Coué, Philippe - Manned spaceflight - a strategic choice for Europe (printed)

Since the United States turned to private industry for manned spaceflight, a different dynamic has shaken up the space routine of the past forty years. An unacknowledged cold war with China is accelerating the return of man to the Moon and setting a more credible horizon for man on Mars.

In this context favourable to astronauts, Europe is struggling to develop its last piece of the puzzle, that of autonomous access to space to explore and inhabit it. What should it do when the other space powers - China, the United States and Russia (and soon India) - are growing?  Despite the environmental constraints that block some people on our planet, others are accelerating the development of the spacecraft and infrastructure that will make up the astronautics of tomorrow and the 'influencers' of the cosmos of the day after tomorrow.

This situation is paradoxical since Europe has already mastered all the technologies needed to free its citizens from the atmosphere and gravity. For Philippe Coué, who has been observing the sector for 30 years, it is not a question of describing the manned spacecraft that Europe should develop, but the reasons why it should be built now.

For European human space flight, there are no obstacles, but many opportunities. This collection is an optimistic approach to the future and an incentive to embark on it with determination.

134 pages - A5 - in English - printed edition