By Ewald König

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Europe's sovereignty in space is to be strengthened, funding for strengthening and competitiveness of space travel is to be doubled: The budget of the European Space Agency (ESA) is to be increased to two billion euros per year, the national German space program to one billion euros per year. This is what the heads of government of the three federal states, which see themselves as a “Space Connection”: Winfried Kretschmann (Baden-Württemberg), Markus Söder (Bavaria) and Andreas Bovenschulte (Bremen), are demanding ahead of the ESA Council of Conference Ministers.

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Europe must expand and secure its technological sovereignty in order to be able to act independently and proactively, said the heads of government of the three states with the most research institutions and space technology startups in a press briefing in Berlin on Thursday. The push for independence and sovereignty is due not only to the current global crises, but in particular to the unpredictability of the USA and the transatlantic relationship.

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“Otherwise, Elon Musk wants to decide on our defense capabilities,” Kretschmann emphasized. He sees space travel as an indicator of European sovereignty. Söder mentioned cooperation, but above all emancipation as a goal. “Globally speaking, there are huge spurts of innovation. The question is whether Germany is there or not — and whether we will miss the opportunities or give ourselves a huge boost.“ The field should not be left to Musk's SpaceX.

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Söder alludes to the fear that under US President Donald Trump, NASA could be wound up and replaced by SpaceX. “We are open to all collaborations, but against a monopoly.” He hopes that the last word has not yet been said when NASA's budget cut. NASA has always played a central role in space travel.

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The security aspect is the main reason for the demand for more money for ESA and the national program. Space travel is extremely important as a cornerstone of European sovereignty, autonomy, independence and acting on an equal basis.

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Other reasons include economic growth, in which space travel plays a central role with hundreds of startups, as well as the practical benefits for navigation, mobility, communication, weather monitoring, climate protection, disaster control, medicine, etc.

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Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria and Bremen are Germany's central home countries of the German space industry and combine the majority of Germany's space expertise.

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