PARIS Finland became the 14th member of the European Space Agency in 1995. Since then, above all, the fall of the Iron Curtain has brought new countries into the organization so much that now the number of members is 22.
A large number of members has both advantages and disadvantages. Space activities are expensive, so together we can do more than individually, but on the other hand, among 22 countries of different sizes, there are always differences of opinion and conflicts of interest.
In ESA’s ministerial meetings, which usually take place every three years, compromises have been honed in late-night negotiations and all means of international politics, from coercion to coercion, have been used. This time, the preparation for the ministerial meeting that starts on Tuesday has gone very smoothly.
– I have been involved in quite a few meetings like this, and things have never progressed so smoothly, stated the CEO of ESA Josef Aschbacher Up on Monday.
– Thanks for this, of course, goes to the good background work, but there is also clearly a shared determination in the air regarding the need to strengthen Europe’s role as an international space actor.
Aschbacher proposes a budget of 18.5 billion euros, which is about a 25 percent increase from the previous one.
– Despite the tight economic situation, all our member countries are now looking for ways to increase their participation.
However, this will only be known for sure on Wednesday, when the budget is locked.
Independent access to space under threat
Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and its consequences have been a sore spot for European space activities. With the exception of the International Space Station, all scientific and technical cooperation with Russia has been cut off.
An even bigger blow is that the Russian Soyuz launch vehicles are no longer available. The agreed launches have now had to be rearranged. Soyuz rockets have also been launched from the European Space Center Kourou, where there has been a launch pad maintained by the Russians.
At the same time, when the new European launch vehicle Ariane 6 is behind schedule, Europe is currently unable to independently launch all the satellites it wants into space.
One of ESA’s basic actions has been to ensure Europe’s independent access to space, which is why it has developed its own Ariane and Vega rockets.
Largely due to the competition brought by the American SpaceX, Ariane has lost its commercial customers, and the new Ariane 6, which will hopefully make its first flight next year, is already outdated in many ways. For example, it is not reusable at all.
At the same time, new types of low-cost small rockets are being developed around the globe – also in Europe. They could even be sent into space from launch sites located on the European continent.
However, these are the biggest point of contention at the ministerial meeting: some member countries would like to support the further development of Ariane and Vega in particular, while others would like ESA to support the development of new generation rockets.
A compromise will certainly be reached here, because actually everyone understands that the more different rockets are in use, the better Europe’s ability to transport its own satellites into space.
The delay of Ariane 6 alone will add about 200 million euros to the budget. In total, the rockets’ share of the budget is 3.2 billion euros.
Finland is interested in telecommunications – and ESA is interested in Finland
The Finnish delegation present in Paris did not agree to tell about Finland’s goals in the negotiations, but promised to inform about the matter on Wednesday.
Instead, the person responsible for ESA’s telecommunications program Elodie Viau hinted that Finland has a lot to offer for satellites based on 5G and 6G technology under development.
– We are proposing to implement a new, ambitious satellite communication constellation together with the European Union, and an essential part of the project is naturally cooperation with companies in the field. Finland has a lot of experience in telecommunications technology.
This Iris² system requires direct funding from member countries – such as Finland – and the companies participating in the project are also expected to contribute to the costs in the hope of later profits.
The main purpose of Iris² is to guarantee safe and encrypted data transfer, above all to the authorities. ESA is responsible for 750 million euros of the approximately six billion costs, with the rest coming from the EU, member countries and industry.
Viau proposes a budget of 2.4 billion euros for the telecommunications program.
Science far and near
Some of ESA’s programs are voluntary and some are mandatory for everyone. One of the most important requirements is the science program, as scientific research is one of the fundamental pillars of European space activities.
For that, the budget proposal proposes 3.1 billion euros for a period of five years. This is more than before, but only slightly more than inflation.
– We define inflation according to the current situation. So if the prices rise more than this in the next few years, then in practice our budget will decrease, regretted ESA’s director of science Gunther Hasinger.
– But on the other hand, unlike others, we have continuity. We can plan well decades ahead.
In the next few years, there will be an almost breathtaking number of probes to search for exoplanets from Jupiter via comets.
ESA’s remote sensing program, meanwhile, looks down on Earth. With the help of satellites, it is possible to observe the state of our planet and monitor, for example, climate change. Three billion is proposed for this activity.
From the point of view of the general public, the most spectacular part of ESA’s activities is the so-called research tourism, exploration, which includes astronauts’ flights and robotic probes to, for example, the Moon. The budget proposes to use 2.9 billion euros for this.
For Finns, this is very interesting, because according to all signs, Finland is about to join this program of manned space flights. This is a complete reversal of Finland’s previous policy.
A few years ago, the Ministry of Economy and Business, which coordinates Finland’s participation in ESA cooperation, launched a study on the advantages and benefits of participating in manned space flights. According to the result, joining the program would be worthwhile.
The most important thing is not getting your own astronaut, but getting Finnish companies and research institutes to join the projects. Especially in the coming years, the exploration of the Moon by both astronauts and robotic probes, which will become very active, offers a lot of opportunities for Finns.
Finnish technology is already traveling around the moon aboard the Orion ship.
The side of the Orion ship currently orbiting the moon has large NASA logos, but ESA also participates in the project: the maintenance module responsible for the ship’s attitude control, track changes and power supply is European. This “selfie” was also taken with the camera at the end of the European solar panel.
Even being a Finnish astronaut is no longer something to dream about.
At the end of the ministerial meeting on Wednesday afternoon, ESA will announce its newest astronauts, and this time it is entirely possible that one of the six new Euroastronauts will probably be from Finland.
In the previous selection round in 2009, the Finn was already in the top ten, but was probably disqualified due to the official attitude of Finland.
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