Remembering the Space Age. - Black Vault Radio Network (BVRN)

BUILdINg SpaCe CapaBILIty thrOUgh
eUrOpeaN regIONaL COLLaBOratION
the UNIted StateS aNd eUrOpeaN INtegratION IN SpaCe
I have discussed at length the role and the interests of the United States
in fostering international collaboration in space with Western europe at
two previous NaSa conferences. 20 I do not want to repeat myself here. the
central point to bear in mind is that NaSa, in consultation with the State
department and other arms of the administration have, loosely speaking, two
modes of interaction with their international partners. One involves sharing:
the sharing of data, skills, and technology. the other involves denial of these
self-same assets. the boundary between the two is fuid, and NaSa may often
be unwilling to share a particularly advanced version of a technology, but be
quite happy with allowing partners access to an earlier, less sophisticated variant
(e.g. inertial guidance technology). the boundary also shifts depending on the
domestic situation in the United States, the availability of the technology from
other nations, and the strength of potential partners. NaSa’s role, after all, is to
promote both international collaboration and american space leadership. On
the face of it, these two goals are contradictory unless the partners are relatively
weak and pose no threat to american leadership.
policy fuctuations between sharing and denial have marked NaSa-
Western european relations over the last 50 years. In the early 1960s, as I have
explained, most Western european countries depended on international col
laboration with NaSa to acquire the basic skills required to kick-start key parts
of their space programs. NaSa gladly collaborated, and the europeans enthu
siastically appreciated their gesture. 21 ­
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this willingness to work with europe
was politically easy in science, which was eminently suited to international col­
laboration and posed no threat to U.S. leadership; indeed, leadership was made
manifest in generosity and openness. But it also extended to more sensitive
areas like rocket technology when, in 1966, NaSa seriously considered ofer­
ing a wide-ranging package of technological assistance, including cryogenic
technology, to keep eLdO afoat. the proposals defned at this time inge­
niously respected national security constraints, furthered U.S. foreign policy
20. John Krige, “technology, Foreign policy, and International Cooperation in Space,” in Steven J.
dick and roger d. Launius, eds., Critical Issues in the History of Space Flight (Washington, dC:
National aeronautics and Space administration Special publication-2006-4702), pp. 239–260;
John Krige, “NaSa as an Instrument of U.S. Foreign policy,” in Steven J. dick and roger d.
Launius, eds., Societal Impact of Spacefight (National aeronautics and Space administration Special
publication-2007-4801).
21. Jacques Blamont,“La creation d’une agence spatiale: les Français à goddard Spacefight Center,
en 1962-1963,” and Jean-pierre Causse, “Le programme Fr1,” in hervé Moulin, Les relations
franco-américaines dans le domaine spatial (1957 – 1975), Quatrième rencontre de l’IFhe sur l’essor
des recherches spatiales en France, 8-9 décembre 2005, paris, France (paris: Institut Français de
l’histoire de l’Éspace, in press).
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