Any duplication

Is there really any duplication in Europe's space activities? [An article from: Space Policy]
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This digital document is a journal article from Space Policy, published by Elsevier in . The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
At a time of declining space budgets in Europe, and of a consequent need to make savings, accusations of wasteful duplication-resulting from the large number of national agencies pursuing programmes alongside ESA-are rife, as are calls for the space industry further to consolidate. This viewpoint argues that duplication is not really the issue, however, since most national agencies have become specialists in particular fields. Nor would industry restructuring be straightforward, given the fact that Europe cannot be satisfied with a single source of supply. What is needed is better coordination between space agencies upstream to avoid later duplication, as is now being pursued through ESA's 'harmonisation process'. The move to create a Network of Centres could also promote worthwhile collective action. These initiatives are more realistic than the technocratic aim of completely restructuring European space.