Shaping an ambitious and steady space agenda for Europe requires not only diplomatic aplomb but also a firm grounding in science and engineering. Indeed, those attributes are must-haves in working with the 22 member states of the European Space Agency (ESA).Josef Aschbacher is ESA’s director general, taking on that role in March 2021. He is responsible for evolving Europe’s space infrastructure, from rockets and spacecraft performing Earth observation, navigation, and telecommunication duties to robotic planetary exploration, as well as the ESA astronauts serving aboard the International Space Station.”It’s magic to get it all together, and it’s a lot of work,” Aschbacher said. The challenges are many, he added. For example, he’s working to ensure that Europe has independent access to space — a critical need for the member states.Space.com caught up with Aschbacher this month at the Space Foundation’s 39th Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado to discuss what’s ahead for ESA. The following interview has been edited for length.Related: European Space Agency: Facts & information a man in a blue suit and red tie sits at a tableSpace.com: In July 2023, the venerable Ariane 5 roared skyward and attained retirement status. But that launch also signaled what you saw as Europe entering a launch crisis. How are you dealing with that predicament?Josef Aschbacher: We had quite a few challenges. Industry took the lead on Ariane 6 with ESA as the system architect, the customer. When I became ESA director general, my first act was to identify, Where do we stand? The news was not good. I had to reestablish teams to work the technical aspects and reconfigure the team spirit among the partners, between CNES, the French space agency, Arianespace and ESA. Hundreds of people were involved in various technical teams and sub-groups. We are systematically going through the milestones.Space.com: And the result?Aschbacher: We had to get together and work as a team. Credit to the task force and tiger teams that are testing and resolving problems. I was spending, literally, 60-70% of my time on launchers — so a huge amount of time getting this right. We are on a good path now, with Ariane 6 now scheduled between mid-June to end of July.Space.com: In the big ESA picture, what is of concern to you?Aschbacher: I think what we need to do — and it’s a …
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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnShaping an ambitious and steady space agenda for Europe requires not only diplomatic aplomb but also a firm grounding in science and engineering. Indeed, those attributes are must-haves in working with the 22 member states of the European Space Agency (ESA).Josef Aschbacher is ESA’s director general, taking on that role in March 2021. He is responsible for evolving Europe’s space infrastructure, from rockets and spacecraft performing Earth observation, navigation, and telecommunication duties to robotic planetary exploration, as well as the ESA astronauts serving aboard the International Space Station.”It’s magic to get it all together, and it’s a lot of work,” Aschbacher said. The challenges are many, he added. For example, he’s working to ensure that Europe has independent access to space — a critical need for the member states.Space.com caught up with Aschbacher this month at the Space Foundation’s 39th Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado to discuss what’s ahead for ESA. The following interview has been edited for length.Related: European Space Agency: Facts & information a man in a blue suit and red tie sits at a tableSpace.com: In July 2023, the venerable Ariane 5 roared skyward and attained retirement status. But that launch also signaled what you saw as Europe entering a launch crisis. How are you dealing with that predicament?Josef Aschbacher: We had quite a few challenges. Industry took the lead on Ariane 6 with ESA as the system architect, the customer. When I became ESA director general, my first act was to identify, Where do we stand? The news was not good. I had to reestablish teams to work the technical aspects and reconfigure the team spirit among the partners, between CNES, the French space agency, Arianespace and ESA. Hundreds of people were involved in various technical teams and sub-groups. We are systematically going through the milestones.Space.com: And the result?Aschbacher: We had to get together and work as a team. Credit to the task force and tiger teams that are testing and resolving problems. I was spending, literally, 60-70% of my time on launchers — so a huge amount of time getting this right. We are on a good path now, with Ariane 6 now scheduled between mid-June to end of July.Space.com: In the big ESA picture, what is of concern to you?Aschbacher: I think what we need to do — and it’s a …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
