Germany wants to cut its contribution to the ESA space agency.
(Photo: dpa)
Dusseldorf Space is becoming a top priority: According to industry representatives, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) wants to discuss the topic with Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP), Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens), Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) and other high-ranking members of the government this Wednesday.
The industry enjoys the attention at the highest level. The companies are less enthusiastic about one of the items on the agenda: the proposal for the German ESA budget for the next three years. This envisages spending of almost 2.8 billion euros by 2025, around 15 percent less than in the previous period.
The figures come from a report by the Ministry of Economic Affairs to the Economic Committee of the Bundestag, which is available to the Handelsblatt.
Criticism of federal government austerity measures
Top jobs of the day
Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.
In a joint letter, German and French start-ups and companies from the aerospace and aviation sectors are now protesting against these cuts. They call for “greater ambitions from Europe”, as stated in the statement by the interest groups New Space Initiative from Germany and Start Air from France.
Independent experts also criticize the austerity measures. “New Space is very important for Germany,” says Ulrich Walter, head of the chair for space travel at the Technical University of Munich. “It’s about future jobs and sales.” The reduction is particularly incomprehensible when other donor countries are increasing their contributions at the same time.
For example, France, which together with Germany is ESA’s most important donor, is significantly increasing its contributions. A few weeks ago, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne announced an increase in space spending by a quarter to a total of nine billion euros. Borne did not say exactly how much of this should go to ESA. Italy, the third largest donor country, also wants to provide more money.
“The expectations of the ESA, other member states and the needs of German industry are far in excess of the funds that Germany can provide,” says the report by the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
In fact, Matthias Wachter from the BDI industry association shows little understanding for the decision: “Now the course is being set for the industry of the future. Germany must not repeat the mistakes of the past,” he says.
At the moment, space travel doesn’t have a good lobby in Berlin
Given the spending on defense and energy, the federal government wants to save in other areas. The air and space officer Anna Christmann is considered competent in industry circles. But there is little support for space in her Green group.
The head of the European Space Agency wants significantly more money for projects such as the “European Service Module” for a space station that is to orbit the moon in cooperation with NASA and other organizations.
(Photo: Reuters)
The federal government is preparing the proposals for the ESA Ministerial Conference, which will take place at the end of November. The authority, led by the Austrian Josef Aschbacher, has big plans and is calling for a budget increase of 25 percent to more than 18 billion euros for the next three years. “We want to keep up with that,” said Aschbacher at a specialist congress a few weeks ago, referring to increasing budgets in the USA and China.
Space travel has gained a new urgency as a result of the Ukraine war. The satellite Internet, provided by Starlink, the subsidiary of Space X, has proven its worth there. Now the EU also wants to set up such a satellite constellation in low earth orbit. “We must not lose touch in space travel,” says Matthias Wachter from the BDI.
More: Rockets, satellites, special technology: German start-ups are conquering space.