction of resilience, defense, and security, which is a major challenge and urgently needed under the current geopolitical circumstances.

What could such a defense and security program look like?

We are currently working with the European Commission to define such a project. The Commission calls it EOGS, or Earth Observation Government Service. We call it ERS, or European Resilience from Space. But both mean the same thing. It's about security and resilience. Areas in which Europe needs more capacity to be able to take very high-resolution, high-frequency, secure, authenticated, and anonymized images of every part of the Earth, so that we know at all times what is happening where on Earth. This is important for civil protection, for police operations, but also for national security and defense. We at ESA want to push this project forward together with the European Commission.

US President Donald Trump dreams of a "Golden Dome," a missile defense system designed to protect the US from threats from the air and even space.

We won't build anything like that. But of course, security and defense from space will also play a greater role in Europe. This is certainly something that will be a new domain in the coming years, one that is not yet so well developed today, but one that will develop.

US President Donald Trump wants to develop a missile defense system called “Golden Dome.”

Source: Francis Chung/POLITICO

The United States is an important partner of ESA. How do you feel about the developments at the US space agency NASA? President Trump is planning massive budget cuts.

These are decisions that the US government must make. I don't want to comment on them. It's important to note that 95 percent of our budget isn't dependent on NASA or these budget decisions. They only affect 5 percent of our activities, primarily in the area of ​​exploration—missions to the Moon, Mars, and the International Space Station. A decision like the current one can, of course, be a turning point.

Does this put a strain on German-American cooperation?

Yes, but you see that everywhere. In defense and also in space. America is saying: Europe must become stronger and more independent. And that's exactly what's happening now – including in space travel.

Half a century full of innovations, discoveries, and technological milestones: Europe's space agency ESA celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. A visual look back.

NASA's budget cuts would also affect the Artemis missions to the Moon. Do we have to say goodbye to the dream of a European astronaut on the Moon?

No, that will certainly happen one day. The only question is when. I don't want to speculate on that right now. As I said, we have to wait for the final decision on the budget cuts. But of course, we are preparing for any eventuality so that we can react quickly. There's no question that we will continue to work with NASA. But we will also make Europe more independent and stronger – also through new collaborations with other countries.

What is the significance of ESA in international space travel?

Along with NASA, ESA is one of the most renowned and important international space agencies. We develop strategies and new, effective projects and have strong international networks with cooperation partners. We have more than 300 international agreements with various countries and space agencies. And we are certainly known as a very active, highly respected, and quality partner.

What ESA does and how it operates is truly unique. ESA is the driving force behind European space exploration. Our member states – currently 23 – have the opportunity to participate financially in the optional programs. This participation is organized in a very flexible way. For example, France is heavily involved in the launcher sector, while Germany is heavily involved in Earth observation programs like Copernicus.

Twenty percent of our budget goes to our mandatory programs, such as the science program, to which each member state contributes a fixed percentage of its gross domestic product. The remaining 80 percent comes from the optional programs. Here, each country can decide for itself how much it wants to contribute. This makes it flexible, but on the other hand, the programs must be good enough to be attractive to the countries. In this respect, we are essentially constantly competing with ourselves to launch truly attractive programs.

Elon Musk and his space company SpaceX are currently testing the world's largest rocket and regularly sending astronauts to the International Space Station. India and China are landing probes on the moon. It seems as if all other spacefaring nations are further ahead than Europe.

That impression is deceptive. Of course, SpaceX dominates the rocket sector today. Ten years ago, that was Europe. The Ariane 5 rocket was by far the most successful rocket back then, covering half the commercial market for years. Today, Europe is a world leader, especially in the fields of Earth observation, navigation, and space science. For example, there is nothing comparable to Copernicus in any other country. Galileo is currently the most accurate navigation system from space. Of course, there are areas where we have to catch up. For example, the rocket sector. But we can do it.

However, we must be careful not to underfund. If we don't provide sufficient public funding, the commercial sector won't be able to develop. Then the best people and the best companies risk leaving or being bought out. We have to make important decisions to ensure that this capacity is maintained.

After the Ariane 5 rocket was retired, Europe temporarily lost access to space because successor rockets weren't ready for launch. How much did this damage European space travel?

At that time I consciously spoke of a crisis of launch vehicles in Europe. It was important to me that politicians and society understand how important access to space via rockets is. We used this crisis to secure our access, with the Ariane 6 rocket and the Vega C, but also to bring about a paradigm shift. We initiated the European Launcher Challenge, in which private companies develop rockets and ESA acts as their customer. NASA did the same, which led to the creation of SpaceX.

Is the crisis over?

Yes, the crisis is over. We have the Ariane 6, the Vega C, and the new, smaller rockets that companies are now developing. The startup Isar Aerospace, for example, recently tested its rocket in Norway. These rockets will secure Europe's independence.