Which future for Europe's space agencies?

Europe's space agencies are facing various and different problems as space use matures and more actors have emerged. Questions have been raised regarding their role now that the EU is becoming increasingly involved in European space policy. There are four areas-space exploration, launch vehicle autonomy, space infrastructure and space technology generation-for which government support remains vital if Europe is to keep its place in space. The European Commission is being disingenuous, and cannot hope to forge a coherent strategy, nor succeed with Galileo, if it fails to recognize this and act accordingly. If the agencies are reformed, in part to concentrate on each one's area(s) of expertise, they will continue to play a significant role. How this is to be achieved and how Europe's publicly organized space management and research resources may best be employed should be the subject of a ministerial-level space conference. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.