FUTURE PERSPECTIVES FOR EUROPE IN-SPACE

The events of 1989, symbolised by the fall of the Berlin Wall, present ed Europe as a whole with its greatest challenge of recent years, The adaptation process to cope with this new continental order has now ent ered a critical phase and for space activities too the context for cur rent and future plans is changing rapidly for various reasons: - The e nd of the Cold War has eliminated the principal structuring feature of the international space environment and precipitated a dramatic contr action in defence budgets. - International economic competition has be come a central issue in international affairs. - Economic and politica l constraints now require that space agencies adapt the ambitious plan s put forward in the 1980s to the realities of the 1990s and beyond. I t was with these factors in mind that in 1993 ESA initiated a study ca lled 'Space 2020', to examine how such issues might impact on space ac tivities in the next 25 years. This article provides an overview of th e objectives of 'Space 2020' and the scenarios considered possible at that time, as well as a discussion of some of the areas specifically r elevant to the future of European space endeavours.