Yearbook on Space Policy 2006/2007

Spacepolicyisanissueareaofparticularstrategicrelevance. Itreceivesaconstantly growingattentionbynationalgovernmentsandtheEuropeanUnion. Ittouches numerousimportantareaslikesecurity,science,technology,knowledge,infor- tion,mobility,environmentorresourcemanagement,tonameonlyafew. Through this,spacepolicydrawsfrombutalsodrivesthemostdecisiveaspectsofmodern society. Anillustrationforthisstatementcanbegivenwithabrieflookonrecent developmentsinspacepolicy. InparticulartheadoptionoftheEuropeanSpace PolicyinMay2007,whichhadbeenjointlypreparedbytheEuropeanSpaceAgency andtheEuropeanCommission,doeshaveatremendousimpactonareasbene?ting fromspaceapplications,likeclimateresearch,disastermanagementorresource management. TheEuropeanSpacePolicywillalsopushareaslikenavigationor telecommunications,whichareattheheartoftheknowledgesocietyandtheme- issueofmobility. Atthesametime,securityinallitsfacetsisgrowinglydependingon theuseofspacecapabilitiesandspacepolicymakinghasstartedtore?ectthis. Onthe globallevel,theinitiativesforroboticandhumanspaceexplorationgainmoreand moreprominenceandwithactorslikeChina,arenaissanceofspaceasastrategictool forinternationalprestigeandin?uencecanbeobserved. Thecharacterofspacepolicyandthedynamisminthis?eldanditsrelatedareas makeitappropriateandevennecessarytosurveythis?eldonacontinuousbasiswith ahighstandard. ThisreasoningwasthebasisfortheinitiativebytheEuropeanSpace PolicyInstitute(ESPI)topreparetheYearbookonSpacePolicy. TheYearbookis intended to become the reference publication for the analysis of space policy developments. ThescopeisglobalbuttheperspectiveisEuropean. Thiscoincides withESPI?smissiontobethefocalpointforEuropeanresearchinthe?eldofspace policyasprovidedforbythedecisionoftheCounciloftheEuropeanSpaceAgency tofoundESPI. Asathinktank,ESPIhastoprovideinformationandanalysisandto contributefacilitating the decision-making process. The Yearbook isaimed to becomea?agshipinESPI?sproductlineapproachingthisgoal. Theaspirationis thattheYearbookonSpacePolicymaygainthestatureofcomparableyearbooksin internationalrelationsbyleadingthinktanksaroundtheworld. TheYearbookonSpacePolicyhasanumberofspeci?cfeatures. Thereporting periodwillusuallybefromJulytoJune,leadingtoitspublicationinthebeginningof thefollowingyear. Forthis?rstedition,thereportingperiodwassettostartearlier (from1January2006)butstopatthetypicaldate(30June2007). Thisservesthe purposetocoverthewholeyear2006. TheYearbookwillhavethreeparts. The?rst partispreparedbyESPIandprovidesasystematicanalysisofthemainspace v Preface activitiesintheglobalpoliticalcontext. Itcontainsapresentationofthemajor developmentsinspacepolicies,programmesandtechnologiesaroundtheworld. In thesecondpart,usuallyaroundtenprominentresearcherscontributearticlesto speci?ctopicsofparticularrelevance. Inthiseditiontheyarerelatedtoinitiativesand decisionsinEuropeanspacepolicies -asindicatedinthisyear?smottoofthe Yearbook-Spacepolicyisanissueareaofparticularstrategicrelevance. Itreceivesaconstantly growingattentionbynationalgovernmentsandtheEuropeanUnion. Ittouches numerousimportantareaslikesecurity,science,technology,knowledge,infor- tion,mobility,environmentorresourcemanagement,tonameonlyafew. Through this,spacepolicydrawsfrombutalsodrivesthemostdecisiveaspectsofmodern society. Anillustrationforthisstatementcanbegivenwithabrieflookonrecent developmentsinspacepolicy. InparticulartheadoptionoftheEuropeanSpace PolicyinMay2007,whichhadbeenjointlypreparedbytheEuropeanSpaceAgency andtheEuropeanCommission,doeshaveatremendousimpactonareasbene?ting fromspaceapplications,likeclimateresearch,disastermanagementorresource management. TheEuropeanSpacePolicywillalsopushareaslikenavigationor telecommunications,whichareattheheartoftheknowledgesocietyandtheme- issueofmobility. Atthesametime,securityinallitsfacetsisgrowinglydependingon theuseofspacecapabilitiesandspacepolicymakinghasstartedtore?ectthis. Onthe globallevel,theinitiativesforroboticandhumanspaceexplorationgainmoreand moreprominenceandwithactorslik...