ESA director general outlines next three years’ programme

The European Space Agency can effectively become the European New Space Agency to meet the requirements of the emerging ‘New Space’ economy, acting as an R&D entity, a partner, a customer and a broker. This was one of the key messages of ESA director general Jan Wörner as he delivered his new year briefing.

Noting the many challenges of the 21st Century – and citing climate change as foremost among them – he asserted that space can provide the infrastructure to help us understand the challenges and tackle them. “At the same time,” he added, “space is an enabler for the future.”