ESA's puzzling privatization pullback

摘要

The 30th anniversary of the February 1986 launch of French Spot 1 Earth observation satellite that gave birth to the commercial geospatial imaging industry is a timely reminder of how far the space sector has come in privatizing formerly all-government undertakings. Telecommunications and Earth observation, for both commercial and military applications, launch services and even astronaut activities have all moved, at different speeds, toward greater private-sector involvement. That's why the European Space Agency's decision to remove Airbus Defence and Space as prime contractor for Europe's International Space Station operations and to appoint itself in Airbus's place is so surprising.