Europe Plans a Constellation of Satellites
Monday, November 26, 2001, Page C4
It appears that the members of the European Union are tired of lagging behind American technological superiority in the realm of space. Coughing up massive amounts of euros to begin the task, the EU has begun a project, scheduled for completion in 2008, to create a network of satellites orbiting Earth to rival the Global Positioning System (or GPS), owned and operated by the United States. Motivating Europe’s initiation of the project is a resentment of American dominance in the operation of the GPS, or, more specifically, the fact that the GPS operates under the control of the Department of Defense. The EU does not like the fact that the United States can restrict access to the GPS when necessary, as a matter of national security. Such a step by the Department of Defense could disrupt the operations of any government or company using the system, until the Pentagon decides to reinstate access.
Enter Galileo, the name given to the European Union’s new undertaking. It is true that in creating this rival satellite system, the EU will gain a greatly decreased measure of dependence upon the American GPS, but is this independence really worth the cost of the program? The billions of euros being invested in this operation could certainly be used in other worthwhile ventures, but it seems that the EU is concerned enough about American “hegemony” in space to warrant the massive monetary investment. Perhaps an intention on Europe’s part, by having their own satellite network, is to reap the economic benefits they cannot currently receive, as they are currently under the American system. This does not seem likely, though, because one must speculate the fiscal solvency of such a massive scheme; can the billions of euros invested really equal a substantial enough return to warrant the satellite system? This is improbable, making the most obvious factor motivating Europe’s plan to create the system to be that they are tired of American dominance in space.