DLR: Europe Must Determine Priority In Space Sector

DLR invites all parties to set the priority of space projects in Europe (photo: doc. NASA)

JAKARTA – The European Union is focusing on expanding its wings in the space sector. In total, there are many projects being developed by space agencies and governments.

Seeing this situation, Director General of the German American Space Agency (DLR) Walther Pelzer advised Europe to prioritize their projects. This arrangement is considered necessary considering that budgets and capabilities in Europe are still limited.

“A lot of people don't like what I'm going to say now. "I don't think we have the budget and capabilities, either in industry or science, to start now," said Pelzer, quoted by VOI from Spacenews.

According to Pelzer, Europe already has too many development projects in space at the moment. In order to optimize good results, Europe is deemed to need to prioritize all projects in space.

“Human-rated launchers, European Commercial Space Stations, communications constellations, and space science missions. If we try to do everything at once, we will get mediocre results,” added Pelzer.

At the Space Tech Expo Europe in Germany on November 14, Pelzer wanted to invite all parties to focus on just a few projects. The hope is that the projects they choose can make Europe a world leader in the space sector.

If Europe implements the strategy that Pelzer proposes, their ambitions will not be as high as those of the United States, China, or even India. However, Pelzer believes this effort is a smart way to get ahead.

“Of course, we have to be at the same level as the United States, China, and in my view, actually above India. However, in this way, we have to be smart. "This means we have to think about a European strategy," explained Pelzer.