LOOK into the night sky at the right time and place and you will catch a flash of sunlight reflected from the International Space Station. The public perception around the world is that this sprawl of modules is basically an American project. In fact, the ISS 鈥� perhaps the world鈥檚 most impressive piece of engineering 鈥� is also a product of European industrial and diplomatic expertise, matched in ambition only by the .
The major European component in the ISS is the , which is kitted out with experiments in fluid dynamics, biology and materials processing, and built to operate for at least a decade. The European Space Agency鈥檚 flight computers help to deliver navigation and environmental control for the entire station. The various modules interconnect and share power via a pair of ESA-built docking nodes, while ESA鈥檚 , scheduled for launch next year, incorporates the largest viewing windows ever built for space. Outside the station, the , also scheduled for launch in 2009, will manoeuvre heavy pieces of kit with the delicacy of a surgeon wielding a scalpel.
There is one area, however, in which Europe is missing out: getting its astronauts up to the station and bringing them home again at the end of their missions. For this, ESA has to do deals with NASA and the Russian space agency in which expensive European equipment is exchanged for occasional astronaut trips.
Advertisement
But probably not for much longer. NASA鈥檚 space shuttle is due to be retired in 2010, and its replacement, , will not fly until at least 2014. With the US facing the grounding of most of its own astronauts for at least four years, frustrated Europeans may not be able to fly at all.
The Russian Soyuz capsule is available for hire, but this old workhorse, although reliable and reasonably cost-effective, is a cramped three-seater, dependent on finance from NASA and fee-paying space tourists for its continued operation. There has been much talk over the past few years of combining European, Japanese and Russian hardware to create a hybrid crew vehicle. However, recent military events in Georgia have reminded ESA that Russia may not yet be a fully tamed member of the international community. China also has a spacecraft, the , but political tensions and the secrecy surrounding this craft leave no more than a faint hope that it will ever dock with the ISS.
That just about exhausts the options for European astronauts, unless the new generation of space entrepreneurs can pull off a quick miracle in rocket transportation. With seats for a ride into orbit so scarce, the European nations that have contributed so many elements to the space station are entitled to wonder what鈥檚 in it for them, when so few of their citizens actually get to use those costly modules.
There is, however, one machine that could offer Europe independent access to orbit for its astronauts. ESA鈥檚 20-tonne (ATV) is one of the most sophisticated spacecraft ever developed. Its main task is to deliver 8-tonne loads made up of crew supplies, propellant and scientific equipment to the ISS every 15 months or so.
The ATV begins its mission at the Kourou launch site in French Guiana, from where Europe鈥檚 powerful Ariane 5 booster hurls the craft into orbit at an altitude of around 300 kilometres. Three days later, when the ATV is about 30 kilometres behind the space station and 5 kilometres below it, the docking approach begins. The closing velocities during final approach are just a few centimetres per second, and the final docking is wonderfully precise and delicate. It is also completely automatic, guided by on-board laser rangefinders. NASA has nothing remotely as advanced as this among its ageing fleet of rockets and modules.
There are dozens of safety features built into the ATV, and once it is docked astronauts from the ISS can climb aboard. All it needs for people to be able to fly inside is a re-entry capsule that can survive right down to the ground, instead of burning up on re-enty as the craft does now. The ATV could be turned into a people carrier by reinforcing its pressurised cargo section with heat shielding, albeit at the expense of some cargo capacity. This possibility has not escaped its designers, but ESA鈥檚 senior managers seem unwilling to commit Europe to the obvious next step in its human space-flight programme.
Both NASA and ESA appear to be banking on the hope that something will crop up to fill the gaps in their astronaut launch requirements over the coming five or six years. When ministers from ESA鈥檚 member states in the Netherlands on 25 November to decide Europe鈥檚 future in space, the prospects of economic recession may tempt them to cut back on space activities. This would be a mistake. An assertive commitment to the space programme would help to inspire confidence in the European aerospace and technology sector just when it is most needed.
鈥淏oth NASA and ESA appear to be banking on the hope that something will crop up鈥�
