France signs Artemis Accords
The U.S. State Department yesterday announced that France has become the twentieth nation to sign the Artemis Accords.
The full list of signatories so far: Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Canada, Columbia, France, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, Singapore, South Korea, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, the Ukraine, and the United States.
France’s signing is a major breakthrough, as both it and Germany, major players in the European Space Agency, have appeared to resist signing on because to do so would have limited their ability to partner with Russia on space projects (Russia opposes the accords). The Ukraine War has apparently ended France’s resistance. It no longer has any partnerships with Russia, and is not likely to form any new ones in the near future.
We should expect Germany to sign on in the near future as well.
As I wrote in May, the future factions in space are now becoming clearer. On one side we have the American Alliance, signers of the accords who support private property. On the other we have Russia and China, who oppose the accords because they also oppose private property.
In May I also included a third faction, made up of non-aligned space powers. That faction now appears to be fading away, though it still includes Germany and India.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
The U.S. State Department yesterday announced that France has become the twentieth nation to sign the Artemis Accords.
The full list of signatories so far: Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Canada, Columbia, France, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, Singapore, South Korea, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, the Ukraine, and the United States.
France’s signing is a major breakthrough, as both it and Germany, major players in the European Space Agency, have appeared to resist signing on because to do so would have limited their ability to partner with Russia on space projects (Russia opposes the accords). The Ukraine War has apparently ended France’s resistance. It no longer has any partnerships with Russia, and is not likely to form any new ones in the near future.
We should expect Germany to sign on in the near future as well.
As I wrote in May, the future factions in space are now becoming clearer. On one side we have the American Alliance, signers of the accords who support private property. On the other we have Russia and China, who oppose the accords because they also oppose private property.
In May I also included a third faction, made up of non-aligned space powers. That faction now appears to be fading away, though it still includes Germany and India.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Perhaps one of the reasons France is joining Artemis is the limited launch capabilities of ESA.
Researching BtB, I see ESA has 2 new rockets – the Ariane 6 & the Vega-C. It is doubtful that Ariane 6 will launch this year.
According to ESA, the Vega-6 will launch July 7th & the principal payload will be LARES-2, an Italian scientific mission focused on gravitational physics & space geodesy (Earth’s geometric shape, orientation in space, and its gravity field).
Here is the ESA Vega-C YouTube video:
https://youtu.be/wArbQncm7_4
BtB’s Original Mark, you are correct on capabilities of ESA. Yes, they always try to make agreements with other countries using trades instead of paying money outside of Europe. They are going with a sure thing.
Pretty much most space relations with Russia are dead and China is not to be trusted. I know from an earlier article here that India’s ISRO and ESA are talking about cooperation, but there are no formal agreements and India’s program is still young, but it shows promise in a few years.
As Bob said, first France, then Germany, and all the other ESA members will follow. Over the years I have always noticed that India kind of sits on the fence when there are international matters or alliances.
The Artemis Accords will be one of President Trump’s most significant historical contributions, although the MSM is loath to ever mention his name in association with them.
Rat Van Dune—they really ought to be called the Trump Accords.
Sorry—Ray Van Dune. It would be nice if Bob allowed edits.
Ray Van Dune is spot on with the assessment that the Artemis Accords are one of President Trump’s most significant achievements.
As an aside, although my proofreading gets worse with age, I hope never to mistakenly address you as ‘Rat VD’.
Mark me down as another vote for future comment editing.