New Zealand signs Artemis Accords
On May 31st New Zealand became the 11th country to sign the Artemis Accords, designed to bypass the Outer Space Treaty’s limitations on property rights in space.
The full list, according to the NASA press release, now includes Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, South Korea, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Ukraine, and the United States.
China and Russia have both said they oppose the accords. That such European nations as Germany and France have not joined in suggests their governments have not yet decided what direction they wish to go. Since U.S. policy now requires partners in the Artemis program to sign the accords, one would think that Germany and France and the European Space Agency (ESA) would certainly sign.
They have not, however. Instead, ESA has been in negotiations with China on the subject of space cooperation. If it signs a deal with China it could then become very difficult for it to partner with the U.S.
We might therefore be seeing here the first signs of a true and permanent political split in the alliance between mainland Europe and the United States.
Note too that these political winds signal bad news for Orion. The spacecraft relies on the ESA’s service module for its in-space journeys. If Europe does not sign the accords and instead partners with China, the U.S. will then be faced with either abandoning Orion or finding someone else to build its service module. I suspect that with the coming of cheap, affordable, and efficient private spacecraft, Orion will then die.
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On May 31st New Zealand became the 11th country to sign the Artemis Accords, designed to bypass the Outer Space Treaty’s limitations on property rights in space.
The full list, according to the NASA press release, now includes Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, South Korea, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Ukraine, and the United States.
China and Russia have both said they oppose the accords. That such European nations as Germany and France have not joined in suggests their governments have not yet decided what direction they wish to go. Since U.S. policy now requires partners in the Artemis program to sign the accords, one would think that Germany and France and the European Space Agency (ESA) would certainly sign.
They have not, however. Instead, ESA has been in negotiations with China on the subject of space cooperation. If it signs a deal with China it could then become very difficult for it to partner with the U.S.
We might therefore be seeing here the first signs of a true and permanent political split in the alliance between mainland Europe and the United States.
Note too that these political winds signal bad news for Orion. The spacecraft relies on the ESA’s service module for its in-space journeys. If Europe does not sign the accords and instead partners with China, the U.S. will then be faced with either abandoning Orion or finding someone else to build its service module. I suspect that with the coming of cheap, affordable, and efficient private spacecraft, Orion will then die.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
Off-topic: the cap sections being added to the orbital launch table legs at Boca Chica strike me as a design revision. I think someone realized that without a flame trench, the base of the launch table needed to be higher up above ground level. With the angled orientation of the legs, extending them would result in a table base that was too narrow. So the only way to raise the table, was to extend the legs absolutely vertically, resulting in an odd dog-leg design. If a SpaceX design doesn’t look right, it’s probably because it was a mistake that could not be corrected any other way!
Thoughts?
Ps. Bob, I apologize for the OT, but I think this is a potential design flaw that should be discussed. Would you consider making it a thread of its own?
Ray Van Dune: My most recent post might be a very appropriate place for the discussion. Repost your comment there.
Since U.S. policy now requires partners in the Artemis program to sign the accords, one would think that Germany and France and the European Space Agency (ESA) would certainly sign.
Germany and France, yes, but not ESA. ESA cannot sign the Artemis Accords, as the Accords are bilateral agreements between states. ESA has signed or will sign a multilateral interagency agreement similar in design to the one operating the International Space Station.
If Europe does not sign the accords and instead partners with China, the U.S. will then be faced with either abandoning Orion or finding someone else to build its service module.
Lockheed already has a design for a service module that is larger and more capable than the European Service Module. Europe wasn’t brought onto the Orion program because no other alternatives exist. It was a political decision.
I am rooting for Brazil to sign next. Brazil last year signed a letter of intent. I also hope that Brazil can advance in smallsats. Just last week, Vaya Space announced that it will create a Brazilian subsidiary, and is now picking a location to manufacture. I wonder if any large space launch companies will launch from Brazil.
Say what you will about SLS-but you can see where the money goes with a peek in the VAB, vertical weld tools, static tests and the like that I consider valid national assets should Musk falter.
I don’t get Orion’s costs-that goes to Europe under the table?