According to a newspaper report, the European Space Agency (ESA) is warning of Germany’s loss of importance in space travel. “Other countries are increasing their contributions to the ESA more than Germany,” said ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher to “Welt am Sonntag”. “At the last Council of Ministers conference in 2022, Germany increased contributions by 6 percent compared to 2019. France by 24 percent, Italy by 36 percent.”
Aschbacher pointed out that this should not be underestimated because it would allow capacity to be built up in the long term. “Other countries are catching up or catching up. Germany has to take this very seriously because there is too much to lose.” There should be no gap between Germany and the other countries. “Otherwise German industry could migrate, either across the Rhine or across the Alps or even outside Europe,” said the general director.
“Germany is a strong space power, has very high capacities, and the industry is unique.” He could only give the industry compliments. According to Aschbacher, the USA is the first space power in decades. “China has capacities that are larger than those in Europe, so it is number two. Then come Europe and India. Europe must not be left behind.
The private sector is becoming more and more committed. “In Europe we had 66 percent more private money for space projects last year compared to the previous year.” According to Aschbacher, the public sector is still the most important.
