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U.S. -EUROPEAN COOPERATION IN SPACE SCIENCE 81 



its experiments; the result is that "continuous use of Spacelab by those 

 who built and financed it is not likely. "^-^ Whether the shuttle will prove 

 to be a crucial asset for those planning future science missions or a 

 source of costs which limit the number of missions that are affordable is 

 yet to be determined, but the impact of the shuttle is of crucial impor- 

 tance to U.S. and European space scientists alike. 



Possible U.S. -European Collaboration on Space Station 



Just as U.S. -European interaction over a European role in NASA's 

 major post-Apollo programs has colored the whole of trans-Atlantic co- 

 operation in space over the past decade, so may the outcome of the in- 

 itial interactions over European participation in NASA's proposed 

 space station program affect the overall prospects for European-U.S. 

 collaboration over the next decade or more. This impact could have 

 several dimensions. Europe has been following NASA's planning for 

 the space station quite closely and has carried out parallel studies of op- 

 tions for European participation; in essence, NASA and ESA are 

 already travelling together down a path that could lead to a major Euro- 

 pean role in an evolving station effort. This early and close involvement 

 is quite different from what occurred in the post-Apollo period and 

 signifies how closely the U.S. and European outlooks on space have 

 become interwoven. 



If, after this start, something intervened to make large-scale collabo- 

 ration on station development impossible, there would certainly be a 

 ripple effect on other areas of cooperation. On the other hand, a joint 

 decision to move ahead with significant collaboration on the space sta- 

 tion would cement the increasingly intimate relationship between the 

 planning and conduct of U.S. and European space activities. While 

 there would still be both economic competition and rivalry over scien- 

 tific achievement, they would occur within a broader cooperative 

 framework. 



One rationale for developing a space station and associated infra- 

 structure is to create a research facility in earth orbit. Just as the ex- 

 istence of the space shuttle and Spacelab will define the conditions for 

 many space science missions in the coming decade, so would the 

 availability of permanent orbital facilities condition the conduct of 

 space science in the 1990s. Thus it is important to the space science com- 

 munity that any space station that is developed be a congenial base for 

 its experiments, and pressure from U.S. and European space scientists 

 will be important in ensuring that such is the case. 



