The planned European manned Hermes Space vehicle
For the complete report from the International Herald Tribune click on this link
Space for Europe - by Giovanni Bignami
When the aging Shuttle brings the European Space Agency's Columbus module up to the International Space Station on Thursday and its crew screws it all together, participating nations will finally be close to using its relatively short exploitation period. Scientists from around the world will only have about 10 years to use the facility - for it is also aging, having taken a good two decades to build. Now is the time, especially for Europe, to start planning the post-space station future of manned space travel. The Shuttle will be abandoned in two years. Access to the space station will then only be possible with that old workhorse, the Soyuz, based on essentially the same technology that shot Yuri Gagarin into orbit in 1961. Now that the Cold War is over, Soyuz is open to Americans and Europeans alike, but the cost of a ticket is likely to go up.The Kourou spaceport offers Europe an opportunity to give a long-term, post-ISS future to its manned space program. European decision-makers need to take an initiative that will establish a strong collaboration with NASA and demonstrate the innovative spirit and boldness of European industry and science.Certainly, the high-lift Ariane launcher, equipped with its Automatic Transfer Vehicle (which will have its maiden flight on Feb. 22 from Kourou) could come in handy for a new orbital infrastructure.
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