European-Russian Space Cooperation: From de Gaulle to ExoMars (Springer Praxis Books)

The story of European-Russian collaboration in space is little known and its importance all too often understated. Because France was the principal interlocutor between these nations, such cooperation did not receive the attention it deserved in English-language literature. This book rectifies that history, showing how Russia and Europe forged a successful partnership that has continued to the present day. Space writer Brian Harvey provides an in-depth picture of how this European-Russian relationship evolved and what factors--scientific, political and industrial--propelled it over the decades. The history begins in the cold war period with the first collaborative ventures between the Soviet Union and European countries, primarily France, followed later by Germany and other European countries. Next, the chapters turn to the missions when European astronauts flew to Russian space stations, the Soyuz rocket made a new home in European territory in the South American jungle and science missions were flown to study deep space. Their climax is the joint mission to explore Mars, called ExoMars, which has already sent a mission to Mars. Through this close examination of these European-Russian efforts, readers will appreciate an altogether new perspective on the history of space exploration, no longer defined by competition, but rather by collaboration and cooperation Contents Author’s introduction Acknowledgements About the Author 1: Early days Origins Soviet-British cooperation: Bernard Lovell, Alla Masevich France and USSR move on First outcomes of the 1966 agreement: small rockets and balloons Second outcome: instruments to the Moon, Venus and Mars Venus Mars Pompidou Early days: conclusions References 2: Scientific cooperation First satellites: SRET and Signe 3 Aureole: first joint satellite Prognoz and Prognoz M/Interball Introducing Sweden: Interkosmos 16 Cooperation in biology and materials science Bion Foton Mars and Venus Phobos Mars 8 and Phobos SR American misadventure: Netlander Observatories Kvant: Britain’s moment Gamma Granat INTEGRAL Spektr JUICE/Laplas Luna 26, 27, 28 Interkosmos after Interkosmos Interkosmos after Interkosmos: next Space science: conclusions References 3: Human spaceflight First French piloted mission: PVH PVH in trouble PVH flies Second French piloted mission? Second piloted flight: Aragatz French missions to Mir German missions to Mir The other Europeans: Austria and Britain EuroMir What if? Hermes as European-Russian spaceplane? What if? Mir 1.5 What if? Kliper What if? ACTS Europe, Russia and the International Space Station Andromède European missions to ISS Joint experiments: Matroshka, Plasma Kristall, EXPOSE, ICARUS, Kontur European astronauts land on Mars Human spaceflight: conclusions References 4: Industrial cooperation Fuelling Ariane The obstacle: sanctions Russia launching European satellites Eurockot Bilateral launches Exolaunch Soyuz Soyouz à Kourou Ural: Russian-European future launcher research Other industrial cooperation Industrial cooperation: conclusions References 5: ExoMars VEX and MEX ExoMars: origins ExoMars: a European-Russian joint project First ExoMars: Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) First ExoMars: Schiaparelli lander First ExoMars: launch campaign Schiaparelli crashes TGO science mission Interval: sanctions Sanctions and ExoMars Rover Rosalind Franklin Carrier module, landing platform Kazachok Preparing the second ExoMars ExoMars: conclusions References 6: Conclusions The France-Russia connection Drivers of cooperation Comparisons with other cooperation models Winners and losers Missed opportunities? Final remarks References Correction to: European-Russian Space Cooperation Acronyms and abbreviations Appendix 1: Timeline Appendix 2: Lists of heads of governments and space agencies Bibliography Index