By Jean-Jacques Dordain - 20th January 2012
Current funding uncertainties must be resolved if GMES is to continue as a flagship EU space programme, argues Jean-Jacques Dordain.
The fourth conference on EU space policy hosted by the European parliament in November crystallised the strongly held opinion that the space sector supports Europe in many different ways. This support is seen in the services to European citizens which are made possible by the use of data from Earth observing satellites, as well as services which will soon arise from the Galileo constellation of navigation satellites – the first two of which were recently launched. It is also seen in the space industry’s positive economic impact, particularly in the satellite communications sector where European industry is highly successful in global markets. Most activities related to development and production of space systems are undertaken in Europe, not outsourced, and the systematic and rapid transfer from knowledge to services – a key element of competitiveness – is a pronounced feature of the European space industry.
The Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) programme will allow Europe to respond to ever-growing environmental and security challenges, based on its own Earth observation system. We are now poised to reap the benefits of a decade of investments in GMES to develop services for Europe and its citizens based on the use of satellite data. These services include the ability to improve air quality forecasting and climate modelling, to quickly assess damage and recovery needs after natural catastrophes, to guide ships safely through sea ice, to monitor water quality and the health and sustainability of the world’s forests, and to track ocean and air pollution.
GMES is not a space programme but a programme of services for the daily life of citizens, based on space infrastructure. It supports important elements of the Europe 2020 strategy. I believe it is for this reason that, at the space policy conference, we heard reaffirmation from the European commission, the European parliament, and the EU council that GMES is one of Europe’s two flagship space programmes, alongside Galileo. The delivery of initial GMES services are all well underway – largely on time and within budget. If the EU so wishes, the operational phase of GMES can begin in 2014.
All GMES stakeholders have made investments and plans on the basis that GMES operations are funded by the EU, more and more users are currently using initial services and are expecting continuity based on dedicated infrastructures. The funding of the GMES services from 2014 onwards must therefore be secured as a priority before dedicated sentinels are launched in 2013. However, that funding is currently unsecured by the commission’s proposal to fund GMES outside the multiannual financial framework 2014-2020.
Unless this uncertainty is resolved quickly, it will lead to delays in the launch of the sentinels: ESA member states cannot arrange to launch satellites for which the operational funding is not clear. This will result in the interruption of delivery to users of the initial GMES services, which currently use data from satellites nearing their end of life.
There is a wide consensus that GMES can only remain a flagship if it is securely funded by the EU, as is proposed for Galileo. GMES will help to ensure European leadership in environment and global climate monitoring, as well as in the management of their consequences for the citizens of planet Earth. Therefore it needs the full political and financial support of the EU.
Jean-Jacques Dordain is director general of the European space agency
