Europe unlikely to back Russian spaceship

By Peter B. de Selding

Space News staff writer

updated 9:04 p.m. ET Dec. 5, 2005

BERLIN - European governments tentatively have declined to take a role in Russia’s Kliper manned space vehicle project, saying that Europe would not have control over the program and would be limited to being a small industrial contributor, according to European government officials.

European Space Agency government ministers discussed a contribution to Kliper and a half-dozen other proposed space investments on Monday,  during the first of two scheduled days of meetings here. No decisions will be made until the 17 governments finish their deliberations Tuesday.

But the Kliper program won very little support during the first day’s discussions, according to French Research Minister Francois Goulard. ESA spokesman Franco Bonacina said after the session that the Clipper proposal — a two-year research effort valued at about 51 million euros ($59.8 million) — had not found much backing.

Russia has proposed that ESA and Japan join Clipper as an alternative to NASA’s Crew Exploration Vehicle. Japanese officials have said they are evaluating the idea and that they would be more likely to join the Russian program if Europe did.

Government officials said debate continued on how much Europe should spend on its science program in the coming years, and on its role in the U.S.-led international space station.

MORE FROM SPACE

Space Section Front

Satellite designed to spot asteroid Armageddon Cosmic Log: Rockets boosted by fashion Mars lander pulls all-nighter A star explodes in the sky, but nobody sees it ... Solar systems like ours may be rare Dwarf planet named for Polynesian god Shooting stars on tap for summer Probe sends alien’s-eye view of Earth   See the cosmos on your computer Test your science and space smarts Space Section Front   Add Space headlines to your news reader: