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CASH SQUEEZE FOR GERMAN SPACE PROGRAMMES

"Today, the former government criticises its own policies regarding space matters. If the current opposition accuses us of abandoning spaceflight, then especially the colleagues of the CDU should take a close look and see who after all is responsible for the financial chaos. Today, I have got to cope with the mismanagement of my predecessor (Jürgen Rüttgers)." At the occasion of a press briefing and the following speech in parliament, the German minister of research and technology, Edelgard Bulmahn, responded in harsh tones to the reproaches especially by the industry, accusing the government of abandoning aerospace as a whole.

"Space research and technology are highly valued in my policies. And contrary to any contradictory statements we are planning a larger budget for spaceflight than the preceding government did. But if, in course of the shaky financial policy of my predecessor, Germany takes a 41 percent share of the European financing part of the space station without analysing the consequences of this decision, and therefore paying double the amount of the French partners, then nobody has a reason to wonder if these funds cannot be used for eventual scientifically and economically more reasonable projects, because the funds are fixed for a long-term period."

But the budget is limited because of other reasons as well. "It would be wrong if important measures of educational and research politics had to be cancelled because of sloppy and careless planning in the spaceflight sector for the period between 2000 and 2003", Mrs. Bulmahn claimed.

According to her views, the 1,6 billion Marks per year dedicated to spaceflight as contribution to the programs of the European Space Agency (ESA) as well as to the national space program and the institutional support have reached the reasonable limit. The contributions to spaceflight research for 1999 alone, 1,3 billion Marks, accounted to 30 percent of the whole project budget of the ministry of science and technology. Additional spendings would place a definitely unreasonable burden on other sectors like life sciences and information technologies.

"We want spaceflight as a service for excellent research and commercially usable applications. We do not want fancy political projects", the secretary explained.

Because that is the way it is today, Germany will fulfil all current obligations concerning spaceflight programs, but will stay out of future projects due to the lack of funds. Ventures like the earth survey program, research of future space transport technologies (FLTP), the micro gravity program or the upgrade of space-based communication technologies would amount to additional costs of one billion Marks during the first three years of the coming millennium. Now, that is money we do not have.

The 1,6 billion Marks will have to do. Besides, it is already more than the naughty predecessor had given. In other words: we are going to spend more money for everything that we will not do in the future, even if Bulmahn's budget does not fully correspond with figures known to FLUG REVUE as part of a confidential paper. But who cares.

Additionally, Mrs. Bulmahn preaches the end of manned spaceflight: zero gravity experiments affirmative, but please with the use of robots and without humans who need expensive life-support systems. Basic research to gain knowledge on the physical relations of our world affirmative, but not by bringing a maximum number of people into space ("astronauts' media spectacle") but by conducting unmanned experiments. That is why nobody really needs the International Space Station, at least not in Germany.

Mrs. Bulmahn likes earth survey for climate research, but only in connection with procuring data for high-performance computers to create more efficient climate models.

Theoretical models appear to be better than assured knowledge, at least more easily to digest, as the work of the new government impressively demonstrates.

Just as her former colleague of the ministry of finances, who did not know the difference between structural unemployment (of which we suffer in Germany) and unemployment caused by the trade-cycle and therefore wanted to cure the one kind with measures designed for the other, our secretary of research speaks with high dedication of things that she obviously, with your permission, has no idea of (a politician's fate?).

Only in one thing she is right indeed: spaceflight has definitely to have larger commercial paybacks than it is currently the case, which is the obligation especially of the industry.

But after all which mark did we used to get in school for having only one correct solution in an exam?

From page 4 of FLUG REVUE 6/99