Manned spaceflight
A strategic choice for Europe
Philippe Coué
Since the United States turned to private industry for manned spaceflight, a different trend has shaken up the space routine of the past forty years. An unacknowledged cold war with China is accelerating the return of man to the Moon and setting a more credible horizon for man on Mars.
In this context favourable to astronauts, Europe is struggling to develop its last piece of the puzzle, that of autonomous access to space to explore and inhabit it. What should it do when the other space powers - China, the United States and Russia (and soon India) - are growing? Despite the environmental constraints that block some people on our planet, others are accelerating the development of the spacecraft and infrastructure that will make up the astronautics of tomorrow and the 'influencers' of the cosmos of the day after tomorrow.
This situation is paradoxical since Europe has already mastered all the technologies needed to free its citizens from the atmosphere and gravity. For Philippe Coué, who has been observing the sector for 30 years, it is not a question of describing the manned spacecraft that Europe should develop, but the reasons why it should be built now.
For European human space flight, there are no obstacles, but many opportunities. This collection is an optimistic approach to the future and an incentive to embark on it with determination.
Increasingly commercial human spaceflights
Axiom Space wants to develop the first private orbital station. Thus, after being assembled from the ISS, this infrastructure would become autonomous at the end of this decade. This project would be the ultimate evolution of American human orbital flight into the private sector. NASA plans to become a customer in the same way as industrialists or private explorers.
SpaceX’s Starship will be entering service in the next few years. This fully reusable two-stage super heavy launch vehicle will potentially be a game changer not only for human spaceflight, but also for global space transportation. Starship could lead to “mass” transportation of women and men into space. By the end of the decade, there will be many more amateur astronauts in low Earth orbit than professional astronauts. For the first time, this was the case in 2021!
A soft power for Europe
The astronaut is very often an ambassador and the Europeans who have flown in the cosmos have brought the components of the Old Continent to international level. These actions have contributed to the Union's soft power.
Manned space flights from Europe will also make it possible to follow the dynamics of the great space powers to live and work in several space stations. Europe cannot ignore this new stage of civilisation in the cosmos. Failure to follow this historical development would call into question Europe's relationship with its future.
Towards new destinations
Major space powers are also preparing for the return of human activities to the Moon and the human exploration of Mars.
For the Moon, Americans have been preparing for 20 years, first within the framework of the Constellation program decided by the Bush Administration, slowed down by the following one, reinstated by President Trump under the new name
Artemis
and continued by President Biden.
In China, the national Space Agency is calling the CZ-9 a «Mars human flight launcher».
The head of China’s super-heavy launcher Long Lehao even mentioned a timetable for reaching Mars in 2033, 2035 and 2037.
These statements did not go unnoticed in the United States, which in turn mentioned the favourable planetary conjunction of 2033.
It is therefore important to know what Europe should do at a time when the other major space powers - China, the United States and Russia (and soon India) - are growing in their space ambitions.
