Opening of the ESA/ESTEC Engineering Laboratories
Speech by Minister Ms. Maria Van der Hoeven at the opening of the ESA/ESTEC Engineering Laboratories in Noordwijk.
Your Royal Highness, ladies and gentlemen,
Four centuries ago, a simple invention paved the way for a number of beautiful discoveries. In 1608, a Dutchman called Hans Lippershey applied for a patent on what some historians believe was the world's first telescope. A year later, Galileo Galilei improved on the design and discovered that the Milky Way was full of stars and that Jupiter had four moons.
Though they were small in the grand scheme of things, these discoveries influenced future events. They further inspired mankind to explore space and understand our own place in it. And it showed how beneficial it is for European scientists to work together.
Today, four centuries later, we have gathered to celebrate a similar instance of European co-operation: the opening of ESA-ESTEC's new engineering laboratories. I am grateful that ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain invited me.
The Netherlands is proud to host both ESA and ESTEC, something that is underlined by the presence of His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander. The Netherlands fully supports the work of both organisations, for example though our financial contribution to the Concurrent Design Facility. ESA has been in the Netherlands since the late 1960s and I hope we can support its work for decades to come.
(future of European space endeavours)
Which makes me wonder: what is the future of European space exploration? Do we want to (re)visit the Moon? Do we need our own vehicles for human space travel? Will we participate in a manned mission to Mars?
These are important questions that will be posed during September's Joint Space Council, co-chaired by the Netherlands and France. We will also discuss these and other questions during the ESA Ministerial Conference that will be held in November in The Hague.
Some answers are clearer than others. I can see us contribute more to worldwide monitoring and navigation systems with practical benefits. These include Galileo and GMES, the system for Global Monitoring for the Environment and Security.
I also see ongoing commitment to international efforts such as the International Space Station and the Global Exploration Strategy. ESA is one of 14 worldwide space agencies to work on the 'next step' in space exploration.
(Achieving tangible, relevant results)
Galileo and GMES are European solutions to crucial global problems related to our climate, the environment, security and mobility. GMES is Europe's contribution to GEO, the Group on Earth Observations, which observes earth in these important areas. GMES is a successful trans-national joint venture that gives our space programmes significance and meaning. And, I dare say, legitimacy, for it is taxpayers' money that we are spending in space.
ESA and ESTEC are making sure that that money is wisely spent. The challenge for ESA is to work out Galileo's procurement and management. And ESTEC's research and engineering facilities are an ideal operational base for ESA's Galileo Directorate. ESTEC could potentially become a centre for expertise in the area of space navigation.
Europe's space endeavour boasts other results, of course. Six weeks ago, we succeeded in docking our science laboratory Columbus at the International Space Station. This feat marks the beginning of a full decade of meaningful European experiments in space.
And a few days ago - on April 3, to be precise - ESA's Automated Transfer Vehicle successfully attached itself to the space station. A unique accomplishment, I am told, one that the facilities we are about to visit will surely have contributed towards. I congratulate ESA's scientists and engineers, as well as their industry partners, on both achievements.
(European cooperation)
Investments like the ones we are unveiling today will keep Europe's work in space relevant. Co-operation is another way to achieve this same goal.
ESTEC is referred to as the incubator of the European space effort. And ESA works closely with partners from the space industry. ESA's facilities are accessible to others as well, for example businesses wishing to test their products in extreme conditions.
Co-operation also involves Europe's political and governmental forces. ESA and the EU, for example, have established close relations. And the Netherlands is co-operating with the European Space Agency and the European Union. In fact, you may recall that the Netherlands brought the two organisations together in 2004 when we co-chaired the first Joint Space Council. Ties between ESA and the EU deepened during our ESA chairmanship since 2005. And I am personally proud of the European Space Policy we welcomed during the Joint Space Council last year.
That policy, needless to say, is the basis for deepening co-operation between ESA, the EU, and their member states. Hopefully, such co-operation will be as wide-ranging as the European Space Policy itself. After all, the ESP covers practically all subjects related to the exploration and exploitation of space. It ranges from scientific missions and human space travel to a further strengthening and developing of Europe's own satellite and launcher infrastructure.
(concluding remarks)
Your Royal Highness, ladies and gentlemen.
We have come a long way since Hans Lippershey and Galileo Galilei made their contribution to the exploration of space. We have not only learned more about the nature of space itself, but also improved our understanding of our own planet. And yet, there is much left for us to learn and discover, both inside and outside the earth's atmosphere.